In the Quiet of Cellars

As they descended the stairs, Hope deliberated when, and if, and how to tell Finn about the dragon.

With all the other incredible things that occurred, and that Finn now had witnessed, surely a dragon wouldn't be out of place? But why was it difficult for her to put into words? It was a simple sentence. "I saw a dragon too." But even though she knew the words, the right ones, she couldn't bring herself to say them.

At the bottom of the stairs, Finn reached for the light switch. In the quiet of cellars, Hope heard it click. Nothing happened.

"Great now the light is out." Finn's cellphone screen lit up. Hope saw his finger press the word flashlight on it and a small area lit up around them.

Hope took her phone from her pocket and did the same.

"It's The Other Place." She lifted her light and walked to the cracked fountain. Finn followed. "See Finn, this is the place from my meditation."

"I thought you went to The Ancient to do that."

"Yes, I did. But this is what I saw. It's just as I described earlier. See The Dandelion came from out of this fountain. It was beautiful. The blue colors came to me, and I used them to fight that grey.... Oh, it just sounds like so much nonsense."

"If I wasn't looking right at it, Sis, I'd agree with you. What happened after you fought it off?"

"Well, it came back stronger and knocked me down while I was running for the...wait." Hope held up her phone and walked to the place where the swinging gate had been. "Where is it?"

"Where's what?"

"The swinging gate. How I got in and out. Where the..."

"What, Sis. What?"

"Okay, there's one more thing. I haven't said anything to anyone, well except Langston." She pet under his ear. "While I was running for the swinging gate to get free from that grey, I heard a loud roar, then there was a light as bright as The Sun in your face on a clear day. And just before I woke up I saw where it came from."

"Go on."

"Just before I opened my eyes, I saw in the swinging gate, the face of a dragon."

Like the period at the end of that sentence, a green light began to glow where the gate was. It hovered in the air and traced a perfect contour of Hope's memory of the door all in a glowing shade of green.

Hope and Finn held up their phone flashlights and stared at the green swinging gate.

Langston barked once and ran towards it.

On the other side of the gate a young woman surrounded with green light and illuminated wings reached down and pet Langston whose tail was wagging like John just came home from work and wow was it good to see him.

"Well," the Young Winged Woman said. "Are you just going to stand there or come in? There's work to be done."

And because they were both as curious as anyone can be, and the young winged woman was smiling, and maybe mostly because Langston's tail was wagging as he danced the way dog's do... The Genius, The Poet, and The Tail-Wag-Dancing Hound Dog walked through the Swinging Gate to meet the Young Winged Woman on the other side.

...🐉...