Mimer

There weren’t always Dragons in The Valley. There wasn’t always such an empty pit in my stomach either. Which one is more tragic is up for debate, perhaps.

Probably not for some people.

Personally, I believe that Dragons are wildly misunderstood; not as much of a problem as they are framed to be. Sure, they are bigger than us, badder than us, can breathe fire at us, can tail whip us up to the moon and stomp us to become one with the dust, but they are not inherently cruel like us. A year ago, when they first came, I thought different. They were more of a mystery then, and the box didn’t make them out to be as pretty as their golden, maroon, emerald or violet scales looked to the eye.

“Breaking News: Multiple Dragons have been sighted overlooking the valley. Anyone seen driving or walking The Valley’s path should be reported to the authorities, as this area is now in lockdown. Make no mistake, Dragons are very dangerous and they will kill you on sight with absolutely no remorse…”

The news report went something like that. Since then we have tried to kill them, of course. Because that’s what humans do to creatures, including each other, when we feel like we aren’t in control. Aren’t top of the food chain, so to speak. So to attempt to regain control, peace of mind, and a popular import route to the Capital, the military fired projectiles of all kinds at the Dragons. Now, it’s not been documented for the public eye, how all this was going, but it’s pretty clear to everyone that no progress has been made. The Valley remains off limits a year later. I had been down there a few times when the attacks were in session, and saw with my own eyes that the bullets and the explosives did nothing. Multiple rockets just exploded before even reaching their scales. Some impenetrable force field was protecting them. From what I’ve heard, and seen, there had only been a few casualties; when I saw one of the military guys launch a rocket straight into the cliff face, exploding himself and a bunch of other people around him. Dragons haven’t done shit. I haven’t heard them make sound from their mouths, let alone fire with an intent to kill. They literally just sit there on top of the cliffs looking majestic as fuck. Thirty foot tall gems of nature. I’ve seen a few come and go, to and from The Valley, soaring high above my humble abode. They haven’t killed anyone, as far as I know. Not even injured a soul.

The real question that no one could figure out: why were they there?

And another question you must have on your minds: how did I go on my little scouting adventures without being noticed by the authorities? Well, kids, I have my trick-

“Zaide! Come on man open up!”

Hold on, someone’s a-knocking, let me get that.

“Holy mother man, did you move?” Fauna said as I opened the door of the cabin to let her in.

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, yeah, you say that every time.”

“That’s because you move this shithole all the time!” Fauna collapsed herself onto the sofa, stretching her arms and legs wide as she let out a sigh. She was wide-eyed, trembling slightly. Nothing out of the ordinary.

I closed the door. “Make yourself at home.”

She scoffed.

“Look, I haven’t moved this place in a long time. Probably like a couple of years. Way before I even knew you. So I understand that you have trouble relocating an invisible cabin but I don’t need to hear you complain every time. It’s a you problem.”

“Alright, alright, man, I’m sorry.”

I sat down next to her, letting out a little sigh of my own.

“I’m just a little on edge, that’s all.” She said.

“Yeah, I know.”

I was happy to see her, really. Honestly a little relieved. I’d kept myself cooped up for a couple of weeks or so with no human interaction. Sometimes you don’t even realise you’ve been feeling lonely until you’re in the presence of another.

“Why do you keep this place out of sight anyway? Everyone knows you here and they know what you do and why people like me come to visit.” She looked at me playfully, knowing full well this wasn’t the first time she’d pried on the topic.

“People like you?” I chuckled shortly.

“Yeah, people like me. People who are looking to vacate these…desolate lands for a while.” She smiled at me. “Bring a little more colour into their line of sight.”

“People who want to get high.”

“Yes Zaide, damn it, people who want to get high. So why do you hide?”

I picked up a bag of herb from the top of the pile on the table in front of us and handed it out to her, looking her dead in the eye with a slight, irritated, smile.

“I like my privacy,” I said, eyeing towards the door.

She grabbed the bag and stood up quickly. “God,” she said, heading for the door. “Why do you have to be so miserable?”

“And my money?”

“Yeah, sure, sure” She pulled out some money and showed it to me. “Thirty Hedalons, yeah?”

“That’s correct.”

“Great,” she said and threw the three notes towards me. They floated gently down, landing just shy of the table. Her hand reached the handle of the door.

“What’s your problem?!” I asked her.

“You wanna know what I think?” She retreated from the door to point at me sternly. Her long, dark red hair that curled at the ends, seemed to spark and grow brighter. Her small lips pursed and quivered.

“Go ahead,” I sighed.

“No, not even what I think. What I know.”

“Just spill it, Fauna. Say what you have to say.”

“You’re a sad boy-“

“Wow, congratulations-“

“A sad boy who wants more than anything in this forsaken world to form a real connection with somebody. But you can’t seem to stop pushing people away! No, you’d rather dream about getting close to people, and when the chances come you get scared and give in to the overwhelming feeling that all you want is privacy. All you want is to wallow. Let me tell you, that feeling is bullshit so stop being so miserable and have an actual conversation with somebody.” She stopped pointing, letting her hand fall by her side. “And uh, sorry for pointing.”

“Okay Fauna, come and sit down.”

“No, I don’t want to sit down with you anymore, I want to leave. And you did that, you.”

“Look, I’m sorry okay,” I told her. “Just come and sit.”

She looked as though she was trying to keep her face stern, rigid. She rocked from side to side a little, noticeably umming and ahhing in her brain. She glanced at the door, then back at me, then at the door, then back at me.

“You know I can’t just feel your energy, I can discern it, don’t you?” She said.

“Yeah I know.”

“So why do you act like I won’t call you out on your bullshit?” She said shaking her head. She sat down next to me, spreading wide once again. Nudging her leg into mine. She turned to me. “So we smoke now?”

I laughed at her shortly, “I’ve already smoked.”

“So smoke another!” She said, and began to roll.

I lived in a cabin in Yule, a hamlet about ten miles from The Valley. If you went down The Valley around fifty miles, you’d find yourself in Canvolt, the capital city of Dishosia. Before the Dragons came people would always pass through here in their cars, on their way to a few nights of debauchery in the city, or something to that effect. People would stop by in the bar for a drink, or three, and a meal. But there wasn’t any solid walls for them to spend the night in. They’d either prop up a tent on the dry craggy land, or drive on a little tipsy, some flat out drunk. At any given hour there would be a few visitors passing the time here. Now there were none. Because there was no reason for anyone to be here. If anyone who didn’t live here now was seen hanging around, the villagers would get suspicious even. Ask them why they were here, where they were headed. Maybe even call the cops on them to usher them away. It had happened a couple of times, reporter types I’d seen escorted out of the bar for questioning. Yule’s only purpose was that it was on route to the city, that’s it. So anyone new who wasn’t the guys filling up the water tank or fixing up the power grid, was deemed to be planning to break lockdown restrictions by entering The Valley.

I was a Mime. A person who could will physical things into existence. I built my cabin and almost everything inside with my mind. Pretty neat, right? Better yet, people could only see my creations if I wanted them to see. And that’s exactly why my cabin could be seen by no one, until I invited them inside. And that’s exactly how I travelled to the valley unnoticed. With no effort at all I could build up a wall that no one could see, or see past.

Now, there are limits to my powers. I couldn’t just build myself a palace to smoke herb and play guitar in for the rest of my life. What I build takes staying power in order to keep on existing, a little pocket in my brain that will grow to engulf it if I over indulge, rendering me useless. Not that I am much use anyway but that’s beside the point.

What I have now is more than manageable, and no less than what I need. A living space, a kitchen, a bedroom, a bathroom, and a room to facilitate the growth of the herb, my business. All my furniture was made from my mind and there were no bills to pay but I couldn’t muster up sustenance. I just needed a little money here and there so I could eat.

Fauna and I were onto the third smoke.

“I can’t believe that man, that you can just make shit with your mind,” she mused, staring at the blunt as she gently twirled it between her fingers. “Wait…is this herb…is it from your mind? Am I smoking your mind?”

I was sunk into the sofa. Feeling completely one with it. The dim light of my living room looked warm and vibrant. All sorts of colours were filtering my vision, drawing towards the light in gentle waves. Blues, pinks, purples, and greens. I stared on, delighted in my haze.

“Am I smoking your mind, Zaide?!” Fauna almost screamed.

“No you’re not smoking my mind Fauna, it’s okay.” I told her. “I got the seeds for this shit a long time ago from some guy in the city.”

“Right, that’s good,” she said, passing me the smoke.

I took a hit. “Anyway, I can’t believe you can feel people’s energy and like, use that to know what they’re feeling. That shit’s crazy.”

“Yeah, well it’s not just people’s energy. I can feel the, I don’t know, like the world’s energy as well.”

“What do you mean?” I asked her.

“Well, world might be overstating it. It’s more the atmosphere, I guess.”

“And what does the atmosphere of the world feel like now?”

“Well I’m a pretty shaky person, wouldn’t you say?”

“You’re always trembling a little, yeah. Always telling me you’re on edge too.”

“Well,” she said, looking a little scared, “it feels dark.”

“No shit,” I laughed, but didn’t find it funny.

“No, but darker than usual. Like a dark energy is growing. At first it felt novel, not serious at all. Now it almost feels evil…and the weight of the feeling is incredible.”

In the distance there was a screech that I’d never heard before. Like an animal was crying out in pain. Fauna was looking at me, wide-eyed. Their pale blue travelled in gentle waves.

“You heard that, right?”

I nodded, gulping. My mood had taken a rapid turn. I believed that what Fauna was saying was more than a delusion from the high. I felt that what she was saying was more than a delusion.

“How long has it been like this?”

“About six months since it started really affecting me,” she said. “Since before I met you. That’s why I came up to you in the bar all of a sudden, looking for some herb. I needed an escape.”

“Right. So you weren’t shaky before?”

“I mean, sometimes I was. But it’s constant now. The feeling is too much, man. And honestly it feels like there’s nothing beyond it,” a tear rolled down her cheek. “Like it will always be this way until I die or the world ends”

Another louder screech sounded.

“What is that?” I asked her, pushing myself up from the sofa in concern.

“You don’t know? Those are the Dragons, Zaide.” She told me flatly.

As I realised she was right, a tremor began to shake the room.