Love and Dragon

Every day I dream, every day I see myself high up in the skies.

I see the world all of it, I see how beautiful the world is. I feel closer to the sun, I feel closer to everything, and I am in bliss.

What if I told you my dreams are real, it is not a thought in my head where I go to hide but a place in the future which I have already been

No matter what I say, you won't believe me, no one will, I do believe me, I do believe the air brushing my skin, these white scales that tear through the wind, this saddle that holds me steady I do believe it is not a dream.

Because this is my world now, this is where I live, this is the only place I am happy.

this is my truth. this is my peace.

But not for long, my eyes slowly open to see my aunt's face her expression blank, and her white hair falling over her face, there is no smile, no frown, nothing. just as she had been ever since I was a child.

The only time she had talked for long was when she told me my father's name and my mother's name.

She never told me anything about them I never asked as I could see her eyes each time she called their names. And I mean the only time she called their names.

I could see the hurt in her eyes and the pain reborn as her thoughts wandered.

My aunt had taken care of me ever since I was a baby, I was hoping to take care of her now.

Find a good boy and fall in love and get married, she would be peaceful knowing she had raised me right, and maybe if the family grew bigger she will fall in love with life again, but all these plans had fallen with me on a faithful afternoon, I and Lily had gone to tend to our sheep's together.

Until one of my lambs got stuck on the side steep of a steep hill, it was normal for me, it was an easy thing to do as I had done it countless times and succeeded but this time my luck had run out and I was bare and feeling the air rush past me as my weight pulled me downwards, I could see my end, I could feel my heart race as the rocks below looked me in the eye, just for a moment I wished she had told me, I wished I had met them even though it was once before whatever happened to them.

I was lucky something caught my cloth for a split second and then it let me go again, I thought I was saved, I thought the rocks would not get to touch me but I was wrong, I hear a thud, it is my body hitting the ground, I don't hear any bones break, the only thing I hear is Lily shouting if I am okay.

My eyes close and I wake up in my aunt's room, I don't know how I got here, but I am here anyway.

I can't tell for how many nights or days I have been asleep before I woke up before I became this before everyone began to call me 'Fay the cripple who lives with her mad aunt' I wished they would forget about me or my aunt but for some reason, we became the only two names in the town and my aunt never seemed to one day rebuke anyone for their words.

I can hear the rumor from my window I can hear them chirper like birds hitting on wood.

Aunt Anna puts the towel away and brings breakfast closer to me.

The funny thing here is I can only use my eyes and ears, the rest of my body seemed not to know me anymore.

My feet are numb, and my hands don't move either, Aunt Anna places her hand one under my neck and the other supporting my body as she heaves me into a seating position.

I can hear her breath like she just finished racing against a horse, she puts me on her chest and began to feed me. I don't grumble.

I eat and smile, I don't want her to feel bad, she has been through a lot and she is still going through something worse.

I try to be brave because she is brave I try to be like her, I eat eagerly hoping it would end quickly and she would be set at ease.

I feel tears dropping, but I don't hear her sob, I don't see her face.

I feel my heart squeeze, and I understand the tears, they are not because I am a burden, I understand why they fall in silence, she feels like she will lose me too.

I wait until she adjusts my back on the bed before I kiss her cheek.

That is the only gesture I could offer, my hands could not wipe her tears so I let my dry lips graze her cheek.

She smiles and her face brightens, my heart skips and begins to pound faster.

For the first time in my life, my aunt smiled at me.

Will you teach me how to do that?

I asked her.

What?

To smile like you.

Her sobbing increased for some reason maybe I had said the wrong thing, I was only trying to make her smile more, I wanted her beautiful dimple to show itself often, and I wanted to see her eyes light up as they just did.

I am sorry I apologized, I did not mean to make you feel bad I tell her, I just loved the way you smiled, I could feel my heart glow.

Stop it she said and walked out of the house I have never seen her this way before and she had reacted to me more than I had hoped for.

I was anxious about where she was going and what she would do.

If I had legs right now I would run after her to make sure she was okay.

But now I am just stuck here, like a bag of hay.