New Tales of the Gobi Desert
Diocesan Girls’ School, Kylie Yeung, Fiction: Group 3
F
or days, I walked aimlessly, carrying the fading hope that I will survive, until I
caught a glimpse of the ruins of a fortress through my blurred vision. My skin stung
from sunburn; my legs were sore and swollen from walking; my throat was dry from
dehydration and my head was dizzy from heatstroke.
Using all the energy I have left, I limped towards the fortress. As soon as I walked inside, I
was relieved by the cool shade. I lied down and closed my eyes. I blacked out.
I woke up feeling water dripping on my lips, trickling in to my mouth and down my throat.
It was cool and sweet, immediately making me feel awake. I blinked twice, my brain processing
the image in front of me. There was a Gobi Bear sitting next to me, splitting a cactus between its
paws right above my face. When it saw that I was awake, it crawled through the doorway.
It came back with a pile of Saxaul branches. Then it did the least imaginable thing to be done
by a bear, it made a fire. It left again, and this time, it returned with wild rhubarb roots, berries and
wild onions. It divided the food into two portions, and set one portion down next to where I sit.
I glanced at it and looked into its eyes; there were love, wisdom and immense sadness in them.
They were unique. They were special. And they were familiar somehow.
I picked up a handful of berries and popped them into my mouth. I tasted a burst of sweetness
and sourness, and I was filled with an incredible surge of inexplicable content and delight. “Thank
you,” I said with my rasped voice – it was the first soul I had talked to in a very long time. It
blinked, and I would have sworn its eyes twinkled.
I knew that it would not understand me, but I felt like I had to talk to someone, to keep myself
from becoming insane. “I came from the Altai Mountains on a quest to look for my uncle who
came to this desert. He was a ruthless and selfish man, but he loved me a lot. (at this, the bear’s
gaze darkens, and it looks away) Both of my parents died in a plague shortly after he left on his
expedition. After two weeks of waiting for his return, I decided to come here to look for him. I
know, it might have been a foolish decision, but I was really desperate for family.”
After these words left my lips, the bear got up and left me alone in the fortress, surrounded by
the dancing shadows on the wall. I nibbled on the food. Hearing soft, quick footsteps, I watched
as a marbled polecat scurried on the floor, towards the bear’s pile of food. Food was scarce in the
desert, so I immediately took the food in my arms and kept them next to me. However, seeing the
marbled polecat’s desperation for food, I gave it some of mine, and smiled as it returned the way it
came. Watching the tongues of flame, my eyelids grew heavy and I dozed off again.
I had a really strange dream. There was a blue light, dancing in the darkness. Eventually, it
took the shape of a girl with wings. “You have a loving heart, boy,” she said in a silvery voice
like tinkling bells, “Nature favors people like you. Unlike other unfortunate ones, you will be
rewarded. There is only one thing I ask of you, spread your love…” Her voice lingered for a while
and faded away, and she herself left with it.
When I woke up, I was wrapped in a wind breaker that was way too big for me. It was dark
and I was surrounded by the cold night air. I automatically shoved my hands into the pockets of
the jacket. My right hand felt a piece of a laminated card. I pulled it out, and stared at it in awe. I
blinked and pinched myself, to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. Staring back at me were two grinning
