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Valley of Life

Changing times

By Donna Morgan Published 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago 6 min read
6
Valley of Life
Photo by Conscious Design on Unsplash

There weren't always dragons in the Valley. But no one really knows when they appeared.

Or do they?

Some say that the crazy old man living on his own, way at the other end of the valley knows it all. Seen who they are and where they came from. But everyone knows he's crazy from living alone.

The old-timers tell stories of cattle and sheep grazing freely across the valley no one owned them, but everyone looked after them. the land provided everything they needed. Every season the abundance of life was all around them. Fields of flowers, trees heavy with fruit and vines ripe with vegetables.

No one lacked or went without.

So what happened well that’s the strangest story, I’ve heard many versions. I suspect that the old man everyone says is crazy knows the real truth and no one wants to listen. But I am not one to accept hearsay. I am willing to listen and have planned to see him tomorrow after the morning ban is lifted.

It started one frosty morning the valley was white. According to the town's paper, this was the first time in history.

The headline read:

Too hot for ice. How ????

We have always enjoyed our warm climate, our mild seasons and everything that is provided for us. So how do we have ice?

It's to hot for ice, to warm for any cold. Then what good citizens is happening in our valley?

We will investigate this further and bring you the story as we uncover more. What we do know is this morning we are blanketed in white ice across our valley yet it isn't cold.

How is this possible?

It isn't or it shouldn’t be.

Someone is playing a practical joke on us and we here at the Morning Light will uncover the culprit or culprits.

Do not be fooled or alarmed by this event it is nothing but child’s play.

No one could explain the strangeness of it all.

How was any of this even possible?

The next day's paper read.

Temperature drop. Cold snap hits!

The headlines in succession read like this til the 7th day

Don’t be alarmed! We have Dragons amongst us.

I have asked many people and read many accounts of what people think happened but none of this adds up as to how the dragons arrived or why.

Most stories follow the same thread.

"It was the darndest thing we started getting frost on the ground and everything started to wither up from the cold, we had to order in winter woollies and undergarments for folks and then one night we seen fire across the sky and the deep cold arrived."

"They came out of the mountain one night when the storm started and they never left. Or they came out of the sky as it split by lightning that’s my favourite version it makes more sense to me that they came through a portal in time."

But the pieces are still similar yet something is missing.

Something Vital.

But one old man had seen it all. Errol sat on his porch, night after night rugged up in his blankets to watch the sky fire and listen to the silence. Except for the hissing sound like fire being quenched by water.

As the cold grew, lasting longer than anyone ever anticipated Errol watched the sheep and cattle find thickets and groves to stay warm in. What no one else wanted to see was the charred streaks across the land the missing cattle and sheep even the night birds were disappearing.

The flowers and fruit disappeared.

Gone!

One day they were there the next nothing.

Blackened and charred they just vanished.

Most folks watched the fiery streaks in the night sky, but no one noticed the black shadows that those streaks came from.

Errol seen it all and tried to tell the towns folk.

No one listened, after all he was just a crazy old man living on his own with nothing but the animals to keep him company.

30 years later and here I am ready to talk to Errol and unravel his story.

Driving through a blackened charred landscape can be both beautiful and saddening.

Will it ever recover?

Will the dragons ever Leave?

Will anything ever regrow?

I stopped to open a gate on Errol’s property

I couldn't believe my eyes. Before me was a lush green place of life.

How is it this is so alive and the rest is so black?

I pulled up to the Porch.

Errol watched me as I approached

"Good morning, Errol "

He nodded. "I see ya got a fancy car with them big wheels."

I laughed "tis, not mine I rented it. my wheels belong to a bike."

He beamed "ahh! ya got taste then"

"Sposen ya wanna know about them there Dragons and how they got here"

"Yep if you don’t mind telling me the story"

"I don’t mind but ya better settle in and get us some coffee cause I'm a bit slow and this may take a while to tell."

The night I first saw them, I was sitting here listening to the hoot owl and watching the stars.

I love the stars, do you?

Well just then the sky split and 2 flashes of fire shot out across the sky, one chasing the other. I could see the outlines of the beasts that threw the flames but there was someone on the back of each winged beast. Sparks flew from them towards each other. then they swooped down to the ground and I lost sight of em. But I could still see flashes of light and hear strange noises. It was hours later the moon had crossed to the other side of my house and the dark shadows flew up into the sky once more fiery streaks racing across the night stars. Then as quick as they appeared a flash like a star exploding and they were gone.

"Was this when the dragons appeared?"

Errol shook his head. "No this was maybe 3 years earlier"

Every year at the same time they came back till the following year and the flash never came.

The Dragons didn’t go back but they never had any riders that year.

The year before they had left behind some eggs. I found them and moved them to the cave they were outside of.

"Ahh, so that’s where the story they came from a cave started"

"You betcha! "

"What was yer name again?"

"Harry"

"Be a good lad Harry and get me another cuppa I haven’t talked this much in a lifetime and it sure makes me thirsty."

"So whadda ya think are ya interested in hearing the rest or do ya think it’s a load of manure?""

Errol, I’m all in. Keep going I want to hear it all."

"You’re the first fella that’s ever come to ask me the truth. How long are ya here for.? Your gonna get your story."

I beamed "Errol I'm all yours as long as it takes. I will be back every day."

"No need I have a spare bed grab your stuff your stayin with me till the story is told."

By shubham waghulde on Unsplash

Short Story
6

About the Creator

Donna Morgan

I am a lover of the mystical the magical and the spiritual.

I write to heal myself and to share my journey with anxiety and life that I experience through my feelings.

I love to write it is my healing place.

Reader insights

Outstanding

Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!

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  1. Easy to read and follow

    Well-structured & engaging content

  2. Excellent storytelling

    Original narrative & well developed characters

  3. Expert insights and opinions

    Arguments were carefully researched and presented

  1. Eye opening

    Niche topic & fresh perspectives

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    The story invoked strong personal emotions

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    Writing reflected the title & theme

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Comments (2)

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  • Mariann Carroll2 years ago

    I love the southern accent , tone to this story hearted ❤️

  • I want to know the rest. I like the imagery painted here. So often we write stories describing the bad towards the good. To read a reverse of that, going from this is the beauty and how it degenerated over time making this a fabulous prequel to the real story.

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