A lifeless realm

A dragon finds an abandoned toddler in the forest while it was soaring in the sky. Sight of a toddler is very unusual. The dragon starts descending to the ground to observe the situation more closely.

Just while it was descending the dragon that was once so large,it could have blocked the whole sun is just a size of a hummingbird now.

“It is a magical dragon”

It approaches the toddler very cautiously so as not to scare the toddler but to its surprise the toddler was very calm and welcoming of the “little creature “

The dragon surveys and plays with the toddler. The toddler laughs an uproarious and innocent laugh every time the dragon spits little fire to burn the dry leaves and twigs

Performing little tricks and entertaining the toddler.

Not just “ magical “but also a “good” dragon.

The laughter and the celebration brings life to dead and otherwise silent forest.

Suddenly the dragon stopped . Something had caught its attention.

It was “the scar” on the left hand of the toddler. The scar that was shaped like a

“ Dragon Wing”

Time froze and as if everything ceased to exist.

Tears of joy rolled down the dragon’s eyes. Every drop that fell upon the soil brought to life a beautiful rose.

After years and years of searching,the existence had finally delivered the human worthy of riding the dragon. A human that would free the dragon.

Its joy knew no limit. The tears were now a bed of roses. The toddler plucks one and tries to give it to the dragon.

The dragon bowed down in gratitude and respect for the worthy one.

Little human has no idea the journey it has been chosen for.

The dragon looks up at the sky. Spreads its wings and swirls three times right and three times left.

And something “ phenomenal something “out worldly” starts to happen.

The wind gets furious and heavy as it brushes through the thick branches of the trees.

The forest that once stood tall and strong, buffed with pride was almost brought to its knees. The branches breaking, its pride shaking.

The land underneath them began to tear apart creating a door “a portal” to another world.

“ world of different possibilities “

Toddler and the dragon sucked right into it.

The portal closes leaving the forest unharmed but in “ awe”

Now a deeper silence filled the forest. The phenomenon seems like a dream only to which the forest is the witness

“ a silent witness now”

******

Oh! He sure is worthy. The scar is just the one. Says someone.

He is our warrior. “The worthy”adds another

“Worthy warrior” “Worthy warrior” “worthy warrior”. The crowd filled with hope, chanted these words enthusiastically.

The toddler is awakened by the noise and starts crying

A girl picks him up and tries to comfort the toddler.

Stop crying! Shouts someone from the crowd. We have cried enough. We have suffered enough. Our saviour cannot cry.

Shut up your pig mouth! Shouted someone at the man. He is just a toddler right now. He indeed is the chosen but has to be shaped into a warrior.

The toddler is only worthy not a warrior yet.

Lets not call him a “toddler” he deserves a name.

Yes! The worthy deserves a name. The crowd added.

Lets call him “yodha”. The girl comforting the toddler suggested.

Perfect and strong is his name.

“Tell him about our sufferings

Tell him about our battles

Tell him about our journey

How we ended down here

How we gonna get outta here”

How the dragon became the dragon

How he is gonna free the dragon”

Maybe that will calm him

Maybe that will centre him

So the girl began.

As innocent and open as an empty sky she was that day

Just singing and dancing alone and along with the woods

It was just a simple celebration

She called to the sky and hugged a tree

Not knowing it might be the last day she will ever be free”

Her celebration becomes her destruction

She still awaits resurrection’

Three times she swirled to the right and three times to the left

While looking up at the sky

The land beneath her tore apart and sucked her right in

She didn’t even get to say goodbye

Here the sky is purple, the grass is red

The air hypnotic

Was it real? The place felt like a dream

She let out a scream!

Maybe it was a nightmare

But was it?

Keep moving shouted an ugly tall creature with a deadly stare,

Her arms and legs chained

Her celebration drained

Into fear and confusion

Her mind raced with countless thoughts

Her heart pounded with intense fear

Maybe the end was near

But brave she was then and brave she is now

You must “bow” when you see

The “wicked” “ our “king”

The creature gave her a push

And led her into the palace

The kings appearance “ hideous “

His sight “unsightly “

His eyes as red as blood

“ bloody eyes”

As empty as the night sky

But no hope for stars to reflect their shine in them

If you looked at them you would know your greatest fear

So black the night would appear grey in comparison

How did you find yourself in this darkness?

Vibrations from king’s heavy voice tickled Sofia’s skin

Please let me go! She cried

I will never dance,Never celebrate

I will never wonder in the forest

I just wanna go home. She exclaimed

It is all a big mistake .

There are no mistakes only different possibilities and you are a far way from home.

The king moved around as he spoke. His creatures bowed down, none dared to look him in the eyes

So once again. How did you find yourself in this darkness.

Please, please let me go!. Crying

Oh! Quit your whining and answer me. He roared and the black walls shivered.

I don’t know. I was dancing, simply swirling.

The next thing i know i am chained and brought here.please let me go.

What are the odds?.What are the odds?said the king

Did you swirl three times to the right and three times to the left with your arms stretched open to the sky.asked the king

Yes i think so I don’t clearly remember but i often do that. She exclaimed

How do you know this? She asked the king

The king howled with laughter. Wicked and a cunning laughter.

I ended down here the same way you did. Decades ago i was rejoicing and dancing.

I don’t remember the reason but i was happy. I swirled.

And the next moment here i was chained like you. Brought to the then king just like you.

Unfortunately,the simple swirling is the secret to open the door to this dark world. “Down here there is no time so no healing”

Laughs cunningly

Oh human! It is not a mistake it is a destiny. You are the chosen.

Chosen for what? She asked

These were my exact words to the king that day.

“ chosen to serve me, to kill for me , to die for me, to slay for evil. To enter the darkness and let it enter you. To stay awake in this dreamy place each moment.

There is no sleep here. That will be your agony. To embrace all this is your destiny.

No! No! No! This is all a dream this is all a dream. Wake up wake up. Sofia kept on repeating to herself

Oh! This place is dreamy but very real. It is a dreamy reality.

Will you serve me ? the king asked

No! Sofia said crying and trembling

The king got furious. No one had ever dared to utter that word. “No” was not an option. He envied the little girls courage to say no.

It reminded him of his cowardice when he was asked by the then king to serve and he fearfully had said yes,

Oh you are a brave little girl. Aren’t you?

Will you serve me? This time he grew bigger in size trying to look more scary. His shadow rested over the whole palace, eyes grew bloodier.

The girl although scared had little courage.

No she yelled i will never serve a monster like you. kill me if you want to.

I will never serve evil.

This shook the king. He felt so little despite his size.

You do not say “no”. You do not disrespect me, you do not test king lucara. You shall suffer the consequences for your simple yet courageous “no”.

You shall transform into a dragon and be locked up in the cage for eternity. With no hope for freedom. You must rot and stay awake and be the witness to your action that will cause a haunting reaction of a simple “no”.

If you so desire freedom out of respect for your courage i set a condition.Only a human worthy shall ride on your back and defeat me my darkness my army. Only a human that has a scar shaped like a dragon wing will be worthy of a war against evil. And if you win you shall transform back into your human form and the doors shall again open for you. And lead you where you came from

The king points his finger at sofia and she is struck by lightning and it happens.

She is slowly and very painfully transforming into a dragon.

She cries and cries in pain begging for her life. Please don’t do this please stop please. Make it stop.

But now nothing can be done. She shall wait for the worthy one to rescue her from this form and this world.

You shall be sent back to your world to look for your worthy one and look no further than the forest you were celebrating in. You shall only get three opportunities.

Courageous you are but are you lucky? Laughs in an evil way

What will be the odds of you finding the worthy human?

You shall receive your powers to fight against me only on the sight of the worthy one.

Take away this ugly dragon and lock her up. The king orders his creatures

“ Her celebration became her destruction

She still awaits resurrection “

Decades passed as she waited and searched patiently for you “ yodha”

And finally existence have delivered you to her. Save her, free her

Yodha was now very calm and very still.

For a few moments he did not even blink.

He looked at the dragon from the balcony of the king’s palace.

The dragon “Sofia” is chained and caged. Her body that was weak from years of suffering and pain had magically healed. Maybe it was because she is looking at the worthy one right now filled with hope that her suffering will end that resurrection and freedom may come soon

OR

THE MAGIC POWER IS HEALING HER. the powers she attained after she met the worthy one.

They both looked at each other and there was great silence. A silence that made the two one.

He understands and feels our pain. Said the girl holding Yodha

****

The dragon must wait for yodha to grow up until he is fit enough and has the skills to ride a dragon.

Many years had passed by, the dragon waited patiently for the boy to grow up. The king has seen to it that the boy has the right training and the magical powers to fight in a war against evil, war against darkness.

Even though it was the king that cursed Sofia in the first place. As per rules for a battle the king had to provide training for “ yodha “ to get him ready for the war. Rules were implemented by powers from the beyond

“ There is always something above and beyond “

After many years the dragon and the boy meet after their first encounter in the forest.

The dragon is unchained and the cage is opened. The boy slowly walks up to the dragon. The dragon lowers itself so that yodha could touch it.

Tears of bliss went rolling down both their eyes. They were one. A rose came to life where the tears dropped.

Nothing ever grew on barren land of this dark world. Death is the only guest here.

The king was surprised to see such a phenomenon. “ life throbbing roses”

He tried to create a rose with magic but could not produce any results.For the first time he felt weak’ powerless

Enough with this drama. King shouted

The war shall commence at the darkest hour on a full moon light.

Not only you Sofia but i too have waited for this moment just as much as you. I can’t wait to kill this yodha and have you chained and put you in a cage again.

The empty sky is the witness no one has ever defeated me. I cannot wait to distinguish that flame of hope in your eyes and there shall be no worthy one again. This is your only chance.

Laughs and then leaves yodha and dragon to themselves.

********

It is the full moonlight. It is the night that was long awaited. The moon would bare witness to the battle and see to it that it is fought fairly.

Yodha and the dragon standing in the battlefield surrounded by the crowd.

A girl approached Yodha and said I held you in my arms when you were just a toddler. I am the one who named you Yodha. I have lifted you every time you saw no hope no strength to go on this journey.

You have to win for Sofia. You have to win no matter what.

I know you people. You have always been there for me and Sofia. Said Yodha

But I don’t know your story. How did you guys end down here. If i win this battle will you people also attain freedom from this place. Yodha asked

The crowd laughs.

We were and will always be free. We did not end down here. We came down of our own free will. We are Sofia’s ancestors. We are free spirits. We have access to all realms of above and beyond, of darkness and light.

We came the day Sofia called out to us for help. We have been here ever since patiently waiting for you to arrive and then waiting for this day when you fight the evil.

You must win this battle at all costs.

Our blessing and prayers are with you. Saying this the girl and the crowd begin to disappear into thin air just as a drop disappears into an ocean

********

The moon, the clouds, the trees

Sofia and Yodha

Bathing in stillness

Hearts skip the beat every now and then

There is fear and confidence. Doubt and belief

Eyes represent duality.

Eyes desire transcendence

The silence fills the air with suspense

What will be the outcome of this battle?

Questions go unanswered. Only the moment can tell

The blood river besides them screams

“ please no more bloodshed”

Yodha and Sofia look at each other

There is reassurance from both

‘We will get through this’

The moments are intense while they wait for king Lucara’s arrival

The silence is broken

The stillness is scattered

As the king arrives on his dragon

He calls it ‘keecha’

Keecha is just like his king

Eyes just as bloody and empty

Just as black as the king

But is twice the size of Sofia

One could say‘keecha and the king ‘

Are offsprings of the darkness

Birthed and nurtured by darkness

In the deepest black hole where

‘ Death is the nourishment of Evil’

This war shall not be fought for long

I will crush the skull of this so called ‘yodha’

Look at me! Look at keecha!

You must be delusional if you think you can win against our strengths our size

Says the king

Yodha walks up to the king, looks him in the eye and says

‘ you are twice as tall as me’

Twice as powerful and vicious’

But if I am the chosen one

Then it must be you that is delusional

For the first time in millenniums

The king’s empty eyes hosted a guest

Was it doubt or Was it fear?

It was something for sure

The king can feel and if he can feel he sure is vulnerable.

Sofia roars from behind applauding yodha’s courage and confidence

The king moves away from yodha and suddenly strikes him with lightning

Taste my delusion’ you imbecile

The king yells

Yodha goes flying in the air.

the battle has begun

Much is lost and little is gained

Hope slips and the strength is drained

Both sides are wounded, bodies are stained

With blood

The moon, The Sky, The Trees

Existence is the witness to this battle

Where good fights the bad

Dust settles down and it seems like the ending is ‘sad’

Yodha and Sofia are in a poor state

Much dead, little alive

The king walks up to them and says

So delusional is I ? And worthy is you?

Laughs wickedly

I am not lying half-dead on the ground

Seems like delusional were you and worthy Is “I” forever.

As for Sofia you let her down. She waited decades for you . Endured so much pain and suffering

Waiting for the worthy.

Worthy ha ha ha Laughs

The worthy is going to die now and Sofia will be caged, this battle was her only chance.

For freedom from this place.

Should I kill you or put you in a cage right next to her.

My devil! What a sight it would be to behold.

After a brief silence, much to Yodha’s and Sofia’s surprise

The king suddenly pulls out a knife and stabs him self

As life drained out of the kings body he says in a light and weak voice.

I too was cursed just like you Sofia by my king. My curse was to rot in this dark realm waiting for the worthy to challenge a monster like me. That day you said ‘no’ to serve me and evil, you challenged the ways of this realm. You showed strength ,you showed courage through a simple “no”

As per the curse I was obligated to turn you into a dragon when you said no.

It was just the beginning. I had to wait for you to find the worthy. So that you could defeat me in this battle with help of the worthy. You would then be free and I would be dead and free from this lifeless life forever.You would transform back into a girl and I would be gone forever

But unfortunately my darkness proved of much greater strength than your light

But this is not the end.There was one condition.

I could take away my life if I felt life throbbing in me . if my empty and bloody eyes showed any signs of life .

And it did show sign of life when I witnessed the most magical phenomenon that I ever witnessed

When tears of your joy brought to life beautiful red roses.

That day I was filled with hope my eyes were filled with hope.

Nothing ever grew in this lifeless world

It was a miracle

For the first time I was full of hope. My eyes sparkled.

I rejoiced just like I had once in the forest above decades ago.

I feel like I have fulfilled my destiny. Tears rolled down king lucara’s eyes as the last life bled out of him.

Now you must rejoice and celebrate again. Today is the day of your resurrection

And suddenly Sofia begins to transform back into a beautiful girl she once was.

The sky above tears apart opening a portal to Earth. Sofia and Yodha are pulled upwards by some magnetic pull

They look down to find a bed of roses growing through king’s body

THE END