The Storm
1631 Words
She was so close to the end of her journey. She could smell the others even through the thrashing rain and the feral wind; she could still smell the others…
She had caught the scent of them on an updraft, a slight change in the wind. There was energy on the wind that vibrated the cold air and caused her fur to stand on end. She had felt this change in the air before and knew the storm was inevitable. She had been planning on flying above the storm, and most likely would have if the smell of the other Immortals was not so strong. She flew lower and faster hoping to find land and the others before the storm picked up force. A sudden shiver ran down her spine as she dropped below the clouds that were beginning to form. A warmer wind brought the rain that had begun to form back up through the already charged air and the water froze, collecting together and forming hard globes of ice that would plummet back down to Earth. Then she saw it! A tree strewn, rocky, coastline.
In her excitement she dropped lower. She knew that it would have been wiser to fly above the storm until it past but was afraid to lose sight of her destination. The scent of the others was so strong. Now the enraged wind threatened to end her life before she had accomplished what she set out to do. It pushed her down towards the rocks. Where the warm wind off the land mingled with the cold air, the wind spiraled back around itself, twisting her with it. The scent of the others was the only thing that drew her in the direction she needed to go. She flapped her mighty wings uselessly against the raging wind, only to be pushed ever closer to the jagged rocks. At least I am not the last, she thought. If I am killed tonight at least I found that out…even if we never meet, at least I found out I am not the last.
A silver tear dripped from the corner of one of her great sapphire eyes and mingled with the droplets of rain and sea mist that drenched her cheek. The black teeth of the sea loomed ever nearer. Impending doom took over her heart as the wind drove her ever closer to the rocks. When they were inches from her nose, the wind suddenly shifted again, driving her eastward, faster and faster toward the cliffs. She tried with all her might to steer herself away from this new peril… she felt as inconsequential as a butterfly at the mercy of a hurricane. This would be her doom, she felt it in her bones…she pictured her journey and all she hoped for die, smashed to microscopic bits against the cliffs. This can’t be the end, she thought, this can’t be how I die! With a new passion for life, she forced her head and shoulders upward, slowing her erratic flight, and when the cliff face was close enough to touch, she reached out and dug her claws into it…
She hugged the cliff face with all her might. Her tired limbs quivered under the weight of lifting her body. I must reach the top, she thought, as she fought against the urge to let go. She inched her right paw upwards, her claws digging into the earth, as a flash of lightening revealed the crest of the cliff where trees waved in the wind. It was only a few feet away… As she repositioned her back legs a little farther up, she could feel her claws sink deep into the cliff face. It wasn’t rock! She raised her front legs again and dug into the cliff face once more. Fear began to rise as the cliff began to crumble away; sand poured through her long slender toes, down her front legs, over her snout and into her eyes. She was reminded of the swallowing sands of the Egyptian desert, and thought, What if this whole cliff crumbles down on top of me?!? She began to panic; how was she supposed to fight her way out of this situation! She couldn’t see! She blinked and blinked, and blinked again. Her eyes burned as the sand raked across them and they began to water. She closed her eyes tight against the pain; she wanted to wash the sand from her eyes, but she didn’t dare let go of the cliff. The storm was still too fierce and it would be foolish to fly blind. She considered letting go of the cliff so that she could wash her eyes in the ocean but the ocean below was unfamiliar to her, she could have fallen on jagged rocks sharp enough to injure or even kill her. She was stuck!
The shock of the sand falling in her face had caused her body to twitch. As she hung there unable to move, to her horror, she could feel the sand giving way beneath her back claws. Franticly, she clawed at the cliff, desperately trying to regain her footing. With a sudden burst of adrenalin, she lurched blindly upward as the earth beneath her poured away like water through open fingers. She didn’t know how long this new stretch of cliff would hold. She blinked again, trying to free her eyes of the sand. I wish this storm would pass, or that the sorcerer had foreseen this! she thought. She could have really used his advice.
She had met the sorcerer three months earlier at the Ruins. He had told her the direction she should travel and places to avoid. He predicted many of the things she had encountered along her journey, and now as she clung there, not daring to move, she found herself once again reflecting on his words… “The storm is your friend, my snowy one. Open your eyes to it and just as sure as it will lead you to where you need to go, it will also wash away your sorrow…just open your eyes to it.”
She had encountered three nearly fatal storms on her journey. “Maybe that is what the old mortal wanted all along,” frustrated she said outload, “an end to the last of the Snow Cap Dragons; he got what he required and then he no longer had a use for me. I won’t give up, not yet; I have come too far and have been through too much to give up now.” The rain beat still harder upon her. She opened her eyes again trying to see, but blind, she was rooted to the spot, clinging for her life to the cliff. She felt her limbs quake with exhaustion, and she pried her eyes open once again. At that precise moment a large droplet of water slid down her snout and into her eye, causing her to blink, forcing a few grains of the sand from her eye. “…just open your eyes to it.” The sorcerer’s words flooded her mind again. She forced her eyes open, resisting the impulse to close them, and turned to face the pounding rain.
Relief came with the rain and soon her sapphire eyes were free of the sand, she was filled with a renewed sense of hope and strength. She dug her hind claws into the cliff and lurched upwards, forcing herself onward, up the cliff, as it crumbled away. She lurched like this, three more times, turning her head away and closing her eyes. On the third attempt, her sensitive front paws detected roots holding the fragile soil together. With one last surge she reached the top and hoisted herself up over the edge. There, she collapsed, unable to move, between two giant trees whose protective branches sheltered her from the storm for the remainder of the night. As she slept, she dreamt of the mother she never knew. She saw herself still inside in the comfort and the safety of her egg and her mother was singing softly to her as she blew her warm, life sustaining breath around the egg she cradled close to her side.
“Oh Moon…
Pearl of the endless sea of sky,
Glisten your light of guidance and peace where my children lie…
Guide my children as you have always guided me,
As they spread their wings to fly from the desert to the sea…
Oh Wind…
One who is the outward breath of the air,
Sing a song that is soft and fair…
Let their dreams only be filled by your enduring peace,
And may they rest on nothing harder than fleece…
Oh Sun…
Provider of life sustaining light,
Shine! Shine upon my children with all your might…
Help them to grow big and strong,
Guide & teach them, till your light grows long…
Oh Babbling Brook…
The one whose waters run both night and day,
Please guide my children as they play…
Listen to their games of fun
& tell it all to me when the day is done…
Oh Children of mine…
You, who are part of me,
As you are changed by the seasons, like the tree…
As you grow and have children of your own,
Think back on this whispered lullaby and remember you’re not alone.
Now settle down, my little ones, and stir no more this night,
For I will be with you from now, until tomorrow’s light….”
Still dreaming, she heard her mother whisper, “I will see you soon my little one…I will see you soon...”
- Writer
