Mythical
by Elizabeth Averay
Pacing my room I wait nervously for the knock at my door to start the final trials I must go through to prove I am an adult; to prove I have what it takes to live and take care of myself.
Nothing about the trials ahead are spoken of. Each trial is made up especially for each one of us and tonight is my time.
On the hundredth lap of my room the knock comes, making me jump.
It’s time.
Heading down the passage to a large chamber where my family waits for me, I am greeted with hugs and kisses and words of encouragement. Stepping through a door I had never noticed before, I am standing in front of a panel of three people. The first gets up and hands me a sheet of paper and then heads out the room. Looking down, I see the page has a small lime green dragon on it, and the words find me in the garden.
Heading outside I start my search, looking in, around, and under plants, over and under benches. I climb the trees looking for the little green figure…
I’ve spent most of the night looking. I have searched everywhere with no luck at all. Sitting on the steps leading up to the fountain I hang my head. I can’t believe I have already failed. Then I hear a little splash, and something swimming. I go to look into the fountain and see a tiny lime green living dragon swimming and diving in and out of the water.
This can’t be real! Dragons don’t exist.
It stops and looks at me with knowing, wise eyes. ‘You found me. I am to be your companion from now on. Now return to the room of trials to get your second task.’ Then the little dragon gets out of the water and scurries up my body to perch on my shoulder.
Back in the trial room the second person has already gone when I enter. The dragon informs me that the second task was to make him talk. And because he kept running and hiding from me he decided it was fair to just give in and talk to me as an apology.
The third panellist hands me a notebook and leaves. The notebook has a map of the underground system of tunnels beneath the garden.
Back outside I find the entrance in the old garden shed. Walking down the stairs I am surprised to see that the way is lit – there are little glowing creatures flying around. The small dragon hisses at them and hides down the back of my shirt. Then the flying lights converge: they are fairies, but they poke and pull and pinch, and I run flat out to get away – but they are everywhere. I have cuts and bruises appearing all over as some of the fairies actually have minuscule swords that they keep thrusting at my eyes to blind me.
Reaching the end of the tunnels, hoping it’s over, I enter a vast chamber to see a dozen dragons – all of them bigger than a house, and in the centre of the dragons is a large cauldron. The surface is shimmering.
It seems the fairies won’t come near the large dragons, so the little lime green one climbs out of my shirt and rapidly scurries down to the ground, runs to the cauldron and leaps in. Everything goes black, then startling white. When my vision clears there is only one dragon and he is enormous.
‘Thank you. Your trials are over. You brought the last piece of my being back to me. Now I am whole, and I will watch over you and yours for as long as I live.’
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