Welcome to my seemingly endless journey.
A trip that will take you to places I might have visited many moons ago.
It´s a tale that came back to me when I meditated on one of my past lives. A life I told you about in my unbelievable true story.
As promised in that story I will now share this story with you.
Chapter 19
My muscles quiver with fatigue as I ascend the rocks to a plateau several feet above. This seems like a pretty safe place. Most animals wouldn't be able to make the climb, most people would make too much noise. Especially on a night lit only by stars.
When I reach the plateau that looks smaller from the ground up, the sun is just disappearing behind the mountains. This dims the light enough that I throw off my bags and descend again to gather enough wood to keep a small fire burning overnight.
The night arrives soon after the sun disappears. In the dark, I build the fire, the stars remain hidden behind the clouds. This makes me see only that which is illuminated by the fire and the rest of the world becomes a very dark place, a place that I do not know and can see.
After taking the nuts mixed with some seeds and fruits, I really want thè something that I did not bring because it would require bringing a pot to cook water. It is difficult for me to fix my thoughts on other things. Because the rising cold and the loneliness of the night make me long for a warm bowl of that herbal mixture.
Thè, the daily recurring ritual is therefore bluntly broken here. From childhood, this is a daily habit, until now. Here so far away from what I call home, I have to leave this old custom behind. That is difficult for me, and to keep the ritual somewhat honorable, I heat my stone bowl with water on some smoldering coals. After letting the mug cool down for a few minutes, I take it between my hands and am able to warm myself slightly to the idea that I am drinking the blend.
The day has demanded a lot of me and weariness has long since taken possession of me, yet I cannot fall asleep properly. I keep twisting and turning under the animal skin, I cannot find the sleep I so need. Nocturnal noises and fragments of thoughts awaken me again and again from the soft arms of sleep.
My arms are wrapped around something and I feel myself trying to cling on. When I look closer, I see a red scaly something, I tilt my head back to see above me. The dragon's big yellow eyes look straight at me, my arms, like my legs, are entwined around his neck. Its head is turned toward me for a few seconds and then looks ahead again.
The wind rushes past me at great speed. It feels like it is pulling and pushing me from all sides. A sharp turn makes me see the ground, it has never been that far away. We fly high above the world at incredible speed. Down there is my village or a village that looks a lot like it. Even the valley is present. I recognize the twists and turns in the river and as we fly on, I also know what is to come. Although I have never seen it this way.
We fly south, taking almost the same route I took when I left my village. When was that, I can't remember. But it couldn't have been long ago. The dragon veers violently to the east, then swoops over a tree in the middle of the river, the tree thrusting its branches at me as if to tear me off the dragon's neck. I press myself as flat as possible against the scaly neck of this immense beast. But to no avail, the branches of the tree easily reach far enough to hit me.
Instead of tearing me from the beast's neck, they just gently stroke my skin. A warm, friendly feeling emanates from this gesture, which had just frightened me so much before. We rise again, higher and higher. The higher we get, the colder it gets. Then I force myself to look down, my stomach twists, and my head spins as I see how high we're flying.
At that moment, I see a very small figure far below me. It's a black shadow. I can't make much more of it, except that he is walking in exactly the same direction as we are flying. Even with the extreme strain of my eyes, I fail to see who is below us. As if the dragon hears me think, he makes a huge nosedive, the wind rushes through my hair, and I have to squint to see anything.
We fly just above the shadow, suddenly I recognize him, but then the dragon point appears in front of us.
It is impossible for the beast to get around the protruding rock point because of the speed it has. We are only a couple of arm's lengths away from it and heading straight towards it.
I press myself as close to the animal's neck as possible, hoping the dragon will protect me somewhat from the impact.
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