Shortlisted
The “Man-Eating” Figure of Gobi
Korean International School, Springboard, Katana Longid, Fiction: Group 5
I
t was a very hot summer afternoon. A friend called Roger and I were in the southern part
of the Gobi Desert, as part of an investigation into ghostly happenings in a small village. I
remember many news reports about it, saying that it might be man-eating. Haru, a friend
who lived there had witnessed many events – the figure would stand near people, and when
they ran away, the figure vanished into thin air. The figure had also appeared in Haru’s home, and
poltergeist activities had been present, but the main hot spot was only tens of metres from her house.
We decided to set up a tent, and were sure that we could go to Haru’s home if necessary, as
it was very close to us. We also brought a pack of bread, three large bottles of water and some
plastic cups. We brought a solar and wind charged battery, an LED light and a plastic 20” mini
ceiling fan.
In Mainland China, Haru picked us up in a van, and it took about three whole minutes to load
the back. We purposely put the most fragile things, like the solar panel, the wind turbine and the
dismantled ceiling fan in it’s box on top, and the battery, water tanks and packed-up tent at the
bottom. It was a very long ride. When we were pulling up to Haru’s house, I thought I saw the
figure, about 12 feet away from the van, but nobody really saw it. I was looking out the other side,
Roger was resting his eyes, and Haru was driving.
We got there, at around 5:00 pm, Roger was looking at the amazing, lonely landscape of Gobi.
He was also watching Haru clean the windows of her isolated house and I think wondering what
he had got himself into. He was sitting near the door, fascinated. I was setting up the battery, and
hanging the light and fan. It took quite a while. I was about to bring the bread to the house when
suddenly, Roger cried, ‘Martin! Come quick!’
Holy pigeon! Already!? I thought.
I went over to the door, and saw a grey figure standing there, but before I could take a picture
of it, it vanished into thin air. It was the most amazing thing that I had ever witnessed in my
entire life. First, we were looking at a grey figure, and next, the empty landscape of the Gobi.
That night was peaceful, and cool. I was relieved that the ceiling fan didn’t turn itself on, as
Haru had once come home from a Christmas party, only to find two of the three ceiling fans in
her living room on at top speed – in the middle of winter! Her paperwork was a mess, as it has
been on the dining table, right underneath one of the fans that were on. Also, in summer this
year, when she came home once from shopping, her storage heaters were on and nearly burnt
the house down it was so hot! It was our turn next, for something more dramatic – the tent
shook badly, and when I went out to check what was shaking it, I saw the figure running away
at full sprint, then disappearing into the darkness, maybe scared of me and Roger, or maybe the
homemade light. I don’t know.
The next day, after breakfast, we went a few meters from the tent, closer to where the ghost was
said to be seen. I saw it, near Roger! ‘SNAP’ I finally got a photo of the thing. I was planning to scare
him back at the tent with it, but I thought that he should see it while it was 16” away from him.
‘Holy pigeon! Beside you! On your right!’ I cried.
‘OH MY GOODNESS!’ he roared when he saw it.
‘Did you take a picture of it!? It’s gone!’
‘I have’, I replied.
Roger stared in fright at the photo that showed the ghost that was less than a meter away
