The New Tales of the Gobi Desert
Discovery College, Karthik Immaneni, Fiction: Group 3
W
e are never going to find the way out of this desert!”
exclaimed Kevin in dismay. His mother said “ No dear, you should never give
up so easily..” but her eyes clearly showed the hopelessness she was feeling. His
father said, “If only I had my mobile …” and his voice trailed off.
They were all tired and thirsty. Kevin felt he could not walk a single more step. The sun was
going to set soon. Without a shelter to protect them from the cold winds in the night, they were at
a great risk. “ I was so enthusiastic about this trip,” thought Kevin. It seemed so adventurous then,
just last week…
Kevin had come back from school. His mom was making sandwiches. She said “ I have a
surprise for you. Do you want to go on an adventure?”
Kevin asked, “Where are we going?” “To the Gobi Desert”
“What? Wow! But why to the Gobi desert? ‘
“Your dad’s company is trying to find ways to make solar energy work. Since the Gobi desert is
so big, they think it will be a great source of clean energy. They are sending him there to investigate
and file a report. We thought we also could go with him. It would be a nice adventure for us.”
“That’s great! Wait till my friends know about this.. they will be so jealous..”
Few days later they landed in Ulaanbaatar. They then met a tour guide in the airport who
took them along to the desert. It was dusk. The tour guide escorted them to one of the tents. They
rested in the Yurt, a kind of shelter that the Nomads build in the Gobi.
“Tomorrow we tour the desert” said Kevin’s dad.
“You must watch out for scorpions, the stinging nettles I showed you pictures of.. Remember?”
he asked. “ Yes dad, I remember.. You told me a hundred times.. Do not wander away, keep with
the group…”
“Now go to sleep and wake up fresh and bright tomorrow”
The next morning, the tour guide met them and took them along the desert with the camels.
After a while, the guide stopped them and asked them to get down. He pointed at something in the
distance. They all gazed in that direction, but could not see anything.
When Kevin looked back, with astonishment he found that the tour guide was gone, taking
all the supplies and all but a camel were gone. He shouted, “oh no!” his parents looked back and
were shocked.
“Lets all get on the camel and try to find him” said Kevin’s dad. But the camel wouldn’t move.
“What should we do?” said Kevin. His mom said, “ We will find our way back. It is going to
be okay.” But Kevin was still unconvinced. They decided that they had to go back. They walked
for a few hours until they became exhausted. They couldn’t walk anymore. Kevin saw some
Yurts ahead of him. He shouted “Mom, Dad look!” Hid dad said, “There is no Yurt, it is just an
illusion. A Mirage” But Kevin ran to see if he was right or not. He was right. His mom and dad
came behind him. They reached the Yurt and peered in. There was an old woman inside. She was
astonished to see them. She signaled them to come in. “ Water” gasped Kevin. The lady took a
mud pitcher and gave them all water. When they drank to their fill, they all lay back, exhausted.
Kevin’s dad tried to talk to the old lady but she was not able to speak English. But they
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