Heart Fire

I remember being a child, when my gramama would tell me stories of beasts, unlike any other.
"Oh Marie they were beautiful!" She would gasp. "They would block out the sun with their enormous bodies, bring down entire towns with a beat of their mighty wings! Breath a column of fire that would light up even the darkest, starless nights." Giggling, she would smile like she was my age again. "But do you know what the best part about them was?" I shook my head, my eyes alive with dancing images. "Their TEETH!" I would look at her like she was insane. "Yes, their teeth! Giant teeth the size of a mans forearm, and as thick as their hands are wide at the base." I stretched my arm out, seeing just how big that really was, and my eyes would grow three times in size. Again, gramama would laugh. "And those teeth would scare even the bravest of men until they soiled their pants like infants. . ."
Gramama must have told me this story dozens of times, but I would always act like it was completely new to me.
"I knew one, you know," she added happily.
"Now you're lying to me gramama, aren't you?"
"No no my child! Come. I'll show you."

We never did find the infamous dragon she told me about, but I never mocked her about it. Regardless, she swore, until the moment she stopped breathing, that that dragon was real.
For the time being, I'm sitting in the very spot she took me to find the beast. I've done this almost every day since my beloved gramama died, and plan on doing so until I tell my grandchildren the legends my MY gramama told me.
I close my eyes, listening to the sound of the wind carrying music in its invisible arms and untold secrets on the edge of its eager lips. Only those who really listen will ever know these secrets, but no one knows what they mean. Listening to the sound of the stream at the bottom of the hill I looked around, taking note of every detail.
The rushing river, the overly green grass that reached just past your ankles, the copper-colored caverns that shot straight up from the earth, towering over everything in sight. I saw wild flowers of all colors dotting the hills around me — pink, violet, white, yellow, and even few red ones here and there — and the enormous trees that stretched along the edge of the hills, creating a natural barrier all their own.
I took a deep breath, smelling all the familiar scents this place brought. I laid on the soft grass, feeling it between my fingers like it was the fur of an animal. Deep in sleep, I had a dream as though I was still awake. I was still in the same field I had been when I fell asleep, but it was not as peaceful. It was too hot, and too dark. My eyes flashed open and I sat up, terrified to see fire raging around me, burning away everything beautiful in its path. A screaming roar echoed through the valley, and powerful winds were blowing the smoke away to reveal a beast. The beast had shining black scales, the edges lined in perfect silver that covered its massive body. Its fully red crimson eyes glared into the fire with a will of death, controlling it.
“A dragon . . .” I breathed in awe.
That’s when I woke up for real, jutting upright to look around, only to find a rabbit exploring my tennis shoe. I shooed it away and held my head in my hands, trying to push back the headache I knew was coming.




Word Count:


(unfinished)