The peak

It was a beautiful morning. Birds were singing all around. The flowers looked more colorful than ever. A lonely sun beam entered the cave. A small delicate hand appeared in the light. The young girl had always liked the heat. She got up and went to the entrance of the cave. The view was gorgeous. The valley was surrounded by trees. A lake waved through it to the outskirts of the small village where she was born. On the other side a huge mountain loomed over the small houses. It was the only place that seemed dark even in the morning light.
The girl took a deep breath. The custom was for her to spend the night alone, away from the village. She was ready now. In her mind she was just going on another journey, there was nothing to be depressed about. It was a good day to leave. She started making her way down towards the village. Her white ceremonial gown was glowing in the bright sunlight. The silk felt pleasant as it moved on her skin. She had never worn anything like this, very few girls ever had.
As she got closer to the village people started to gather. They were all staring at her. Some could not stand it and looked away. As she started her long walk among the houses some of the villagers patted her on the back in a weak attempt to comfort her. But she was smiling. It was not very clear to her why, but she was pleased with herself. Just another journey, nothing else.
At the last house she stopped, standing in front of an old man wearing a dark robe. He made a few odd movements with his hand, she followed. The girl bent down, kissed the ground and took a fistful of dirt. She threw it in the wind, looked back one last time and then started to climb the mountain. She was glad that everything was over. Looking at the faces of all those people really made her feel uneasy. It was so much nicer in the middle of nature. A squirrel came running on the path, stopped, and looked at her with curious eyes. The girl took one step and scared the animal away. From that moment on she saw no other living being. Even the trees were silent, all the leaves static. A chill ran through her. It was getting pretty cold she told to herself but knew it was something else as well. Halfway towards the peak she got to a cave. It had a huge entrance made of black stone. Trees and grass all around had the same colors. The girl pulled the hood of the cape above her head and sat down on her knees. She took a fist of dirt and started playing with it trying not to think of the heavy breathing. The ground began to shake every few seconds. The girl looked up just in time to see two red eyes staring at her from the darkness of the cave. A strange sound, a black shadow, and then ... cold.
She opened her eyes to the warm sight of a log fire. The cave showed it’s beauty in the dimming light. All around her a few girls were gathered. They seemed happy to see her awaken. She remembered them as being the ones who had left before her. This was strange, it was not how she imagined it to be. All the girls turned towards the other side of the cavern. There it was. A majestic creature, terrifying and beautiful at the same time. The dragon rose and met her eyes. It seemed to smile. The girl smiled back, she felt warm again.
It was a strange feeling learning like that. She got instructions straight to her head but it felt more like her thoughts. She was sitting in the middle of the cave using magic to keep herself warm. It seemed so natural now that the girl was wondering how come she had not tried it before. A few weeks later the group gathered to the eastern side of the room. The dragon came and sent them specific instructions on the magic they were supposed to perform. A few moments later all the other girls except her, left the cave.
That was when the dragon spoke to her for the first time. It was a female of her species and the girl had been chosen to become a dragon as well. At first this came as a huge surprise nut then she thought about it, imagined herself soaring above the clouds and felt like that was where she belonged. The dragon had already felt that so he had used the other girls to perform the first part of the ritual. It would take three years for the metamorphosis to take place.
So she continued to train. This time under constant supervision of the dragon. It was only now that she could notice the creature closely. It was really magnificent. The scales were of the purest black she had ever seen, moving together like a dark wave that ended at the tip of the wings. The white long teeth were terrifying when they appeared. Sometimes she could see the dragon in the back of the cave only because of the eyes and teeth. The rest of it was hidden in darkness. It was incredible how much her opinion on dragons changed. What seemed at first a creature with an insatiable hunger for blood was actually a creature with more intelligence and knowledge than any human being in existence. The dragon had told her one night how, at the moment of the metamorphosis, all the knowledge will be passed on to her and then she will add her own experiences to it and pass them on to another worthy person of the human world. They talked all through the night about all things, alive and dead.
Time passed and the girl was actually getting impatient. She could not wait to be able to soar above the clouds together with the dragon, seeing distant lands and cities. She was also quite curious to find out all the knowledge that had been passed from one dragon to another. Still nothing happened. Her body was the same as before, maybe a bit thinner.
All of that changed on a cold winter morning. She woke up feeling sick. The dragon was nowhere to be found. She tried calming her body. The techniques she had learned these past months were of no help. The pain was awful. She tried to sleep it through but even that would not work. And then something happened. There was a strange sound coming from her back after which she felt something else. It was almost like having two more hands, only not quite. She looked to her sides and watched with amazement as two huge dragonfly wings were moving to her command.
The first thing she did was climb on the table and jump from it. But alas, the wings were not strong enough to hold her in the air. After healing her rather large bruise the girl decided to have patience. At least now she knew there was nothing wrong with her and the metamorphosis was going to take place. She was smiling all day long. The girl started to train herself. She wanted to have perfect use of her new limbs. In time she could almost glide for a few meters. After a while her skin began to change too. It got harder at first. It was amazing what she could do now and not get hurt. Still after watching herself in the mirror she realized there was hardly any resemblance to the dragon. She got a bit frustrated but the creature was nowhere to be found and since she could not ask the dragon about it she just waited.
Time passed, weeks, then months. One day the dragon came back. The girl found the creature changed somehow but she could not understand why. Then the dragon told her it was time and she smiled. That was why creature seemed so strange, it was time for her metamorphosis.
The two climbed up on the mountains. She was pretty slow but the dragon always waited for her patiently. It was a walk that she had to do on her own. In the distance they could see the sun setting. It seemed so appropriate. Her old life was going to end. There were no other living creatures to be seen. It seemed a bit too quiet, as if nature knew something amazing was about to happen. They got to the top of the mountain. She rested for a bit on a rock. The view really was astonishing, it was so sad that people were afraid of that place.
The dragon sent another thought in her head. She trusted the creature completely and so jumped from the peak without thinking about it. The dragon followed her. A great light covered them both and for a second you could have thought they had become one. The world seemed to move slower, almost as if it was holding its breath. And then it was over. The girl was finally in a dragon body. It looked almost identical to the one of the creature that had taught her everything. The feeling of power was amazing, and finally she was able to fly. She smiled and looked expectantly at the dragon, and saw him falling. The creature now had the girl’s old body and the wings were too frail to keep it in the air. The girl filled the valley with a roar while plunging to save her friend. It was too late though. With a lone tear, the dragon hit the hard ground.
Stunned and not knowing what to do, she flew back on the top of the mountain and landed clutching the peak. She used all her strength to roar once more, this time throwing towards the clouds a huge flame. The fire lit up the sky for a second. Then there was silence. The sun disappeared slowly behind the trees and left her clutching the peak, feeble and alone.

©Iustin