New Tales of the Gobi Desert
St. Mary’s Canossian College, Cherry Lau, Fiction: Group 4
T
he Gobi Desert, a place bounded by the Altai Mountains. Its harsh conditions make it
hard for human to survive there, making it mysterious to the outside world. Very few
people have been there before. As a journalist, I visited the Gobi Desert, to know more
about this mysterious place and at the same time, to satisfy my curiosity.
Days before the travel, I had been thinking how the desert looked like. A special area covered
entirely with sand? Or a place inhabited only by cactus and camels? None of these seemed to be
accurate. I surfed the net, hoping to find some information about the place before my visit, but
my effort was in vain. None of the websites I had searched gave me the thing I was looking for.
There’s no information about the Gobi Desert, not a bit. Puzzled and excited, I set off for my very
first trip to the Gobi Desert.
The loud noise generated by the blades of the helicopter made me nearly sick. It was as
annoying as a swarm of bees buzzing near your ears. From the helicopter I looked down and
was taken aback by a spectacular view. The Altai Mountains divide the country into two parts,
one being a well-developed urban area and the other nothing but sand and sparse villages in
the middle of the place. “Here’s the Gobi Desert,” said the helicopter pilot who was also my tour
guide showing me around the desert so that I could write a feature article in my editorial corner
of the town’s best-selling newspaper. In the middle of the desert, I could barely see some holes.
What could they be? I didn’t have the slightest idea! Soon, we landed and were welcomed by no
one. There was no one in sight. Not a thing. The desert was much quieter than I had thought. Hit
by a fit of fear, I didn’t dare take a step. “This place’s deserted and no one lives here. Would you
reside in a desert? No! It’s normal,” the tour guide made an attempt to cheer me up. He obviously
had felt my anxiety. But he was wrong, he was entirely wrong. The Gobi Desert was not the same
as when he first came here. Someone did live in the desert. I was sure. I saw some villages just
now from the helicopter. The tour guide’s words made me feel more frightened. I was in a strange
place, led by a person who said strange words. Countless questions popped up in my mind and I
could not answer them, not even one of them. But what options did I get? I could just follow him.
Was he trying to deceive me or something? Why did he do that? Did he know anything about the
villages? Again, intense fear shook me.
We kept walking for about an hour or two. Sweat soaked my clothes entirely. The gigantic
fireball in the sky was glowing. It had an evil look and there were two teeth sticking out from its
mouth like those of a vampire’s. I could see the tips of its mouth pointing upwards. It was smiling.
Yes, it was smiling. It was trying to melt us as if we were cubes of ice disappearing in a cup of
boiling water. It was so hot that my vision gradually became a blur and illusion started to take
place. The tour guide walked towards me and handed me a battery-run mini electric fan and a
bottle of iced water. I gulped down the drink to retain my energy.
“We’re nearly there, the most valuable place in the Gobi Desert,” said him, in a comforting tone.
“Really? I can’t wait!” I replied, a bit relieved.
I got the motivation to walk again. My desire and dream were pushing my legs to move
forward. They had defeated the devilish sun!
“The green area there is the place I’ve been talking about, the most precious place in the
