Dragon Star

“A sphere,

of amber flames trimmed in gold, a stare as bright as the sun pierced my soul and burned the sight forever from eyes. It was the last thing I would see. Before I ever got to see the world I had already seen it’s end. That day would forever be etched in my mind. My last day amongst the world of men.”

The blind man stood on the edge of the cliff facing an open and clear sky as he continued to tell his story. An old woman sat on a rock behind him gripped with fear as she scanned the cavern for an escape but she dare not move for to the right side of the young man crouched in the shadows was a huge black dragon. The old woman had never seen the dragon before but heard many tales of him. One tale in particular has haunted her dreams for over four decades. The tale that ignited the initial feud between her village and this here very dragon they call Giza Moto, the dark fire.

“Is it because we hunt your dragon that you have captured me, she nervously asked? Do you wish to use me as ransom to stop the hunting? If so, it will serve you no purpose. An old woman like me would be of no great loss to my village. Or do you plan to kill me and feed me to your dragon? Why do you even ride with such a malicious beast?”

“Please do not be afraid”, he interrupted. I did not bring you here to harm you. I just want to share a story with you.”

“A story? With me,” she responded in confusion?

She was utterly confused but realized from the blind man’s demeanor that she wasn’t in any imminent danger and began to relax. As much as one could in the presence of a fire breathing dragon. She never let her eyes off the dragon however, who lay resting at the man’s feet. His heavy breathing sounded like coal burning in a furnace, his black and shiny scales with the appearance of armor made of onyx stone. His sleek and chiseled face carried the heir of an ancient and majestic creature that once ruled the earth with a wisdom no longer known nor searched for. He was truly a beautiful yet fearful sight to behold.

The blind man continued.

“It was a very long time ago. I do not count the years so I can not tell you precisely when but long ago it was. I was only a small child. I couldn’t have been no more than three years old for my speaking was still not clearly formed. Practically a baby the day I lost my sight. It was by staring into the eyes of this very dragon. I remember walking through the forest with a group of men, one I was very close to. I often think of him as my father. In hindsight it seems they were hunting some animal. Then there was arguing and fighting amongst the men and one of the men hid me in a patch of small bushes. When I emerged from the bushes the forest was eerily quiet and all the men were gone. I remember crying and wondering for what felt like forever. I eventually came to the foot of a mountain where there was a low opening to a cave. It was dark as night inside yet I was compelled to go in but I heard footsteps and talk coming from behind me. The voices of many men. A sense of calm returned to me because I thought it was the men that had accompanied me. But as I turned towards them they had a very different look and wore different garments about their bodies. Why, I don’t know but a sudden fear came over me as a the men approached and I turned away from them and walked towards the cave… and that’s when he emerged. There I stood alone in this forest facing this large and amazing creature creeping from the darkness. He let out a flame of fire that seemed to burn everything in sight. Except me. As the flames grew the light in his eyes became brighter and brighter and the vision in mine grew dimmer and dimmer. I remember the screams of the men behind me. The dragon then lifted me on her wing and flew me back to this cave where we have presided ever since.

The old woman sat confused as to why he was telling all this to her, a stranger, yet she continued to sit in silence, her eyes glancing back and forth between the man and the dragon. The blind man turned to the old woman seated on the stone and walked towards her. He walked slowly circling the stone and then paused in front of the woman.

He went on with his story.

“I don’t remember much about my life before that day but there is one thing I remember that seems to stretch back to the beginning of my existence perhaps. A scent. A smell I have never smelled again since my days as a young boy.”

He paused and then took in a long deep breath.

“…but as I walked through the forest today there it was lingering in the midday air. So I followed it and it led me straight to you.” I have a faint and distant memory of a woman with long black bushy hair holding me in her arms. I felt an immense love from this woman. She had the scent I smell on you today”.

Perplexed, was the old woman. So many thoughts ran through her mind.

“Could this be, she whispered”?

The very thought of it brought back a pain long ago buried but never forgotten. Then she remembered the birthmark.

“May I see your right shoulder? I remember a boy from many many years ago. He had a small birthmark on his right shoulder that resembled a star. May I look?”

The blind man slid his cloak off his arm and bared his skin. The old woman rose to her feet to get a better look putting her hand on the blind man’s shoulder. As she touched him the dragon rose to his feet and watched cautiously as the woman examined him.

“The star, she cried! You bare the mark of the star”.

She then looked down at her own arm where she bore the same birthmark on her left forearm. Tears began to stream down the old woman’s face as she moved closer to the young man where she gripped him in her arms in a tight embrace.

“You have shared with me your story, now let me share with you an old story of mine,… my son”.