Eternity
Robin wrung her scarf in her hands and tried to remember what her mother had told her before she set out. She had said it in passing; as if it had meant nothing at all. Robin had a terrible memory for things that are hiding behind meaninglessness.
Robin's breath frosted in the cold air. It twinkled and sparkled as it faded away to nothing.
This was not usual.
The wind tugged at the hem of her winter coat. She was standing in a cold place of stone and metal and dead things. In the distance she could see the thick red lights of a terrible city. She had found this place in her closet.
This was also not a commonplace event in Robin’s life.
Floating in the black-night sky before her was the Dragon Aeternitas. It’s face was obscured by the shadow that swarmed and wrapped itself around the Dragon’s wings. A hundred eyes like stars danced as the dragon blinked. Sparks jumped as the dragon shifted its heavy claws across the ground.
The Dragon had been hiding in Robin’s closet.
“I am eternity!” The dragon screamed in a voice that was the splintering and popping of trees. “I have the whole of everything inside of me, and outside of me! You are nothing!”
Robin twisted the tassels of her scarf.
“An apple a day keeps the Dragon away,” she whispered. Her voice trembled, and she didn’t have any apples.
The Dragon’s eyes glittered.
“All that glitters is not gold,” she said, but the Dragon laughed.
“Foolish little girl!” it cried in a voice that was the screaming and screeching of a drowning cat. “You cannot hurt me with your pitiful little proverbs!”
Robin knew that she could, if only she could find the right one.
“I am everything!” It laughed.
“Then why are you not very nice?” asked Robin, terrified.
“I am!” answered the Dragon in a voice that was the squeezing and popping of a compressed frog. “I keep all of the good on the inside, where it counts, and all of the evil on the outside, where it will kill you!”
The Dragon laughed.
“You don’t have to!”
The Dragon laughed harder, and continued to drag its bloated body through the shadowy wings that separated it from Robin.
“Good fences make good neighbours!” Robin shouted and a white picket fence popped up from the cracks in the stony ground. The wood bent and broke as the Dragon pulled itself over it, but the Dragon did not slow down.
“Proverbs have no power,” The Dragon chuckled in a voice that was the crisp indifference of burnt toast. “The more they are used, the less power they have.”
The Dragon lunged at Robin. Robin Screamed.
“Pride comes before a fall!” She cried and the Dragon dropped to the ground with such force that it broke a tooth.
Robin searched her memory for the right proverb, the one that would save her from the Dragon.
“The wyrm turns!”
“A dragon’s bark is worse than his bite!”
“Curiosity killed the dragon!”
The Dragon spat its tooth into the air and struggled back to its feet. It unfurled its wings.
Through the misty gaps in the shadow Robin caught a glimpse of its heart. It was bright and yellow, twisted and knotted tight and small, but was more solid than the rest of the dragon.
Put your scarf on dear, said the heart in a voice that was like the sound of waking up.
You’ll remember it eventually, it said in a voice that was the tinkle of tiny bells.
Don’t catch cold before you do, it said, in a voice that was her mother’s.
She remembered.
“I love you,” she whispered.
The dragon reared, ready to strike.
“That?” it laughed. “That is the most cliché of them all! It has no power at all!”
The Dragon bared its teeth and pounced.
“It has power if I mean it.”
Robin smiled.
The Dragon’s wings furled around her.
Robin's breath frosted in the cold air. It twinkled and sparkled as it faded away to nothing.
This was not usual.
The wind tugged at the hem of her winter coat. She was standing in a cold place of stone and metal and dead things. In the distance she could see the thick red lights of a terrible city. She had found this place in her closet.
This was also not a commonplace event in Robin’s life.
Floating in the black-night sky before her was the Dragon Aeternitas. It’s face was obscured by the shadow that swarmed and wrapped itself around the Dragon’s wings. A hundred eyes like stars danced as the dragon blinked. Sparks jumped as the dragon shifted its heavy claws across the ground.
The Dragon had been hiding in Robin’s closet.
“I am eternity!” The dragon screamed in a voice that was the splintering and popping of trees. “I have the whole of everything inside of me, and outside of me! You are nothing!”
Robin twisted the tassels of her scarf.
“An apple a day keeps the Dragon away,” she whispered. Her voice trembled, and she didn’t have any apples.
The Dragon’s eyes glittered.
“All that glitters is not gold,” she said, but the Dragon laughed.
“Foolish little girl!” it cried in a voice that was the screaming and screeching of a drowning cat. “You cannot hurt me with your pitiful little proverbs!”
Robin knew that she could, if only she could find the right one.
“I am everything!” It laughed.
“Then why are you not very nice?” asked Robin, terrified.
“I am!” answered the Dragon in a voice that was the squeezing and popping of a compressed frog. “I keep all of the good on the inside, where it counts, and all of the evil on the outside, where it will kill you!”
The Dragon laughed.
“You don’t have to!”
The Dragon laughed harder, and continued to drag its bloated body through the shadowy wings that separated it from Robin.
“Good fences make good neighbours!” Robin shouted and a white picket fence popped up from the cracks in the stony ground. The wood bent and broke as the Dragon pulled itself over it, but the Dragon did not slow down.
“Proverbs have no power,” The Dragon chuckled in a voice that was the crisp indifference of burnt toast. “The more they are used, the less power they have.”
The Dragon lunged at Robin. Robin Screamed.
“Pride comes before a fall!” She cried and the Dragon dropped to the ground with such force that it broke a tooth.
Robin searched her memory for the right proverb, the one that would save her from the Dragon.
“The wyrm turns!”
“A dragon’s bark is worse than his bite!”
“Curiosity killed the dragon!”
The Dragon spat its tooth into the air and struggled back to its feet. It unfurled its wings.
Through the misty gaps in the shadow Robin caught a glimpse of its heart. It was bright and yellow, twisted and knotted tight and small, but was more solid than the rest of the dragon.
Put your scarf on dear, said the heart in a voice that was like the sound of waking up.
You’ll remember it eventually, it said in a voice that was the tinkle of tiny bells.
Don’t catch cold before you do, it said, in a voice that was her mother’s.
She remembered.
“I love you,” she whispered.
The dragon reared, ready to strike.
“That?” it laughed. “That is the most cliché of them all! It has no power at all!”
The Dragon bared its teeth and pounced.
“It has power if I mean it.”
Robin smiled.
The Dragon’s wings furled around her.