And the lilacs drank the water, marking the slow, slow, slow passing of time
T
he unicorn was kind, easygoing, and even more apologetic than me. I flushed and smiled and felt foolish blush tickle my cheeks for running into someone. Again. It made sense to me that she was chasing down a dragon. I had been chasing a wolf. “Oh they’re nasty little things, aren’t they?” But there was warmth in my voice, for I was really quite fond of the tiny mischief makers. They brought a little more life to the world, a little more magic. A little headache, too, I admit.
Che sarà, sarà... I had never heard such words before, and I committed them to memory with a wide-eyed blink. It sounded like a spell, something whispered over a boiling cauldron. I had a wild imagination, and I was all too happy to indulge it-- but only privately. On the surface I strained to be as sensible, as normal, as possible.
(Later I would laugh at how hard I once tried to maintain a certain image of myself. As though if I could cultivate a personality, a way of being, as if I had any choice in the matter. But alas, it would take me a long time to learn to let go of those things.)
I quickly realized she was not upset by the physical pain of our literal first contact, but the loss of what the dragon had stolen. She looked visibly distraught. Deflated, like first all the air had left her and then all the bones began to follow. I wanted to step in and prop her up, but that felt out of line.
Oh, I hated to see anyone in distress. Something flared up in me, all noble and aching. “Yes yes, I’m fine! You know, I have an idea on how we can maybe get your jewelry back. It might not work--” I did not want to give her false hope, for I knew firsthand how crushing it could be. “But it’s worth a shot, right?” I stepped down a side alley orthogonal to the direction which the dragon had scampered off, gesturing with my head for the stranger to follow.
“First we’ll need bread.” We were going to Halwyn’s. I lead the way, as confident and comfortable in the gritty side streets as I was in the mountains or by the sea. “What’s your name? I’m Aspara.” I was terrible at small talk (still am) but names were an easy enough place to begin.
