LET THERE BE DRAGONS (COMPLETED)

Chapter Six: Flesh

Shivam was standing silently in the midst of pine trees, the handkerchief the Seamstress had given him still in his hands. He looked at the sky. Thousands of stars burned in the darkness of the space. The moon was bleached white, like bones of something dead, bones washed in the rain.

Was it true? Had he really 'crossed over' to a parallel world, which, strangely enough, was called Heart? It must be--he had seen that 'hollow' with his own eyes, he had felt being pulled into a vortex when he touched it. Yet it seemed impossible--wasn't he enjoying a cappuccino with his girlfriend only a few hours earlier, completely unaware of the existence of dragons and parallel worlds?

His girlfriend. Aparajita. Where was she now? How was he going to find her? If he was truly in a parallel world, he knew nobody here! He supposed he ought to get a move on if he was seriously considering the idea of locating a dragon in an alien world.

But even if he succeeded in finding the dragon that Aparajita had turned into, how in hell's name was he going to turn it back into Aparajita? And even if the dragon became Aparajita somehow, how were they going to get back to Earth? He had the handkerchief, of course, but he didn't remember the creepy incantation the Seamstress had uttered to make the Hollow appear. Maybe he ought to have memorized it. Now it was too late to be wondering about it, though.

Feeling hopeless and hungry at the same time, Shivam started walking aimlessly, after carefully folding the handkerchief into the pocket of his faded blue jeans. After walking a few steps, he stopped again. He had to at least try to understand where he was going. He looked around him again, to take in his surroundings. But there seemed to be no sign of human life--only the pine trees stood like black sentinels guarding some mysterious place.

Shivam tried to focus on the nocturnal sounds around him, hoping to hear a human voice, or any tell-tale sound that might indicate that civilization was nearby. But he heard nothing like that. Only an owl hooted, while the crickets kept at their lunar singing. Shivam sighed. How far would he have to walk before he met someone? And even if he met someone, why would he or she help him? Would the people who lived here consider him to be a lunatic if he told them he was looking for a dragon? An "Imoogi"? Or were dragons as common as crows in Heart? Shivam jerked up his head to the tree tops and the sky again, as if he expected a dragon to swoop down on him and eat him at any moment. Nothing happened. The owl hooted again.

Shivam sighed, and started walking again, as directionless as before. After walking amidst the whispering pines for about fifteen minutes, he thought he heard something. He stopped in his tracks, and concentrated. Yes...a new sound was there now in his surroundings. Its intensity varied, but it was consistently there.

What could it be? Shivam thought, scared. He listened again. Water, he thought. His heart leapt. If he could find a river, maybe he could follow it to civilization and seek help. He started walking towards the sound. After a few minutes, the sound got stronger. There was no doubt now that it was the sound of a river's flowing. Shivam increased his pace, now feeling thirsty as well as hungry, and then heard the sound of footsteps coming towards him.

Shivam froze. This was it. He was going to encounter, for the first time, a resident of this parallel world. He stared ahead fiercely, ready for anything.

A young boy, hardly fourteen, wearing a white vest and half-pants, emerged from behind the trees, his arms flailing comically above his head. "Wolves!" He shouted. "Help, wolves are chasing me!"

And sure enough, three wolves came running behind the boy. The boy was fast, but the wolves were gaining on him. Their green eyes burned with hunger, their mouths drooled with greed.

Once again, Shivam was able to understand what was going through the minds of these animals--these murderous animals.

Only one word danced through their skulls: "Flesh! Flesh! Flesh! Flesh! Flesh!"