Documentary reports originally published in a Nantes local newspaper, reworked by the writer Lenoir.
St. Stephen's Day just passed, and Doc and Colonel had already left all the manners behind them, quarreling for almost half an hour. They both had convincing explanations for why this lake miracle happened, and they both hoped to display their charm before Miss Elisa. Holding a giant piece of white crystal, Doc claimed to have scouted the whole area, attributing the miracle to all the giant sandstones surrounding the area, and even some
invisible creature. As for Colonel, he kept interrupting, saying that he had measured the lake with his own feet, and the water showed multiple colors through different angles, so the miracle must be the reflection of the sky.
Elisa still kept her elegant posture.
She hadn't said much ever since they left the west African bay full of hidden rocks, always agreeing on the words of the men with her mouth covered. Then, the local returned from his salt-gathering trip on the lake, moving his hands in wildly. Before I could make sense of what he was trying to convey, Doc suddenly changed his expression, yelling loudly while pointing somewhere far away.
A sandstorm covering the sky was marching toward us like a titan, and the shadow hiding the sun made me even more uneasy. Leaving all the heavy luggage behind, we fled to the south, and were stopped by the locals. They then built a tiny shelter with wooden rafts, and people took off their clothes to stuff all the cracks and holes.
Doc and Colonel finally stopped fighting, pressing their backs against the rafts, hoping to prevent the sandstorm from penetrating. With the creaking sounds and painful expressions, no one knew how long they had endured before the silence was restored. I actually thought that we were buried in the sand, and that was why we couldn't hear the sandstorm anymore.
As we pushed down the rafts, we found out that the sandstorm is already gone, and the sky was clear as blue crystal again. But I swear what I saw was not illusions from dehydration—As a breeze blew across the lake, the waves became overlapping petals, showing a violet color, as if a rose is blooming in this desert...
| Keywords | Translated keywords |
|---|---|
| White Crystals | Salt Lake |
| Sandstorm | Desert |
| Surrounded by Giant Sandstones | Sandstone-surrounded Zone |