THE HEALER — The golden eagle

Then a golden eagle appeared. She circled overhead, beckoning Skyblue to follow. Skyblue spread her wings. As she did, she heard a clear voice, though the eagle’s beak did not move.

“Welcome, Skyblue of the Blue Planet, of the golden eagle lineage. I am Helio, and I will accompany you on your journey home.”

Scenes from her life appeared before her eyes, even the times when she had thought she would never manage to be a dragon like the others.

Helio was in every scene.

Sometimes she flew high above; at other times she passed close by. Skyblue recognized moments when, without knowing why, she had felt someone was with her. She had forgotten that feeling.

The images changed. She saw a world that was unfamiliar and familiar all at once. Beings of crystalline blue light came forward to welcome her. Their color reminded her of the crystals she kept among her treasures.

They told her they were her family and were happy to see her return. She felt such joy that she had no need to ask their names. Among those presences, she recognized Aurora.

She woke with tears in her eyes.

For a while she lay still, trying to hold on to the images. The golden eagle. The blue beings. Ernesto’s laughter. The words “journey home.”

Eagles were rare in the dragons’ land, and among the few birds the dragons admired. They stopped their work whenever they saw one, believing it a sign of good fortune.

Skyblue remembered seeing a golden eagle near her more than once. She had never told anyone; she did not want them to think she was boasting about her good luck.

Now she wondered how many things in her life had held a meaning she did not yet understand.