The Blue Desert – A Tale of Secrets, Stars, and Second Earth

The rain poured relentlessly outside my office window, like the sky itself weeping over a forgotten truth. Inside, the artificial lighting cast a thick yellow line down the middle of the glass, dividing the world in two. Above the line was the heavy sky—grey, unknowable, secretive. Below it: people hurrying through their robotic routines, rivers flowing beneath bridges, and trees rooted in a world that no longer felt alive.

A constant clack-clack-clack of typing filled the air. Fluorescent lights flickered above, binding us to the mundanity of our mechanical existence. If you dared to resist the rhythm, you risked being discarded by the world—an orphan cast into the unknown. But what if the answer wasn’t below the yellow line… but above it?

Out of the Office

Out into the rain. Puddles or packed red buses—either way, a choice between discomfort and suffocation. I chose the rain. As I walked past brightly lit shopfronts, I felt the strange contrast of warmth inside and cold outside. Automatic doors ushered strangers into scented halls of perfumes and polished marble, the noise inside warm and seductive—a far cry from the metallic hum of the city. But I wasn’t looking for comfort. I was seeking something more.

In the Café

High above the ground, tucked into the top floor of a tall building, a small café awaited. There, seated in a deep armchair with a steaming cup of cardamom tea and a small plate of rose delight, I opened the door to memory—to myth—to magic.

Let me take you back—to the edge of reality and fiction. To lands of Siberian forests and Tuscan hills, to African mountains and ancient Egyptian pyramids carved by time and trees. To the depths of the sunken glass city in the Shuttle “Terra.” But beyond all that, farther still, was the Blue Desert.

The Blue Desert

A boy wandered along a crest of golden-blue sand, his curls ruffled by the wind, his eyes fixed on a glowing ice dome that shimmered atop a strange stone temple. As he walked, the desert shifted like a dream. The sand glimmered like violet-dusted gold. The temple’s walls morphed into swirling crystals and mirrored windows. Each step felt like an echo in time.

Weary and entranced, he collapsed face-first into the soft powder, breathing in its delicate scent—like violets bathed in riverwater. He didn’t close his eyes. There was no night here. Only day after day after day.

Then, a sound. A whistle. Then a buzz. Suddenly, a massive shadow loomed over him. A machine—no, a dragon-shaped drone—landed before him, bright lights blinding him. A golden door slid open and from within stepped a figure: tall, slender, curious.

“I’m Riya,” the young pilot said gently. “Who are you?”

The boy’s face lit up. “Nikola. My name is Nikola.”

“Come on then,” Riya said with a smile. “Let’s fly.”

Flight into the Unknown

Nikola hopped into the drone, sitting beside Riya. As the golden doors sealed shut, the machine took off—silent and weightless. Below, the shimmering path of sand drew a glowing trail in the sunlight.

They landed at the base of the icy dome structure—the one Nikola had seen from afar. The moment they stepped inside, the stone temple came to life. Its walls were etched in unfamiliar symbols: bars, dots, swirling calligraphy that glowed softly when touched.

“What is this language?” Nikola asked.

“It’s not known to us,” Riya replied, pulling out a glowing pen and a well-worn notebook. “My parents and I have spent years copying these inscriptions, slowly deciphering their meanings. It’s the history of those who came before us—of the ones who left this Blue Desert behind.”

They called this place the “Belt of the Earth”—a sacred link to something greater.

The Secret of the Glass Dome

As Nikola admired the writing, he noticed something strange. Riya’s reflection danced across the surface of the glass dome—yet it moved differently, like a hologram echoing another reality. He lifted her chin to show her.

“There’s something here,” he said. “This dome—it reflects more than just images. It reflects truth.”

Riya’s eyes widened. “It’s said that whoever reaches the Glass Dome will see the Second Earth. But no one’s ever touched it—not even with the drone. It’s protected… by something.”

One of the inscriptions read:

“You who master the skies shall transmit your voice across worlds, touch the stars… but lose what lies beneath. The higher you soar, the more you forget the ground.”

Nikola shivered. The dome wasn’t just a destination. It was a mirror to the soul.

A Door Forever Closed

They turned to leave the temple, but as they exited, the heavy golden doors slammed shut behind them with a deafening boom.

Riya gasped. “That was one of the warnings… the door will never open again.”

Back in the air, the dragon drone soared silently over the desert until they reached a river shimmering under moonlight—yes, a river in the middle of the desert. Riya explained, “Long ago, this river flowed beneath the desert. Our ancestors brought it to the surface. It’s the only desert in the world with six days of daylight and one night.”

They landed near artificial palms. Beneath a canopy of stars, they lay on the soft golden dust. For the first time, they slept.

The Future Awaits

Years passed.

Nikola, now a young scientist, sat at a desk in a sterile laboratory. The sky still wept outside the window, and a yellow line still split the world. But everything had changed. He tapped formulas into his computer when a notification blinked:

“Riya Ship has landed on Second Earth.”

He turned toward the sky, eyes shimmering with golden-blue light.

“We found her,” he whispered. “We found the Second Earth.”

Moral of the Story:

True discovery is born from curiosity and courage. While technology can help us reach the stars, it is wisdom, heart, and remembrance of the past that guide us home.