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.

The stranger, still smiling, invited me to the campfire: "May I offer you some coffee, perhaps?" I nodded, and it felt good to sit down and rest.

"He always wanders off, and I must rush to find him. My name is Robert," he said, extending his hand in a friendly manner.

I introduced myself too and imagined the stationary camel constantly wandering off, especially since it was tied up. But I didn't mention this out loud; I had no idea who this person was, and it was better to be cautious and not point out the implausibility of his camel story. I couldn't shake off the feeling that something was off about this place and this person.

"You know, Robert, this place is quite strange. It doesn't look like an oasis; it's so barren, and the plants are like withered stalks." Among the ruins, the desolation was even more apparent. Two pitifully leaning walls supported a stretched tarp under which a mattress lay, and only now did it occur to me that this person probably lived here.

"Yes, from the first moment, everyone who crosses it says the same thing. Are you also looking for the metal that fell from the sky somewhere around here?" He saw my puzzled look and continued, "One night, I saw a meteor falling from the sky, leaving a huge trail behind it. I calculated where it might have landed, and it should be right here." He leaned closer as if he was about to share a secret with me. "Since then, the king has sent scouts, but no matter how much they interrogate me, I won't tell them anything!" Then, as if just realizing something, he grabbed my arm: "But you're not one of them, are you? You're not looking for the meteor, right?"

I got scared, thinking I had found the village idiot. "No, I'm not here for that; I'm just passing through. I was supposed to fly over, but my hovercraft crashed."

"You came by flying?" he became unusually animated, jumping up to examine me from all sides. His reaction was so unexpected that I couldn't help but be surprised. This guy was completely unpredictable.

"Yes," I groaned as he lifted my arm and looked underneath as if searching for wings. This guy is completely crazy, I thought.

"You're a goblin, aren't you? I've heard of your kind, skilled with all sorts of machines. But I never thought you were smart enough to build flying machines." He sat back down, facing me, and took small sips of black coffee.

I had no intention of telling him that the flying machine, as he called it, was not my achievement. I know taking credit for others' work is wrong, but I didn't appreciate his insult to my kind.

"I crashed not far from here, that way," I pointed back in the direction I had come from. "You can see for yourself."

"Will you show me where it is?" he pleaded.

"Sure, let's go," I agreed, and I wanted to put down the coffee that I could barely drink because it tasted so strange. But Robert didn't let me; he raised my hand, insisting I finish it.

"Water is precious here; you must drink all of it."

I obeyed but almost threw up. "Is there no water in the pond? Or is it undrinkable?" I asked, handing back the empty cup.

"Oh no, all the water here is undrinkable. I tried digging a well, but that water is also poisonous and causes hallucinations," Robert replied, lifting my cup and wiping it clean with the hem of his worn shirt.

I felt uncomfortable. "But if there's no water here, what did you make the coffee from? Where do you get drinkable water?" I inquired.

"I convert urine. I have a little device that purifies it. If you need to go, collect it in something and give it to me because you drank the coffee."

At first, I just turned pale, then I felt nauseous. I saw Robert raising his hand, signaling that vomiting was strictly forbidden and I should not even try. I retched but somehow managed to hold back, not wanting to waste his precious water.

He untied and mounted the camel while I walked beside them, still battling nausea. I had water, I thought, but I had developed such a distaste for him that I had no intention of sharing it. Besides, I was curious to know how long I'd be here. Drinking my own urine in the desert? Definitely not.

Robert tried to entertain me by telling stories, but I barely listened. "When I was as young as you, I thought there was order in the world and everything was as it should be. The king rules, and the subjects serve, living their lives in misery. But not me. I'd rather live here in this oasis than serve someone lounging on the throne because of some arbitrary hereditary rule. They even sentenced me to death once, but I escaped. You should have seen that..."

He started recounting his adventures, but fortunately, I didn't have to listen for long because the hovercraft wreckage came into view. He jumped off the camel with unusual speed and began examining one part after another among the wreckage.

A huge grin spread across his face. "This could be rebuilt. We'll return all the parts to the oasis and repair it!"

I've had experiences where people I barely knew immediately considered me part of their team. But I was on a mission, and that fact was now life-saving. "I have urgent business to attend to, so I must move on. But feel free to use the wreckage; I give it to you." Then, looking at the camel, I suddenly changed my mind. "In exchange for the camel."

I saw a satisfied smile on Robert's face. I might have done him a favor because I couldn't imagine what he gave the animal to drink.

We shook hands, and I was already trying to mount the camel when he stood before me.

"Tell me, don't you need to go? You know, the coffee!" he said thoughtfully, and I could tell he wasn't joking.

"The camel and the coffee, are we good?" I offered. He turned back, thoughtfully examining the airship wreckage. "Okay!" and hurried off, disappearing behind a giant sail.

I tried to balance on the camel's back, never realizing how uncertain it would feel to ride a camel. My stomach was still upset, and at one point, I couldn't hold it any longer; I vomited on the camel's front right leg, glancing back, hoping Robert didn't see me wasting his precious water.