Petibone (Fantasmical 2024)

8. The camael_ Punklitfiction

Prompt: You're sent on a desert expedition when your hovercraft breaks down, leaving you stranded in the middle of nowhere until you spot a strange oasis in the distance.

**

I was sent out with an exciting message for the first time in a long while. It wasn't the message itself that was interesting, but rather the fact that I had to cross the desert, and for this purpose, I was given a hovercraft to make the journey. I liked this strange machine that traveled through the air like a bird. I felt free and enjoyed the entire trip. I received instructions on how the hovercraft operated and some guidelines on what to do in case of malfunctions. However, when the engine started roaring unbearably loud, I was filled with a sudden fear because there was no description of this situation. As I nervously flipped through the manual, the machine suddenly shut down and plummeted uncontrollably. In a panic, I tried to restart it, but the ground kept coming closer and closer. I finally crashed and, by some miracle, I escaped without a scratch, though the hovercraft was utterly shattered.

Wherever I looked, sand was everywhere. Perhaps a tiny oasis was visible in the distance, but I couldn't tell if it was real. I grabbed my backpack, and since I had no other option, I headed toward the oasis—or what I thought was one. I just hoped it wasn't a mirage. The mystery of the oasis, whether real or a trick of the desert, piqued my curiosity.

As I slowly approached the oasis, I felt a sense of suspicion. I had water and food with me, so I didn't need to enter; I could have just skirted around it. According to the compass, I had to pass through it anyway. But my curiosity got the better of me. As I got closer, I noticed a camel standing still with its head down, persistently nibbling on the grass at the entrance.

It was strange because my bag was full of dried camel meat, but I had never seen a live camel before. I stopped to get a better look. The camel lifted its head and looked at me with sad eyes. I then noticed a rope around its neck, with the other end tied to a stake. The situation was odd, but I continued my journey into the oasis. I thought the camel might belong to someone, and I didn't know what to expect. The idea also crossed my mind that a camel could make my desert trek more accessible and valuable. But I wasn't bold enough to untie it and ride off without saying anything.

The oasis was different from the lush garden I had imagined. In the center was a small pond, its blue water long gone, now turned into a salt-covered yellow patch. Around the pond, abandoned plants wilted, their leaves dried out as if nature had given up the fight for life in this barren landscape. The once-thriving buildings of the oasis stood in ruins, rusty and decayed.

Along the shore, the once-thriving buildings of the oasis stood in ruins, rusty and decayed. Cracks ran through the walls, roofs collapsed, and rust covered everything as if time had stopped here, leaving only abandonment to remind anyone that life once existed.

The silent whisper of the wind carried the sand, covering everything as if destruction had arrived in sandstorms. The atmosphere of the oasis suggested sadness, with the abandoned buildings softly whispering memories of lost life.

I stood by the desolate pond, staring at the ruins, with a strange feeling that it wasn't a coincidence that I had crashed there. As I pondered, I suddenly noticed smoke rising from behind one of the ruins. Before I could piece together that if there was smoke and a camel, this place wasn't so abandoned after all, and before I had time to think, a friendly figure appeared before me, greeting me with a broad smile: "Hello! Have you seen a camel around here?"

Surprised, I couldn't speak at first, so this short person suddenly appeared before me. He was almost as brief as I was, which, for a human, was relatively short. His sudden appearance and the way he looked at me made me feel uneasy. "Actually, I did see one back there," I said, pointing behind me where I had come from. "I was going to bypass the oasis, but I saw the camel and thought there must be someone here, so I came in," I stammered, not understanding why I was making excuses.