Anne
The room's walls began blinking again alerting me that I had another visitor. Mixed feelings brimming inside at the prospect. I hadn’t been in prison even a full day yet and I didn’t have enough claws to count the number of Little Dragons, who had entered these walls. Even my three children had dropped everything to see me. I deeply appreciated all who came and yet I also abhorred each visit. It isn’t as if I didn’t want them to come, being all alone with my thoughts for days on end would happen soon enough. It is just that with each encounter the division between myself and all other Little Dragons became clearer. No matter how much they expressed sympathy and outrage at my imprisonment at the end of each visit, they would leave while I remained.
These feelings and much more filling me as I recognized the new arrival. Gershom had come. “Hello,” he said his golden Little Dragon eyes looking deeply into mine. My heart caught in my throat and unexpectedly tears came to my own eyes embarrassing me. I had to turn away for a moment. We were no longer together yet seeing him here now in my moment of need gave me an irrational urge to throw myself into his arms. Missing him and what we had is the reason I agreed to meet with Linda Devine in the first place.
Eventually I recovered enough to speak. “Thank you for coming,” I said to him. He nodded his long neck as his piercing eyes began roaming the walls of my prison for a few silent moments. The Little Dragon then gave a heavy sigh turning back to me.
“I can conjure pretty much anything I wish,” I said suddenly conscious of how sad the bare room looked.
“Yet you are choosing to live in this stark reality,” Gershom said a grudging note of approval in his voice. “You don’t plan on staying here long do you.” he stated.
I found his observation annoying. “I don’t really have a choice here Gershom,” I said a hard edge coming into my voice. “I am being held under suspicion of murder. I am not guilty but until the Little Dragon who did it is found this is my new home.”
A pained look grew on Gershom’s countenance. “You misunderstand my meaning Anne. The fact that you are not hiding from your fate means you have hope that you will be released.”
Exhausted by my burst of temper, I managed a weary shake of my head. “The innocent always harbors hope Gershom,” I said. “But I haven’t even been here for a full day yet. Ask me that question a century from now.”
Gershom’s dragon visage grew determined becoming as hard as stone. “Tell me who has come to see you so far?” he asked surprising me with the change of subject. Although uncertain of his motive, I couldn’t see any harm in listing everyone. His golden eyes gleaming when I mentioned Ezekiel’s name. “The elders have come to talk with you personally?”
I gave a negative shake of my head. “Only Ezekiel, I am sure the time will come when I will be brought before all of them but due to the nature of the crime I am accused of who knows when that will be.”
Gershom gave a slow nod of his dragon snout. “So Ezekiel came to express his support?” he asked.
“He did more than that Gershom,” I said. “He and Jerome are working on tracking down the actual murderer.” Gershom’s nostrils flaring briefly in alarm. He recovered so quickly I nearly missed the gesture. “What’s wrong?” I asked him.
“Nothing at all,” he said his voice going up an octave giving a feel of a forced nonchalant attitude. “I am glad you have people looking out for you... Well, I really must be going.”
His abrupt dismissal cut through my heart. It shouldn’t have because he didn’t owe me anything anymore. We were no longer lovers. Considering the way we ran competing demonstrations over the social code committee project, I am not sure we were even really friends anymore. Bringing my own dignity to the forefront, I thanked him again for coming.
“Of course,” he said and then left me alone in my prison.
That ends Social Conundrums, Part XIX. Next month is Social Conundrums, Part XX. Learn more about the Little Dragons by reading the earlier blog post series titled Humanity's Evolution.
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