Sunlight peeked through the tent curtain, and Mel arose. She stretched her arms to the sky and sucked in air. Clutching her back, she hissed at the pain from sleeping on the ground. Flakes of skin fell from her lips and sand spilled all over with every move she made.
"Mel girl, you awake? How you sleep?"
"I slept well, thank you, Garu. Where is Guru?"
"He finds food. Little left in safe place. We move soon, Mel girl."
"How do you get to the next safe place?"
"Sacred plaques tell us, Mel girl."
"Yes, yes, they tell us all." Guru walked in with a basket of fruit. The green men carefully prepared the food, arranging it on the plate to ensure none was wasted. Guru handed a plate to Mel, and the three sat down to eat.
"Will move again, Guru boy. Safe place, give little food."
"Yes, yes, but Guru no like next safe place."
"Neither I, Guru boy. But Guru sister, not want you die."
"What happened at the other safe place?"
"Guru has sister, yes, yes."
"She marry someone in tribe, Mel girl. Sand spider got him." Garu covered his face.
Guru's voice shook, and his shoulders trembled softly. "Yes, yes, sister, hear about it. Then the madness…"
"Guru boy stop sister. Normally, family not kill, but Guru boy is only one, Mel girl." Garu paused. "There no choice."
"So," Mel hesitated, "Guru had to kill his sister because of this madness?"
"Yes, yes, sister… need… help… Guru only one…" Garu embraced Guru as the poor goblin cried between words. "Garu… Guru no want- madness."
"No worry, Guru boy. Guru boy not go mad."
"What is going mad?"
"Goblin go mad when bad thing happen. They be like different person, Mel girl. Then the burning dark appear."
"What's the burning dark?"
"Burnin dark is soul trapper. It rise from ground. Make goblin go mad."
"Does this happen to all monsters or just to goblins?"
"No, no," Guru sniffled. "Just ones who sad. Very sad."
"I've seen the burning dark, I think. I was really little, one of my family members she lashed out at me. Father had to hold her back, then I never saw her again. Do you think she could be cured?" Mel looked at the monsters with sympathetic glances.
"No, no, Mel family surely dead."
Mel's shoulders slumped, "So there is no cure."
"The sacred plaque tell us there no cure, Mel girl. Many monster look, but no monster find. Madness take them."
"Yes, yes, but sacred plaque say man in mountain help."
"We look for man in mountain. That why we move, Mel girl."
Just then, a loud gong was sounded. Garu and Guru got up and started packing their belongings.
"What is happening?"
"Last fruit picked, Mel girl. Now we go next safe place."
"Yes, yes, you join us? We move with sun, now."
"Desert eats sun, Mel girl. It not eat us when sun out. Only when sun gone—" Garu mimicked a sunset with his hands, then shrugged, "desert get hungry."
Mel followed the goblins across the desert. The sand shifted with each step, piling into her shoes. The burning sun felt like it was scorching the top of her head. Little green men and women easily walked past her as their big feet pattered across the dunes.
The goblins covered their heads with scarves and hoods, shielding them from the sun. They pulled carts through the sand with their young sitting inside. Mel wondered how they could do this every time they ran out of food.
Mel traveled with them until they reached the next oasis. Arriving there, she rushed for the water and lapped it up greedily. The nomads began setting up tents, and Garu took Mel to the sacred plaque, where she carefully wrote down the instructions to the next safe place.
Mel said her goodbyes to the men and followed the plaques until she came to the final one, which read: "Go forth and climb the mountain, Oh chosen one. There is where you will find me."
Mel looked out at the mountain in the distance. "Have Guru and Garu never made it to this plaque?"