Ni' Hao by Tiffany Wormack

There weren't always dragons in the Valley. Until San Jose’ better known as Silicon Valley was flooded by rains and huge strong winds. Buildings were cracking and starting to lean as if they were about to tip over. Vehicles like chargers, camaros, and other employee fast cars that were freshly wrapped in expensive paint were starting to sink and become almost submerged in rainwater. When a young full of life business intern, an Asian girl named Ni’Hao was working in Silicon Valley at the time and could not cope with the bad weather. She lived through one psunami in her country and became frightened and did not want a repeat of bad experiences with natural disaster. Subsequently, she kneeled before the children’s Buddha to pray for their protection and then kneeled to pray to the Mahayana Buddha for a statewide protection against natural disaster in California. She was reluctant to pray because she recently prayed against the wildfires but periodically they kept coming. This time she prayed a special prayer with more specific requests for the protection of all Cali employees, students, and residents. To her dismay. Within a twinkle of an eye, then came the spiritual dragon, better known as (Shenlong). Shenlong was the ruler of the rains and winds. Ni’Hao had heard stories and fables from her continent of dragons roaming the earth but her wide eyes stretched wider and wider in disbelief as her mouth hung open as wide as the Grand Canyon. She was flabbergasted. Standing before her was a real giant and then all of a sudden appeared a second one called “The Earth Dragon” named (Dilong). Dilong controlled the waterways in San Jose. It had eyes like shiny jewels and razor sharp teeth with a huge iguana like tail.

Then came a roaring thunder and the Celestial dragon stood long, lanky, friendly, and tall. The Celestial dragon’s name was (Tianlong). Tianlong’s primary duty was to guard the temples of the Gods in heaven. So, Tianlong spent most of its time up in heaven. And last, the hidden treasure dragon (Fuzanglong) came to Silicon Valley immediately after Tianlong went back up to the heavens to guard the temples. It was a beautiful scene with the dragon ascending back to the heavens. The Earth was about to calm. Ni’Hao was wowed by the colors in the sky as Tianlong teleported back to the heavens passing by the color prism made by Fuzanglong’s grand entrance to the Earth. “Your prayers brought us back to the Earth Ni’Hao,” said the dragon. Our powers were getting rusty as we were getting a little bored up there eating and walking the streets of gold all day. Boy do I want some fresh tomatoes from the earthly gardens, said Fuzanglong, the hidden treasure dragon. “I can goto Walmart and grab a few tomatoes, Fuzanglong,” said Ni’ Hao. Fuzanglong looked up towards the sky and blew a stream of fire that caused a mini heat wave over the Valley. Fuzanglong looked down at the pint size Ni’ Hao and yelled, “No girl! I meant FRESH tomatoes off some farmer’s vine in a tomato garden.” Dragons don’t have no money, Honey! explained the friendly charismatic dragon. And we cannot drive up to Ruby Tuesday and sit down and fix our salad from the salad bar either baby. We too big! Shenlong added. Think like a dragon shouted Shenlong! Alakazam! Fralakazoo! No more problems for you and the rains and winds were no more in Silicon Valley. Ni’Hao drives her freshly wrapped ambry multi pink colored camaro out of her parking space and drives to the nearest farm outside of Silicon Valley. As all three dragons monopolized the airways following closely above her, almost hitting helicopters and Boeing 747 aircrafts.

When they arrived, no one answered the ring doorbell attached to the iron fence door. All of a sudden, Fuzanglong gets impatient and does not understand the protocol of how earthlings communicate and storms down into the garden and starts eating not only all of the muscadine grapes and heirloom tomatoes but this dragon also ate all of the vines so the crops could not reproduce.

Ni’Hao and the other dragons did not know what was about to happen next but they knew that it could not be good. The music changed like in a movie and all of a sudden, they hear boom, boom, pow, pow like gunshots. Ni’Hao being a human, she knew to take cover but the dragons just stood there wide eyed. “Run! Run!! They are shooting at us,” yelled Ni’Hao as she jumped back in her pink wrapped camaro and speeded off but it was too late for Fuzanglong, the dragon was killed. With her last breath, tearful eyes, she cried and said she was sorry then she slowly lost breath and died on impact. Instantly, the other dragons fleed back to the heavens to tell the sad news to the dragon that guarded the temples in heaven. They were enraged and planned a revolt against all earthings. They waged war against the entire state of California. The final scene is of the remaining dragons, Tianlong, Dianlong, and Shenlong carrying the now deceased Fuzanglong’s pregnant body back to the heavens with muscadines, heirloom tomatoes, and blood uzzing out of her mouth. As the skies were filled with darkness while the dragons permeated the airways in a fit of grief and rage as Ni’Hao begins to kneel and pray.