In a quiet little village town there lived an elderly lady, her shoulder length hair aged with time. Sitting alone outside she watched as the world went by, pouring herself a cup of tea that she had prepared earlier in the day. She looked to the sky and she reminisced on times that had once passed. A time where she once shared this space with a man she once called her husband.
She took in the sights around her, the mild temperature of the spring air, the greenery of the leaves on the trees that gently danced within the breeze. The warmth of the sun that gently kissed her skin, the ocean blue sky that reminded her of his eyes. The sounds of birds singing, bees landing to and from various plants, their colours majestic and beautiful. She would come here every day without fail.
She remembered this was where they shared their first kiss, and the words he used to describe the area around him. “If heaven had a place on earth it would be right here with you” she remembered these words fondly every day. She recalls the look of affection upon the man’s face, his hair silver like finely polished jewelry, eyes as blue as the most tropical of oceans. This memory brings a smile to the woman’s face as she closes her eyes in relaxation.
She took a sip of her tea, and as she did she glanced up and noticed a commotion that was beginning to erupt within the forest in front of her. Silhouettes lit by the beauty of the sunlight, looked to be holding thick logs, waving wildly in the air towards another silhouette of a pinata swaying between the trees. She heard loud shouting from the festivities that echoed throughout the forest, as she listened the commotion became louder and more audible. Laughter could be heard, which filled her heart with joy. “You almost got it!” she heard as the pinata continued to sway violently within the breeze.
As one of the silhouettes managed to finally land a blow onto the pinata, a loud animalistic cry vibrated through the forest, rocking the very essence of her soul. What was once floating between the trees dropped to the floor and all the silhouettes began to converge on the pinata. Still being pummeled by the ones holding sticks while others seemed to be kicking and punching towards the floor.
Whimpers and loud cries continued to shake the very forest itself. She immediately leapt up, leaving her belongings and ran towards the forest. As she entered the forest a single man rushed past without stopping and called back to her “Don’t go in there! It’s dangerous!” as he ran towards the village. She ignored the man and continued to hastily move her way into the forest.
As she reached closer and closer she could now see 4 men, 2 with thick wooden sticks the length of a standard sword but thick like a normal man’s arm, continued to beat down towards the thing now laying on the ground. The other two kicked and punched towards the ground. In her horror she realised this was not festivities at all. Instead laying before her laid a baby dragon whose size was alike to that of a wolf.
The scales, a majestic and enchanting blue, tarnished with smatterings of blood, the wings warped from the aggressive beatings it took from the men. The look of horror on her face as she saw this poor creature turned to that of sadness and anger. “What are you doing?!” she yelled out as she forced her way between the men and the defenseless creature lying motionless on the forest floor.
“This thing will grow! And our cattle numbers diminish!” one of the men replied. “It’s a freak of nature!” another man replied. “It doesn’t deserve life, It’s only here to ruin ours!” the first man shouted.
The woman with tears now flowing down her cheek replied back. “Think of this as your own child. Sure your child will grow, and will require more from you as they mature, but do you then also condone your own child as a freak of nature? Do you see your child as a hindrance to your own life?!” she replied back as she looked towards the dragon, who still laid motionless.
At this moment the dragon made eye contact with the lady with a look on his face that seemed to convey “thank you” towards her. She nurtured the dragon gently caressing his face and whispered towards it. “You’re going to be ok, they will not hurt you anymore.” The men stood by, conflicted in what they saw in front of them. One of the men dropped his stick, and gave a look of guilt and regret. Slowly the men seemed to stand down one by one, sharing the same look of guilt, while one even let out a single tear as he thought of his own little boy.
The fourth man who seemed to be very quiet during all of this pulled from his waist a dagger. “You’re all fools if you believe this creature to be innocent. If you do not have the stomach to do what is necessary then I will!” he yelled at them as he aggressively stormed his way towards the lady and the dragon.
The wind within the forest picked up. A loud thunderous scream vibrated the ground, twigs and forest debris shook, as through the tree canopy a large blue dragon elegantly floated down behind the elderly lady and the dragon. The man dropped his dagger in fear and stood there shaking as the dragon once again let out a scream, the wind from the dragon’s pain filled scream rushed past the old lady’s shoulder length hair, blowing it calmly across her face.
The men stood there, shaking with fear, they knelt before the dragon’s presence. From the direction in which the lady came, shouting can be heard. “It’s this way quickly!” a man’s voice boomed. The lady picked up the baby dragon in her arms and turned away from the men. Making eye contact with the much larger dragon who she saw clearly for the first time. This was clearly the baby dragon’s mother, her expression was of anger and worry. The colour of her scales matched that of her baby, an elegant sapphire blue that shimmered like the sun reflecting off of the ocean seas.
Her bright purple eyes shared the same sadness that could be seen in the woman’s eyes. The dragon’s nostrils flared and she motioned to the woman as if to say “climb upon my back” without hesitation the old lady, with the baby dragon in her arms she climbed upon the mothers back and was lifted in the air ever so gently. Multiple guards from the village arrived to watch the mother take flight.
Without hesitation the guards readied their bows as the mother flew away with the old lady and baby aboard her back. From up here in the sky, the world seemed ever so more beautiful, the canopy of the trees, the grassy area where she once sat, the village she came from, all seemed so small. The old lady felt a feeling of freedom and grace as the dragon continued to ascend into the sky.
As she took in the view she watched as a single arrow flew past, then another. She looked back and watched as a volley of arrows now proceeded to chase after them, she turned her back on them and guarded the baby dragon with her body.
The dragon flew faster and took the old lady back towards her nesting grounds within a cave alongside the top of a mountain. The dragon landed gracefully in the cave which was filled with many glistening treasures from around the world, gold as far as the eye could see. Jewelry, coins, chalices, gems, diamonds. A single purse filled with these treasures would be enough to allow even the youngest person to live a comfortable life without the burden of labour.
The woman got down from the dragon and placed the baby on the ground, which seemed to magically regain its strength and vigor within this cave. His wings now healthy and strong, no longer warped from the brutality of man. He galloped playfully around his mother, who looked towards the mother and spoke for the first time to the lady.
“You have shown my son kindness when there was none, you saved my boy and I am forever in your debt, these treasures alone are not enough to repay you for your courage and bravery you’ve shown today” The voice came softly spoken, calm. The baby dragon seemed to almost dance around the old lady and stopped behind her as she fell to her knees before the dragon. “You do not need to show me respect, for it is I who should bow before you” she told the lady.
The babys face dropped from an excitable happiness, to one of sorrow. As tear drops from the baby began to fall from his face, he looked upon the lady and protruding unwelcomely from her back sat a long arrow.
The mother noticed the sadness from the baby and followed his gaze and too noticed the arrow. Her thankfulness dropped and she became enraged. “I will enact your revenge on the village! You did not deserve this” she screamed in anger.
The old lady responded “My treasure was taken from me when he stood up for what was right, he protected someone in their time of need and paid heavily for it. Life is precious, even when those have wronged you. It is still worthy of protection.” The mother replied “But they have done an injustice to you, they must be brought to justice.”
The old lady looked into the dragon’s eyes. “Forgiveness is an act of kindness, one this world so desperately needs. I learned to forgive the person who took my husband from me, and from that forgiveness a man was born anew and went on to do many great things.” The lady coughed, the cold chill of death edging it’s way ever closer. “If we all respond to the people who have wronged us with revenge the world will burn and turn to chaos, and that is not a world I would want to leave behind.” with that the old lady drew her final breath and everything was dark.
A moment passes and she opens her eyes again. She was sat on the grass, looking towards the green canopy of the trees whose leaves danced that familiar dance as a gentle and welcoming spring breeze blew softly against her skin. Arms wrapped around her from behind
in a loving embrace. “Welcome home, my love.” she recognised this voice as her husband, she smiled and leaned back into his arms.