Dragon Dream

by Elena Van Peborgh

  Jon snorted and I turned around. Carefully, I climbed onto his back as he lay on his stomach. He slowly stood up and ran through the forest in an eastern direction. We arrived at the village, and he didn’t stop as brusquely as the previous time I had been sitting on his back. He went to lie down, and I slid from his back. I slowly walked forward, quickly glancing over my shoulder.

  “It’s okay. I’ll bump into Vera. She’ll help me. Don’t worry. She’ll take care of me,” I said to Jon.

  I carefully added a smile at the end of my sentence. I limped further. I needed to make sure I wouldn’t fall. I heard Jon running away; now it was too late to ask him for help. But I thought I couldn’t ask him to bring me to the door. It wasn’t safe for him to be in this territory. Luckily, I saw Vera at that point. She ran in my direction and saw my wound immediately.

  “Oh, Tatiana, how have you gotten that wound?” she asked, sounding very worried.

  “Take me to your mom. She’ll be able to take care of it,” I answered.

  “Oh yeah, sure. Of course. That’s a good idea.” She sounded distracted but she was probably startled. She put her arm through mine and escorted me to her house. When we arrived there, she pulled me inside.

  “Mom!” Vera called.

  Her mother showed up immediately. She was surprised when she saw me. “Help her to lie down on the table,” she ordered her daughter.

  I walked to the table and sat without Vera’s help. I pulled my legs up over the edge of the table so I could lie down. Finally, I was where I wanted to be, and now they could take care of this horrible wound. Vera’s mom – Mary – came back with another table. This one was smaller than my table.

  “I also need my first-aid box and some water, towels and cotton wool. Do you want to get those things, Vera?”

  Vera immediately walked away, and Mary also left the room again. Vera came back with a first-aid box and a bag with cotton wool. She put the things on the small table next to mine and left again. At that moment, Mary entered the room again carrying several little bottles. She put them on the table one by one. Vera re-entered carrying a bowl filled with water. A few towels hung over her arm. She put the bowl on the table and took a few steps back so she wouldn’t impede her mom.

  “Okay, we’ll see how bad it is exactly. Maybe it’s less bad than it looks,” Mary mumbled.

  She put on translucent gloves and cut my trousers. She took the water bowl, poured all the water on my leg and gave the bowl back to Vera. When the water touched the skin of my leg, it tickled a bit, but I didn’t make a sound.

  “Refill the bowl.”

  Mary took a cotton wool and put a product from one of the bottles on it. She rubbed the cotton wool along the wound. It stung a lot and I bit my lip to suppress the pain. I didn’t want to complain.

  “The wound is way too big to leave it open. I’ll have to stitch it.”

  I knew that implied I’d have more pain. In The Capitals, they had painkillers and anaesthetics, but here they didn’t. Only a few got hurt as badly as I had gotten. If someone got hurt badly, such as when they had a broken leg or a broken arm, they must go to The Capitals.

  First, Mary took a needle which she cleansed with a product from one of the bottles and then threaded it with blue thread. She stabbed the needle into the flesh of my leg and started to sew. I tried to suppress the pain as much as possible but now and then, it was too much to endure and then I moved a little. Mary wasn’t prepared when I moved so then she stabbed wrong, which caused even more pain.

  After a few minutes, she finally finished and cut the blue thread. She put the needle and thread into the first-aid box. She took a towel and dipped it into the water bowl Vera had refilled and brought back in the meantime. Mary rubbed the towel over the wound. It didn’t tickle or sting that much anymore now. I had the feeling I could breathe freely again. She erased the blood and dirt with the towel and put it back in the bowl. With another cotton wool, she put some product on it and rubbed it over the wound again. Then she took some bandage when she was finished.

  “Try to keep your leg elevated as long as possible,” she said, wrapping the bandage around my leg and making sure it wouldn’t get loose. “Oof. You’re good as new.”

  She wiped the sweat off her face. I could imagine she had felt a lot of stress during the past few minutes.

  “Thank you so much,” I said.

  “Mom? I don’t think it’d be a good idea for Tatiana to walk around a lot.”

  “Yes, indeed. Why do you say that?”

  “I was thinking it’d be better if she stayed over in our house, so she doesn’t need to walk home. And when you want to check on her leg or when there’s something wrong, she doesn’t have to come back to our house.”

  I didn’t know why they were talking about me like I wasn’t even here. It was pretty annoying, but I held my tongue.

  “That’s true. I will ask Tatiana’s dad if she can stay over in our house for a week.”

  “I will clean this mess up while you talk to him,” Vera said.

  Her mom nodded and left the house.

  “You must sit down on the sofa,” Vera said, addressing me.

  I sat up straight and fell from the table. Vera offered to help me, but I refused it.

  “I can still walk. I think I can get myself to the sofa. I mean, I was also able to make it to your house. My leg wasn’t even wrapped up yet. Besides, you need to clean that mess up,” I said, and Vera nodded.

  I laboriously limped to the sofa but when I got there, I fell into the cushions. Vera looked at me and raised one eyebrow.

  “Sorry,” I mumbled.

  She continued to clean up. I was grateful she and her mom had helped me. I still had some pain, but it hurt less. Mary entered the house again when Vera had finished cleaning.

  “What did my father say?” I asked.

  “He said it was okay. He’ll send a letter to your mom to ask if she can bring some medicines with her when she comes back, just in case you have an infection. But I think you’ll be fine. Do you know how you got that wound?” Mary reacted.

  “No, I think I’ve run into a sharp twig, but I’m not sure.”

  She nodded but I didn’t get the impression she believed me. But it was the truth.

  Apparently, I had fallen asleep. Vera woke me when it was time for dinner.

  “Are you hungry? It’s time to eat. I can put a little table so you can eat here.”

  I nodded, and Vera left to get the table. When she had put down the table, she went back to the kitchen to get my dinner. She put the plates on the table for me and I sat up straight, slid from the sofa and started to eat. I was half-starved.

  “Mom wasn’t surprised when we noticed you had fallen asleep. She said you needed to rest. That’s why we haven’t woken you. I don’t know how you got that wound, but I think you’ve walked a long way.”

  “Yeah, I don’t even know how I got here. I felt like I could faint any minute.”

  “Mom is outside. I think she’ll stay away for a while.”

  I didn’t know why Vera said that, but I decided not to pay any attention to it. I was way too hungry.

  “Come on! You can tell me!”

  I was confused. “What should I tell you?” I asked.

  “I swear I haven’t said anything to my mom! But just before I saw you, I saw a big, black wolf. He left quickly, but I saw him. And then I noticed you were bleeding.”

  Nine

  Shit! Vera had seen Jon. I decided it would be the best option to deny there had been a wolf in the neighbourhood.

  “I haven’t seen any wolves. What would a wolf do here? Why would it be here?” It was unpleasant to lie to Vera, but I really couldn’t tell her about Jon.

  “Has that wolf hurt you?” she whispered.

  It would be easy to say a wolf had hurt me. It was a known fact wolves regularly attacked lower shape-shifters. But I shook my head. It wouldn’t be very fair if I blamed a wolf.

  “Vera, I’ll sa
y it one more time. I haven’t seen any wolf. I don’t know how I got this wound but you know how clumsy I can be. I was just being stupid, and I ran into a twig or something. I wasn’t that far away from the village, even though it seemed to be farther than it actually was. I have no idea what you’re talking about. Do you think it looks like a wolf has bitten or scratched me?”

  “I swear I’ve really seen that wolf,” she insisted.

  “That may be possible you’ve seen one, but I haven’t.” I didn’t give up either.

  “Fine, don’t tell me. I don’t care. I’ll find out anyway.”

  I smiled, shook my head and continued to eat. When I had finished, I sat on the sofa again. Vera cleaned up the plates.

  “Do you know that even my mom doubts your story? She hasn’t said anything, but I can see something is bothering her,” she said.

  “Don’t start again, please. I think you just badly want to see a wolf in real life. Maybe you’ve imagined or dreamed you’ve seen one.”

  “Preferably not.”

  “What?”

  “I’d rather not see or meet a wolf in real life. I don’t care if it’s a normal wolf or if it’s a shape-shifter. They’re both dangerous.”

  “Are you serious about that? Don’t you even want to see a normal wolf, so not a shape-shifter?” Actually, I secretly enjoyed teasing Vera.

  “I think I’d prefer to see a normal wolf from a safe distance. I think I’d have better chances. You know how much higher shape-shifters hate us. They disregard us.”

  I couldn’t think of a proper answer, so we shut up during the rest of the day. My dad visited me three days later. He wanted to check on how I was doing.

  “How’s your leg?” he asked.

  He sat next to me on the sofa. I had barely done anything other than sitting on this sofa. I was pretty bored and tired of not having anything to do.

  “Oh, my leg is alright, I think. It doesn’t hurt that much anymore. I think I can already walk around, but Mary says I should sit down and rest.”

  “I’ve written to your mom.”

  “Oh yeah? Mary said you’d do that. Has she answered already?”

  “No, not yet. But one of these days, a pigeon will come. At least, that’s what I’m thinking. I don’t know how fast they can fly.”

  “I sometimes wonder how that works. I mean, how do those pigeons know where they have to go?”

  I knew it was a risky subject because he’d be suspicious about why I wanted to know that, but I had never found anything about this subject in my books. I didn’t know how those pigeons knew where they must deliver their letters. I was curious about how that worked. My mom would know more about it than my dad. But she would become even more suspicious if I asked her about it. Hopefully, my dad knew something about them as well.

  “I don’t know exactly. I think it has to do with the magic of the druids,” he answered.

  He pretended like it wasn’t very important, like it was very normal. I knew he didn’t want to talk about this, but at least he had told me something.

  “Oh yeah, of course. Those silly druids and their magic. They’re so weird.”

  I tried to act the same way as my dad and to talk about it like I didn’t care. He nodded to confirm that thought. For a long time, we just sat next to each other and didn’t say a word. Our relationship was weird. Sometimes we felt uncomfortable when we were alone. That was presently the case. Nervously, I fidgeted on the couch, and he coughed from time to time. Suddenly, he stood up.

  “I must go. I need to clean the house a bit,” he announced.

  “Oh yeah? Then you need to do that. I think I’ll be able to walk again in a few days. Then I’ll be able to come back home.”

  “Just get well. It isn’t important how fast you heal. You have to be sure you’re totally well again before you come back home.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll heal well.”

  He left the house. I was relieved he was gone. I felt less uncomfortable now.

  At the end of the week, Mary removed the bandage. She had promised she’d do that and maybe the stitches could come out as well. I lay on the table again. At my right side, there was the little table with the first-aid box and the bag with cotton wool. The water bowl, the towels and the many bottles were also set on the little table. It tickled a bit when I felt the air blowing against my leg. Mary took a cotton wool, put some product on it and rubbed it over the wound. It surprised me it didn’t hurt at all.

  “The stitches can’t come out yet. I just want to be sure it heals well. You don’t need to wear the bandage anymore, but you can’t scratch your leg.”

  “Okay, I promise I won’t even touch that leg,” I said.

  I hoped my leg wouldn’t itch that much anymore as when I had been wearing the bandage. Because then it’d be so damn difficult to not scratch my leg. I told myself I was obliged to keep my promise as much as I could. Promises weren’t that important, but sometimes I had to keep them. Mary grabbed a towel and put it in the water. She cleaned the wound. My leg felt better now. Maybe it wouldn’t itch that much anymore. She took another cotton wool, put some product on it and rubbed it over the wound.

  “I think you’re ready to go back home,” she said when she was done.

  She took off her translucent rubber gloves. I sat up straight and got off the table.

  “Do I need to go home now, or can I stay a little bit longer?” I asked.

  “You’re free to choose for yourself. If you prefer to stay here, you can. You’re always welcome in our house. You can stay for as long as you want.”

  “Actually, I think I’ll go home. My father is kind of worried about me,” I answered.

  I had become so tired of this place. I detested the sofa the most. I was tired of lying on it the whole day.

  “That’s fine with me. I advise you to wear shorts. Your leg will heal faster if it’s in contact with the air.”

  “That won’t be a big problem. It’s almost summer. Do I have to help clean up?”

  “No, thank you. Vera and I will clean this up. Go home.”

  “Okay. Thank you for everything. I don’t know what I would do without you two,” I said.

  I walked to the door after Mary and I had shaken hands.

  “Bye, Tatiana,” Vera shouted when I left the house.

  I was so relieved I could walk again. I was glad to breathe in the fresh air from outside. I decided to hang out outside for a little bit longer before going home. I loved being outside, I enjoyed it. I was walking around in the village when I suddenly started to feel dizzy. Had I been too fast? Had I started walking around too soon? I carefully and slowly sat down on the ground. That didn’t help that much. Everything spun – the trees, the houses, everything in my neighbourhood twisted and turned around as I started to see little spots before my eyes. What was happening? What was going on? I saw something moving but couldn’t see what it was because everything had become distorted. But when it came closer, I saw it was a woman.

  “Hey, are you alright?” she asked, sounding very worried.

  Her voice sounded weird. Her words sounded twisted. I shook my head, but that was a very stupid and bad idea. Everything spun even harder. I moved my hand to my head, but I didn’t even know what hand I was moving. I saw a spot moving before my eyes. I knew that was my hand.

  “Please. Get Mary. She’s a nurse,” I said to the woman.

  My voice and my words sounded weird too. I saw a spot moving again. I realised that it was the woman nodding or moving. I didn’t know for sure if she had run away to get Mary but when I blinked, I didn’t see the woman anymore. My dizziness was getting worse. My head hurt so much.

  “Please,” I whispered in case the woman was still standing there.

  Everything went black.

  Ten

  I woke up again in my own bedroom. The light was very bright so I had to blink a few times before I could see again. I heard voices downstairs. I carefully sat up straight and immediately felt
I couldn’t force myself too much. Everything still spun around a bit. I waited for a minute and then the feeling was gone again. I got out of my bed. I just had to know what was going on downstairs. It sounded like a huge discussion was going on there. I could hear the voices better now. I was almost able to recognise them. I slowly walked towards the door frame, though it wasn’t really a door frame since there wasn’t a door. My mom hung blankets in the opening when it was cold in the winter. But normally there wasn’t anything. It was actually just a hole in the wall.

  I leaned against the wall when I reached the opening. I heard footsteps on the stairs. Vera came upstairs and saw me immediately.

  “Hey, you’re awake! I told you so! I was right!” she said.

  I didn’t know why she was being so enthusiastic, but she didn’t need to scream. It hurt. I had a headache. I raised my hand to let her shut up. I heard more footsteps on the stairs and saw my mom and Flora coming upstairs.

  “Why are you standing there? You must stay in bed. Lie down. You must rest,” my mom yelled.

  She sounded worried. I frowned in confusion. I had no idea how long I had been unconscious, but apparently it had been a while. In the meantime, I heard someone else’s footsteps on the stairs. How many people were there in this house? My mother grabbed both my arms and started trying to push me back into my room.

  “Stop. Let me go. I need to do everything slowly, otherwise everything starts spinning around. I’d rather not faint again.”

  She immediately obeyed and released me. I leaned against the wall again and folded my arms.

  “I don’t know how long I’ve been unconscious but I’m alright now. I’m okay. Don’t worry and please don’t yell. I have a terrible headache.”