THE THIRD REALM: YELLOW — Resting again

She led her toward an area that seemed to belong to another realm. The trees were whole, the paths clear, the air lighter. Skyblue stopped before an acacia covered in flowers.

“Have we left?”

“We’re still in the Yellow Realm. This is another of its faces.”

The dragon touched the trunk. She could hardly understand how such a beautiful tree had grown so close to those ruins.

She asked the acacia’s permission to rest. As she embraced it, she felt Ernesto and made no attempt to hide her shame from him. She stayed there, leaning against the trunk, until she was ready to go inside.

She opened the satchel, invoked the elements and the directions, and offered some of her food to the earth and the tree. Her gratitude was awkward at first, interrupted by memories of everything that had happened. She didn’t try to make it into something else. She gave thanks as best she could.

The taste of the first mouthful surprised her. She chewed slowly, then took another bite. She had spent so long eating without noticing that she had almost forgotten the pleasure of it.

She set the torch beside the entrance and looked at it for a moment. It was still a gift. She didn’t want to use it the way she had before.

For the first time in a long while, she lay down without watching the door.

She slept deeply and remembered no dreams. She woke so rested that she thought she must have slept an entire day, but outside, dawn was only just beginning.

She greeted the acacia and went out to explore. An apple tree heavy with fruit lowered a branch as she passed. It was offering her a red apple.

Skyblue took it in both paws.

“The trees laugh here, too,” she murmured.