Nothing was going to stop me from finding out the truth about her. I skated over to her
house a few blocks down, and rang her doorbell. Mr Desertus opened the door. He looked around
nervously. “U-um hello sweetheart. Gobi isn’t free at the mome-“
I cut him off. “I need to know about this Gobi Desert thing.”
Beads of sweat formed on his forehead. “Okay. Come in.” I followed him into the kitchen.
“Where is Gobi?” I asked, crossing my arms. “I have a lot of explaining to do. Do you want some
tea?” He asked.
“Just tell me.” I commanded, banging my fist on the polished table.
“Alright,” He paused to sit down opposite me. The sky was getting dark, and the light
illuminated the scar that started from his left eyebrow and ended mid-cheek. “The truth is, I used
to be an explorer. It was always my dream to go to the Gobi Desert. I trekked across this desert,
but there was something that nobody mentioned ever before. Nobody.”
“There were spirits trapped within the sand. They begged to come out, for someone to rescue
them. So I did. But it was all under one condition. They had to be allowed to communicate with
their master for a few days every year. This was because they had to recapture their souls, or else
they would face some terrible consequences.”
“Why do Gobi and Khara have different colored eyes? Why do they act like normal people?
Are they dangerous?” I asked.
“Their eyes are basically the color of their spirit. Gobi’s is purple, and Khara’s is turquoise.
They act like normal people because they’re forced to. Like animals, they adapt to their
environment. Like here. People surround their lifestyle, so they act like people. They’re not
dangerous. Well, they weren’t when I first got them.”
“What do you mean, are they dangerous now?”
“Well, yes. There was a keeper of spirits that gave me Gobi and Khara, and she presented a
set of rules that I had to follow. One of them was that I’m not allowed to tell anyone about this.
If I ever told someone, the spirits would take back Gobi and Khara and turn them back to their
original form. Gobi will turn into a desert, if you haven’t figured out already.”
“What about Khara?”
“I’m actually not that sure myself. But since I’ve told you, the spirits will come at any
moment. You have to be careful. The spirits are dangerous. Run, run away!” Just as the words left
his trembling mouth, millions of colors rushed into the room.
They formed some sort of message together, turning themselves into words. “Your spirits have
been exposed to a human. We must return the spirit back to it’s original form. The owner of these
spirits has been cursed for the next 5 years. Our master has warned you, yet you break the rules.
You must give back the spirit key. You cannot be trusted anymore.” I read.
Mr Desertus gasped. “It’s all your fault! You forced me into telling you! Now you’ve lost your
friend! It’s all your fault!”
He pointed at me. “Curse her as well! She made me tell her!”
The spirits ignored him and flew up the stairs. They grabbed Gobi and Khara, who were both
screaming their lungs off. “NO! NO! NO!” I scrambled off my seat to help Gobi and Khara, who
were struggling out of the spirits’ grasp.
“Listen to me. I’m so sorry I never told you about this. I’m going to have to return to my
original form, as a desert. The spirits will take away your memory, but all you have to do is
whisper this sentence to remember everything. “Da mihi in memoriam reducit”. It’s Latin. The
