The desert is solitary and the smoke is straight, the sun is setting over the long river.
Pei Min tightened his grip on the bronze token in his hand. When he turned over and dismounted, the sole of his boot crushed a dry camel bone. The bones were already as white as gray, and the edges were rounded by the wind and sand. It was unknown which year they were the remains of a caravan, and it was unknown whether they died of thirst, exhaustion, or were hacked to death with swords. There are so many such bones on this road, so many that no one would take a second look.
The wind picked up the yellow sand and hit my face like a fine blade. He squinted his eyes and looked into the distance. The outline of Dunhuang was emerging from the steaming heat wave - earthen walls, beacons, and pagoda spiers, glowing dimly gold in the twilight, like a mirage or some huge, silent living thing growing out of the depths of the earth.
