The Journey of Acceptance
The ISF Academy, Secondary Division, Sasha Chua,13
T
he sun’s rays plunged through the sky, bathing the God of the Gobi Desert in daylight.
The mighty God sat on the seventeenth floor of the sky, his legs crossed and brows
furrowed in concentration. His arms moved in a circular motion as water from the seas
evaporated when it sensed his touch. The water vapor rose upwards, tracing swirls in the
sky. It curled and uncurled itself like a flower going through the seasons. Then, brown fur started
to seep through his thin, nimble fingers and his creation slowly took form.
There stood the most hideous creature on earth. His face was like a human’s but he had
chestnut brown hair sticking out of his skin. He had enormous stormy grey eyes and his head was
covered in a huge blob of fizzy brown fur. His slightly arched back had two humps. His peculiar
looking feet that were shaped like hooves.
“AGGHHH!” the God bellowed in frustration, “You are the most repulsive creature I have ever
created! Even worse than my other mistakes! Half human, half camel! Hamel! Be gone! I cannot
bear to look at you!”
With a commanding wave of the God’s hand, Hamel tumbled down the clouds… faster and
faster… Everything was a blur. He felt pain of rejection, abandonment and humiliation at the God’s
words. Immense pressure crushed him and he began to feel delirious.
When Hamel finally slammed on the ground, he slowly opened one eye, then the other. He
first felt woozy and groggy as all the colors and objects appeared as a kaleidoscope. He felt as if
his spine was twisted in half and his forehead was throbbing in uncontrollable pain. He felt he
was sitting on an endless brown carpet that had some withered grass bond to it. Above him were
clear skies as far as the eye could see, and he was trapped in a landscape of suffocating air and
blistering heat. He had landed in the middle of the Gobi Desert.
Looming above him was a boy with hollow cheekbones and beady eyes. He was bent over,
observing Hamel’s features with a mixture of terror and fascination. Next to him was an even
younger girl with almond-shaped eyes and a heart shaped face.
As soon as the boy realized Hamel was awake, he yelped.
“Help! It is a monster!”
Hamel felt the rejection in the word ‘monster’ and was buried again in the hatred of the
God. He felt like the most worthless living being in the universe. His eyes filled with tears and
he felt nauseous.
The boy bolted around his family’s ger, a Mongolian nomads tent. Then, he reappeared with a
bow and arrows. Hamel shrieked in alarm and clumsily tried to get up, but than instantly registered
that his ankles were badly twisted so he helplessly attempted to drag himself across the sand that
felt like a bed of needles but with no avail.
“Yeke no!” The girl squealed, stepping forward to block the small boy’s path. Hamel’s features
first frightened her but felt the need to protect it from her brother’s impulsive, cowardly nature.
She felt empathy towards Hamel, knowing what its like to be the target and the eccentric one.
Yeke ignored her and shot an arrow above her head, landing a few centimeters from Hamel’s
head. Yeke cursed in annoyance. Hamel cowered and he quivered unceasingly. His heart raced;
this was it. He had only lived for such a short period of time and it was about to end. Well perhaps
