Written for the fifth challenge of the self-study group in the Imagine writer site in 2009.
You can find the original Hungarian version here.
The last dragon descended in front of his cave beautifully. The valley slowly quietened, and hidden in the valley the village’s bell rung its last note. The ancient lizard calmly approached the cave. He growled satisfied when he saw the tiny creature waiting for him.
The creature smiled. She always smiled as if she was always happy, but the dragon know, there is no eternal happiness in the Earth.
“I’m home” said the dragon melodiously. It was hard to use this language after many centuries of silence. The small creature hesitantly stepped closer to the dragon, and hugged his clawed leg.
“I’m happy” whispered and let go of him to sit down in the nest.
“I’m happy, because you came” said the lizard fighting with words.
The small creature did not answer. She smiled, but her mind was far away, so far that the dragon couldn’t follow them.
“Will you tell a story?” asked the dragon sadly. He noticed that the little had creature changed. Her smile had changed also. It wasn’t wiser, more mature, either more beautiful… just different.
“Your tales are better.” She shook her head.
The dragon laughed. His stories were thousand years old, carried the knowledge of the ancients, carried the real magic… today they were just fairy tales for a child. He didn’t want to talk, just listen and learn… learn about the new world he couldn’t understand with his thousand years old mind.
The creature sighed. She now that something changed, so she didn’t start to tell a story. What should she have talked about? About the changes? The machines? The music? Why should the Guardian of the Ancient Knowledge be interested about them?
The dragon spoke after minutes that seemed like hours.
“There’s no place for the dragons anymore. It’s your world.”
His voice rang painfully. The creature could feel also that an era just ended.
The last dragon closed his eyes and fell asleep. Fell to an eternal, deep sleep, where the worlds and people don’t change ever. The little girl watched him for a long time, then stroked the wise head of the dragon, and headed back home. When she stepped out of the cave, she didn’t look back at the lifeless body.
You can find the original Hungarian version here.
The last one
The last dragon descended in front of his cave beautifully. The valley slowly quietened, and hidden in the valley the village’s bell rung its last note. The ancient lizard calmly approached the cave. He growled satisfied when he saw the tiny creature waiting for him.
The creature smiled. She always smiled as if she was always happy, but the dragon know, there is no eternal happiness in the Earth.
“I’m home” said the dragon melodiously. It was hard to use this language after many centuries of silence. The small creature hesitantly stepped closer to the dragon, and hugged his clawed leg.
“I’m happy” whispered and let go of him to sit down in the nest.
“I’m happy, because you came” said the lizard fighting with words.
The small creature did not answer. She smiled, but her mind was far away, so far that the dragon couldn’t follow them.
“Will you tell a story?” asked the dragon sadly. He noticed that the little had creature changed. Her smile had changed also. It wasn’t wiser, more mature, either more beautiful… just different.
“Your tales are better.” She shook her head.
The dragon laughed. His stories were thousand years old, carried the knowledge of the ancients, carried the real magic… today they were just fairy tales for a child. He didn’t want to talk, just listen and learn… learn about the new world he couldn’t understand with his thousand years old mind.
The creature sighed. She now that something changed, so she didn’t start to tell a story. What should she have talked about? About the changes? The machines? The music? Why should the Guardian of the Ancient Knowledge be interested about them?
The dragon spoke after minutes that seemed like hours.
“There’s no place for the dragons anymore. It’s your world.”
His voice rang painfully. The creature could feel also that an era just ended.
The last dragon closed his eyes and fell asleep. Fell to an eternal, deep sleep, where the worlds and people don’t change ever. The little girl watched him for a long time, then stroked the wise head of the dragon, and headed back home. When she stepped out of the cave, she didn’t look back at the lifeless body.
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