THE FIFTH REALM: TURQUOISE — A word's journey

The next morning, Helio suggested a new task.

“You’re going to watch where your words go. Say one word and follow its energy until you see it dissolve. Then you can say another.”

Skyblue remembered the raindrops that had come out of her mouth.

“Do I have to follow everything that appears?”

“And what happens afterward. A word doesn’t end where you stop looking at it.”

In the Turquoise Realm, the spoken word took shape, but its energy traveled farther, propelled by intention and emotion. Thoughts, too, could reach whatever lay in their path.

At first Skyblue enjoyed herself so much that she forgot much of the task. She said a word, admired the color it produced, breathed in its fragrance, and immediately tried another. She said pleasant words and unpleasant ones to compare their effects. The shapes multiplied.

“One at a time,” Helio reminded her. “You still haven’t seen how far the first one goes.”

But the dragon found a new wonder at every turn. She followed one of her creations until another seemed more interesting. If a light disappeared behind some trees, she assumed it was gone. She didn’t wonder what might be happening on the other side.

Some time passed in this way.