desert,” yelled the tour guide in great happiness, drastically exaggerating the words ‘most precious’.
I didn’t reply. I didn’t say anything. I didn’t say “Hurray! We’ve finally arrived!”. I was
puzzled. I was confused. Why was there a green area of plants in such a hot place? Was that only
an illusion? An illusion caused by the red devil up there? My steps gradually slowed down but
the tour guide looked incredibly amazed. He scurried fast and was found eventually dashing. I
had been with him for almost a day then but hadn’t seen him so enthusiastic. Why were those
ordinary-looking plants so special to him? I couldn’t help feeling puzzled. But what could I do?
Nothing! Nothing but follow the strange man into the strange green area in the middle of a
strange place. It was the only way to the answer of the millions of questions in my mind.
We finally reached there, the so-called most chased-after place in the desert.
“Aren’t you excited, friend?” asked the tour guide. And he drastically exaggerated the
word ‘valuable’.
“Of course I am,” I muttered, “surely, it’s the most valuable place. It should be …. an oasis amid
all the sand.” I forced a smile.
“Ye...yes. It is…,” he answered, voice shaking. “Let’s look at the plants, shall we?”
“why not?” I replied, closely following him.
Why was his voice shaking just now? Why did he intentionally change the topic? There MUST
be something weird about this man walking in front of me, who was intrigued by some plants
which shouldn’t have been there.
He looked back suddenly, this tie with an air of unfriendliness mixed with suspicion and curiosity.
“It’s so strange of you not taking photos of these beautiful and rare plants! He she gestured
vaguely at the camera hanging from my neck, eyeing me with suspicion which he’s trying to hide.
“Oh..Oh... I was just so stunned by their beauty that I forgot …. haha...”
I was so deep in thought that I forgot to take photos. I knew he was suspicious. I had to
pretend to know nothing about that. Palm trees, banana trees and tea trees … I took a few
snapshots in a hurry. The green in the desert was amazing indeed. The trees were arranged
systematically and there were paths for visitors to walk along. Thanks to the paths which gave us
directions in this “maze of sand”.
My footsteps slowed down. I was weary. I was sweating again. But this time I had another
feeling. I was hungry.
“I am starving! Could we just stop for a while to get something to eat?” I asked.
“Urm...” thought the tour guide. “ I think it should be fine. Yes, it is absolutely fine.”
Another thing to suspect ….
It was not the time for me to look for the answer. I must fill up my stomach first. I took out my
sandwiches and started wolfing them down before I died of hunger. We sat on some big rocks and
talked about our careers. I told him the thrill of being a photographer and journalist, travelling
to different continents to see the world. I knew from him that he was actually working for the
government and had been a tour guide for more than ten years. His phone suddenly rang. He
pressed the accept button and started conversing on the phone. He’s really an experienced tour
guide for his government, I thought. Wait! What? What government? He said he came from my
country but the government of my country never employed any tour guides. I was chewing the
bread and thinking at the same time. When I was about to take another bite, a green slippery frog
which was next to my hiking boots caught my attention.
“A...a frog! There’s a frog right next to my boots!” I cried.
