This is going to be an interesting post for those of you who actually follow me. I'm suspecting that I'm alone on this blog, but that's okay... I still have an interest to write it. I have decided to write my poems and novels here. They may go nowhere but it will make me feel better that someday someone will read them and then have to delete them as they take up space on the internet blogs. That means that SOMEONE will read them and they will not be sitting idly in my computer or in my notebooks. 

I have always like science fiction and science fantasy, dragons and off worlds where there are strange creatures have always been my favourites. And so we begin...

Dragon Chance

A short story by Terisa A. Brooks

It was a long way down the mountain from where she was sitting. Looking down she saw the people working in the fields, building the houses and generally going about colony business. Her mother was there, at least for awhile, she had gone in and out looking frustrated and had called Lacey many times, but she had ignored her for the quiet of the mountain meadow and the ledge where she could watch but not have to work so hard.

They had been on this planet for only eight months but it was absolutely idyllic compared to the ship she had been born on. The weather was perfect, every day, and it seemed as if this planet had only one season, and that was summer. Even the rain, when it rained, was warm and wonderful to be out in. Being wet was never an issue for Lacey, she loved the feel of the rain falling on her. It had been interesting that others were not at all interested in the warm rain, they preferred to be out of it and inside their homes or the gathering rooms. Some were fearful that it would harm them in some way, but all those fears had proven false, but still the other colonists had gone inside when it was raining. 

As Lacey looked down on the colonists, and loving the quiet meadow and ledge where she sat, she suddenly felt as though she was being watched. Spinning around to see who had invaded her space, she was surprised to see no one there! Slowly getting up and walking away from the ledge where she had sat, she still felt as though someone was watching her. It was irritating as she couldn't identify who it was. She slowly turned around in the middle of the meadow, feeling the watcher. Being empathetic, Lacey was surprised she couldn't identify the culprit. 

She knew what everyone felt like in the colony, she had been in close contact with them for some time while still on the ship and it had almost driven her mad at the time. Then they'd landed and she'd had space for the first time in her life! It was part of the reason that she spent so many hours during the day away from the colony, although there were only a choice few who knew of her empathetic abilities. This person, no... not a person... but whomever, or whatever, it was simply watched curiously. Lacey was both confused and troubled. Abruptly she sat down.

As she sat there, she felt the watcher's curiosity grow. She played with the grass, feeling the watcher out, and trying to pinpoint where he was. It wasn't working, but she wasn't one not to be patient when it was needed. So she just sat there.

"I feel you there, you know." Lacey said idly while playing with some long grass and weaving it into nothing. There was no response from the watcher, although it's interest was piqued by the voice.

"I know you're there. Why don't you come out and we can talk." Lacey still pulled at the long grass to continue the weaving she had started. It was a patience technique she had taught herself a long time ago. She could weave, it was never anything useful, but it gave her hands something to do while her mind was searching.

There was a rustling in the grass behind her. She slowly turned and saw the most brightly coloured small dragon that she could imagine! It was all iridescent and the bright colours shifted around as she was looking at it.

"Are you going to hurt me?"

The words resounded in her skull and she grabbed her head and gasped.

"Sorry, I didn't realize that you could hear me so well. I won't be so loud again."

Slowly Lacey put her hands down, looking at the little dragon. Her mind was doing somersaults and she was nervous, although not very afraid.

"No, I won't hurt you... but where did you come from, and how are you talking to me?" Lacey asked, sounding more confident than she felt.

"I'm from this mountain. You are on my home. I "heard" you listening to the others that are down there and came to see what you are."

"I'm sorry, this is your home?"

"Yes"

"We did extensive surveys and found nothing like you on this planet before we came down. Where were you hiding and are there more of you?"

"We didn't want you to see us, so you didn't. There are millions of us on this planet. This is our home. Why have you come here?"

Lacey squirmed slightly, "We came here to colonize this planet. We want to settle here and grow to have more people and children, build ourselves cities and make this planet our home." Lacey pictured in her head all the information she had seen in the Earth files on the ship about their home. 

The little dragon shook his head. "Too much at once, slow down."

Lacey stopped dead. "You could see that?"

The little dragon shuddered, "Yes. Why did you send me those pictures, please don't do it again. I wasn't able to stop from receiving them and it was overwhelming."

Lacey watched as the little dragon once again shuddered and then sat still, looking at her curiously once again.

"I didn't mean to send them to you. I was just remembering all the stuff I learned on the ship that brought us here. I'm sorry if I hurt you."

"Why are there these tall symmetrical mountains on your world? It looks like there are a lot of people inside them but there is a pall over the planet. Is it well? This world of yours?"

Lacey was confused for a moment... tall symmetrical mountains?? Then it hit her. 

"Those are skyscrapers! We build them for our houses and business on our planet. What would make you ask if the world was well?"

The little dragon snorted, "It does not look well. It is not green, or growing, it's all grey and there is something between the sun and where you were picturing. It looked as if the planet was sick."

Lacey was startled for a moment. "I was remembering the pictures of our home planet that we have on the ship we came here in. I have never been on our homeworld, I was born on the ship. The something between the ground and the sun was the dome of the city. We live in huge cities on the Earth, that's the name of our home planet, and no one goes outside the domes. There are no pictures of the planet itself anymore that I know of. It's been centuries since the population has gone inside the domes of the cities."

Lacey paused for a moment, looking at the little dragon. "Why did you come talk to me? Although it's not really talking because I'm hearing you in my head."

The little dragon snorted again, flames licking around his nostrils this time. Lacey started, but remained where she was.

"I came to see who was invading my home. You were just sitting there and I was curious about you."

Lacey got to her knees, the little dragon stayed put, and Lacey slowly put her hands on the grass in front of her.

"Uuummmm, what do we do now?" Lacey slowly asked.

The little dragon shook his head, answering in a slow voice. "I don't know my child, but we will have to converse again after I have consulted with my brethren."

Lacey started again. "You can talk! Not in my head but actually talk!"

The little dragon seemed to smile, snorted again and turned to go. Looking back he telepathically spoke to her again. 

"I will see you again Lacy Human Girl" and then he just disappeared. 

He was truly gone, Lacey knew, because she could no longer feel him. His brightly iridescent colours had been beautiful and every time he'd moved, they had rippled across his little body. It was all of a sudden funny to her and she laughed a merry laugh.

Talking to herself as she rose and began making her way down the mountain she expressed her knowledge of what was going to happen, she was sure of it.

"No one is going to believe me when I tell them this!"

****************** Part 2 tomorrow *********************