THE DRAGON

“You woke the dragon.” The hushed voice of a woman said rousing Liam from his sleep. Liam sat up on his arm, half awake, scanned the room and laid back down seamlessly drifting right back in to his dream.

The dragon crept into Liam’s bed while he slept. It circled around him, taking in his every breath, his every movement and watching him dream. It settled in right next to Liam as he drifted deeper into the subconscious of his slumber. The dragon watched him, studying him, wondering exactly what he had called on her for; wondering what it was he would do once he woke up and found her there waiting for him. The dragon was curious; curious as any creature that had been sought after for so many years.

Liam had been dreaming about the magical being for as long as he could remember. She had all the answers. She could deliver anything he asked. Beauty. Intelligence. Strength. She was all he ever wanted. And now she was there. In the flesh. The dream was over. The dragon had arrived.

“You woke the dragon.” Liam heard again, this time sitting straight up in bed to find the myth of his mind standing before him.

“I’m sorry.” Liam finally managed. “I didn’t mean to wake you.” He said, unsure he was awake himself.

“I wanted you to.” The dragon replied.

Liam took a moment. He didn’t quite know what to do. “You could go back to sleep for a little while if you’d like.” He said.

“I can’t.” She replied. “Once you’ve woken a dragon, the dragon is awake.”

Liam sat in the dark, his eyes wide with enchantment and wonder, taking in the reality that dreams do come true… and that once they arrive you have them to do with what you will… or what you won’t.

awgryphon©

THOMAS & JOSEPHINE

Josephine walked past the flower shop wearing the sky blue dress she always wore on Sundays when the sun was shining and air was still. Thomas was already at the café. His shift had begun at the crack of dawn. As Josephine sailed through the front door and took her place behind the counter everyone in the shop looked at her. Some out of the corner of their eye, some with just a glance up from their newspapers, others were much more obvious. Josephine had an easy going and approachable way about her. She was also an unparalleled natural beauty. Just being in her presence was enough to put a smile on anyone’s face, but Josephine also had a secret.

She examined the morning produce delivery and Josephine decided she would make a fresh apple pie and strawberry sugar cookies for the after dinner regulars. The shine of the apples and the sweet smell of the berries inspired her. It would be a wonderful day she decided. A magical one.

Thomas placed a New Orleans style café au lait beside Josephine and turned to go back to his work. Josephine touched his hand and with her fingers. The ever so slight connection stopped Thomas. His eyes were on their hands. Josephine didn’t move. Thomas didn’t either. An older man in the café noticed and thought fondly of his youth. A happily married mother smiled from the inside out. For Josephine and Thomas time seemed to have stopped. Josephine bit her lip with hope and anticipation. A rush of butterflies surged through Thomas’s body. He wanted to turn away, but he knew if did he may not get another chance. This was the moment.

Thomas finally looked up to Josephine and she smiled at him with a smile that made him feel like he was the only one in the room… because for her, he was. “There you are.” Thomas said.
“Here I am.” Josephine replied.

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THE PLAN

Jenny put on a yellow sundress and her plaid green galoshes then walked out into the snow. She wasn’t dreaming and she wasn’t crazy. She realized it might seem that way, but Jenny had a plan.

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ALEXANDRA

Alexandra shot through the icy water at an incredible velocity. She had to. The rush of sea water against her skin was the only thing that could awaken the life within her that had been dormant for so many years. Each element of her being pulsed with energy; the ice tore at her nerves and the raw glacial thrust infused her senses. Alexandra’s blood flushed to her heart and into her finger tips, opening her eyes from a deep sleep and forcing her into the raw reality of being fully alive once again.

As the cold tore through her, it also released her. Alexandra was again whole. The temperature of the water around her calmed. It was no longer assaulting her. It was a part of her. Dolphins circled and orcas commenced while the life of the sea consumed the change they had always known was coming.

In a bolt of freedom and will Alexandra broke the surface sending water thousands of feet above. Her blue eyes hit the light of day framed by her hair, black as night, and snow white skin. For the first time in over a thousand years Alexandra was again at the surface.


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SEARCHING FOR A UNICORN

Sara stood at the top of Main Street where it crossed Trinity Boulevard. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom and the wind whipped just enough to carry them through the town like a light snow. It was overcast in a way that made the thickness of the air feel like a blanket and the chill like the world was giving Sara its full attention.

Sara pulled her sweater around her body and tucked in her scarf so it covered her neck up to her ears. It had been a quite an eventful morning. Sara had woken up with thoughts of Paris, the Italian countryside, the islands of Greece, all of the places she’d been and all of the places she hadn’t. It was just after eleven and Sara was due to meet Jonathan at eleven thirty. He would be there on time, or early. Jonathan was never late. Neither was Sara, but on that morning the time didn’t much matter to her.

Sara stood at the top of Main Street as the cherry blossoms drifted by and her hair blew from one direction to the next. She thought of the Eiffel Tower and what the cafés looking over the Louvre must feel like. She imagined a bike ride through the country and of letting the views Van Gough captured so brilliantly inspire her. Sara let her mind wander and she set her heart free with the same spirit that drove her to live a life of chance and will. Then Sara thought of Jonathan and looked down at her watch. It was half past eleven. He was certainly at the café waiting for her. Jonathan was never late. He would be sitting in the same spot that he always did, on the corner, sipping his cappuccino and waiting for Sara to arrive so they could share a pastry of her choosing.

Sara pondered the idea of the rest of her day then she took off her watch and set it on the ground. Her cell phone rang. She knew it was Jonathan. She knew he was calling because she was late, but late for what she wondered. She pulled the phone from her pocket and set it on the ground next to her watch.

Sara looked down at the ground, watching the phone ring and the clock tick while cherry blossoms swirled over her feet and up into the sky. Again the images and feelings of people and places from around the world filled her; places she’d been to and places she would visit some day.

Sara was a woman meant to take on all of life. It was a reality of which she was keenly aware, but also distracted from by the happenings that filled her day-to-day. With a soul and approach that whisked like the cherry blossoms some would say that Sara was searching for a unicorn, others that she was a free spirit, but if you asked Sara herself, all she ever wanted was to feel whole, and full and alive with every fiber of her being.

As the possibilities of life and plans for the future consumed her, Sara unwrapped the scarf from her neck and dropped it over her ringing phone and ticking watch. She unbuttoned her coat, pulled her sweater up over her head, unzipped her dress and let it fall down around her. She stood in a pair of shearing lined boots at the top of Main Street, unclasped her bra and stepped out of her panties leaving only the floating cherry blossoms to cover the being that was the lovely Sara Nichols.

One step at a time Sara walked down the street, along the center line of course, at moments dancing and at others simply moving with grace.

Sara danced right by the café where Jonathan was at his favorite table on the corner, sipping his mid-morning cappuccino and waiting patiently for her to arrive and select the pastry they would share. He watched as Sara passed by and wondered where she was going, but made no motion to go after her. Jonathan simply sipped his coffee and watched her go until Sara disappeared into the distance and became part of the light that was the mid-morning sun.

Searching for a Unicorn awgryphon©

THE DISTANCE

THE DISTANCE

The desert air weighed heavy on Sierra. There was no turning back. Too much had happened. She’d lived a good life. Short, but good. Sierra’s life had been full. She understood the kind of wrong a girl could right, and the kind you couldn’t walk away from. Running was Sierra’s only choice. Starting a new life was her only hope.

The odds were against her and she knew that, but no matter what happened, Sierra had lived. She knew what it meant to embody all of who she was. The right and the wrong, the love and the hate, the thrill of the rain, the depth of unbridled passion.

Sierra put on her sunglasses and wiped the sweat from her neck as she pulled out of the gas station in her beat-up old, sky blue Thunderbird with the top down, and her shoulders glistening under the hot sun. Then Sierra drove off into nowhere, only moving forward, never looking back.

©awgryphon
photograph by Mike Reyfman

SHE...

The clouds conversed on the sky and covered the city in an instant. People stopped what they were doing and looked up. They could feel every aspect of their being; their blood pumping, their hearts racing, the hairs on their arms slowing standing up on end. The entire population could feel what was coming from the core of their souls. They were filled with the adrenaline of what might be and the tense excitement of not knowing. The sky grew darker as the air weighed down and the earth began to vibrate ever so slightly. Anyone who had been inside was now out in the streets, their yards, the parks… Waiting. No one said a word. No one made a move. There was nothing to be done. With lighting as her guide and thunder as her throne, she was coming…