In the middle of the pond, she sank lower and lower.

The icy water gradually seeping into her very soul, ridding her mind of all fuzziness.

She recalled his face, the way he looked. That last day they were together, Jay and her, was nice and sunny. It was a good day for catching butterflies and they did just that. Within a blink of an eye, she stood there alone in the sun kissed meadow, perplexed and scared. Left in her care and now he was gone. She didn’t dare return home without him. It was a rather rash and childish decision but she and her pride were determined to go looking for him.

Only when she lost herself to the big world did she begin to miss her family and regret. In the gutters beside the dirt path, she collapsed crying until her eyes were sore with dryness. It was too late to go back so she picked herself up and went forward. The road led her here to a sad place… a wasteland. She managed to survive on her own. Nothing short of a miracle and here she was… all grown up and still searching. She never thought of giving up again… her hope was the only thing she was able to hold on to.

Many times, she found herself leaving Sykotica to search elsewhere but her heart always pulled her back. Perhaps it knew something she didn’t. From an outlander’s perspective, “this place” was the epitome of desolation. There was nothing remotely appealing about Sykotica or its people. Everyone seemed to be too preoccupied drowning in their own misery to really care about the land or anyone else. All in all, Sykotica comes off as a plain awful place to live but when someone had been here for this long… the place looked a little less bleak.

It was like a child, lost.

It needed to be loved and cared for.

While she searched in other countries, she always remembered to bring back knowledge that would help heal Sykotica. The subtle little things… some may even think them childish. She nourished the earth around the pond until it was suitable to shelter seeds she had brought back from other lands. She scattered seeds again and again until little green sprouts popped their head out from the earth. She never gave up on them just like how she never gave up on searching for her brother.

As time flew by, her little haven in Sykotica flourished.

Long, green blades of grass tickled the surface of the pond.

Fireflies held meetings at night among the water reeds.

Flowers opened, yearning for sunlight during the day.

It was always cloudy or raining in Sykotica. She didn’t know how to bring her flowers the sweet warmth of the sun. They were trying so hard for her and yet she was unable to give them what they needed.

All she had to give was her love.

In the sky, not far from the pond, flew Hero and the dragon. Once they left the castle’s boundaries, he felt different. His mind was clear as if a veil had been lifted. Hero was sure his friend felt the same way judging by how it shuddered beneath him. It was the sweet shock of freedom. No longer confined in the safety of his mother’s castle, he felt it all. The cold night at his skin. The surprisingly calm wind combing his blonde hair. Hero’s blue eyes widened as he became aware of the many things he had missed.

It was all too clear now. She was near. He could feel her as if she was right there behind him. He turned around to look back. It was only his imagination… or was it?

Hero spoke to the dragon, “You feel her too, don’t you?”

It was easy to find her. Unlike the citizens of Sykotica, Cyndi still had hope. Her hope rode upon the wind above the clouds. Was this the reason why he was so attracted to her? Cyndi’s will to fight when all odds are against her?

Because of her, he too, found the strength to break free. As if this realization had opened up heaven’s eyes, rain trickled down from the gray clouds. Pitter patter, pitter patter. Hero gazed at the falling droplets. They danced upon the dragon’s scaly neck. Steadily, the raindrops came on faster until they were no longer dancing but rather striking hard like an angry mob. Had he angered his mother by leaving? That was the first thought that came to his mind. She must be even more disappointed in him now.

A bright menacing light flashed right in front of them and less than a second later, a deafening roar followed.

Lightning was splitting the air all across the sky.

The dragon panicked. Into a dive they both went. Hero held on for dear life as man and dragon spiraled towards the ground faster than any raindrop. Not being able to see through the massive amount of rain and thick fog, the dragon went head first into the ground. The impact shook the earth. Hero was thrown off its back and knocked out cold.

As the ground trembled, so did the face of the water. Cyndi woke from her thoughts and shot up through the murky waters like an arrow. The first thing she did when she broke the surface was filling her lungs with cold air. A down pour greeted her from above. It was raining real hard. She looked around for the source of the commotion but it proved to be very difficult in a storm like this. As she swam back to the bank, lightning lit up the sky illuminating a large moving object but everything turned dark again before she could make out what it was. She was closer when the second flash of light appeared. It looked like… a dragon with its head stuck in the ground?

Ridiculous…

Cyndi climbed out of the pond and approached the “thing” against her better judgment. What… she was really curious. If it wasn’t really a dragon, then she would find out what it really was. If it happened to be a dragon then… well… she would be right and probably die.

She was too preoccupied with her thoughts that the other “foreign object” lying in the grass went unnoticed. Cyndi stood there with one hand on her hip while the other hand swept the long wet fringe out from her eyes. If observed from far away… and in slow motion, she would have looked like a heroine ready to slay her foe.

What do you know… in front of her was a dragon or something relatively similar to one. The dragon’s mighty wings started beating in an attempt to free its trapped head. If under different circumstances, the scene would have been laughable. She tried walking around it but only managed a few steps before the force knocked her back and down she went. Luckily something soft broke her fall.

She was glad it was there… whatever it was… until it started moving underneath her.