To Dream of Dragons

I dance in the flowers, the soft petals tickling my feet. The moon casts a soft glow over the meadow I stand in, my auburn hair falling gently over my bare shoulders. I twirl, my knee- length dress spinning around me. A momentary flicker of the moonlight made me freeze.

Steady thumps sound behind me, and my heart beats faster as I turn to see the oncoming beast. A dragon. It blows steam from its nose, the warm air washing over my skin. My heart thuds in my ears, and my own breath catches in my throat. I stand before something far bigger than I, yet i feel no fear, only excitement.

I tentatively reach out my hand, drawing away as it shifts. Its blood red scales glint in the moonlight, and I slowly reach out again. Another puff of steam rushes over me as I gently lay my hand against its snout.

Its wings spread out on either side of it, nearly blocking out the fragile light of the moon above. With a gentle whoosh, its tail swishes back and forth.

I gently run my hand over its smooth scales, hoping to quell its uneasiness. Part of this seemed..normal. Like I’ve done it before. Instinct kicks in, and I run my hands over its neck, feeling his heartbeat thrumming beneath my fingertips.

Him...yes. It was a boy, and its name was... Aryun. I stare for a moment longer, mesmerized by Aryun’s beauty. I wrap one hand around the spike on his back, and I pull myself up to sit on his giant neck, surprised to find a saddle already strapped to his back.

I let out a startled gasp as I am suddenly lifted into the air on his back. He opens his mouth, a loud roar booming through the air. I feel his body rumbling underneath me as he roars again, nearly blocking out the sound of his massive wing beats.

The wind whips past me, sending goosebumps prickling across my skin and adrenaline coursing through my veins. I watch as the world below me darts by, and am filled with a sense of freedom. Like all my worries, past, present, or future, have simply melted away.

The world around me shifts, and suddenly I’m falling. Before I have the chance to scream, I land on something soft, something that tickles my skin. I struggle to stand, the substance moving under me as I try to stand up. I realize it’s some kind of bed, and pull my way out of it. A giant bed made of moss.

I let out a gasp as I realize where I am. Dragons of all shapes, sizes, and colours soared above me, hundreds more positioned somewhere around me. Some lazily lay in other beds of moss, some basking in the mid-day sun, smaller dragons carrying fruits in their mouths. This must be... A dragon paradise!

The sight is beyond words, I’m speechless. This is the most wonderful place I’d ever been to! At least.. Far better than the life of anguish I have back home..

Home... Where is that? Where am I? The beautiful image before me begins to tear, and my eyes widen. No! I cry out, tears budding in my eyes as I plead for it to stop.

Slowly, my eyes blink open. I am home, laying in my bed. I sigh, wiping the tears from my eyes and sitting up. The dream began to fade from my memory, but the pain stayed. A simple dream. Temporary relief from from my pain, but now it has only added to my suffering, for I know that my life will never be full of wonder as the dream had been.

A glimmer of blood red scales from out my window made my heart skip a beat.

Maybe it was not a dream after all..