7 years later

Rafiki

My hand glides along the scales of the animal that lies next to me, the animal that is more dear to me than anything around me. The animal that no one knows exists. He is the thing that is most dear to me and at the same time the thing that I hate the most. I am just as dependent on him as he is on me. My deepest fear is that someday someone will find out that he is on my side.

The wind makes my hair float through the cold air. I look forward to the beautiful peaks of the Andes. There are no places in this world that make me feel like these peaks. Freedom feeds my veins and keeps me breathing. This is the only reason my heart still beats and my blood still flows. He is the one who makes me breathe.

Slowly the sun sinks behind the peaks and colors the sky its deep blue color. I let a sigh slide over my lips and rise from the stones on which I had taken my place. Reviri puts himself next to me on his giant legs at the sight of my movement. The times when the animal could still sit on my shoulder are long gone. If you didn't know how big he once was you would wonder how he hatched.

"It's time to go home," I share with the mysterious animal. He doesn't answer in words but lets his wing slide down next to me with a single movement. The beautiful black wings that are as strong as diamonds but at first sight silk. The wings that have given me back my freedom and take me to where I love most, in the wind.

I let my gaze glide over the peaks for the last time. Every time I come here it feels like home. Every time I leave here it feels like I'm leaving a part of myself behind, like I'm dying a little bit. I know what obligations I carry with me but I would love to run as far away from them as possible. Getting lost in the wind and never looking behind me again, that is my deepest desire. I know what burden I carry, I know what my fate is but still I run away from it where the possibility lies in front of me.

I place my foot on the silk wing. My second foot soon follows behind the other and so I continue my way up. It's that I know I won't hurt him for a second or I would have thought twice about this action. The meter high animal is as strong as concrete and as dangerous as the fire sliding out of its diaphragm.

On the back of the animal I slowly lower myself onto the saddle. On the saddle that I put together years ago in deep nights I take my place. This saddle has cost me many nights of headaches and sweat on my back but it has been worth all his efforts. Flying without a saddle is not an excluded option, it's just less comfortable.

I let the language that no normal person understands slip over my lips. For the ears of the dragon below me it is just as understandable as numbers for us. A normal person won't understand what language I speak, that's a good thing. 'Up' is the English translation of what I speak.

The giant animal begins to flap its wings. With two simple swings we hang in the air again. The wind blows through my hair even harder than when I was still standing with my feet on the ground. Fear of heights is something unthinkable if you would sit on my position. How the view from the roof of the palace already causes ants, people are not even visible here.

I put on the black gloves that cover my hands, put the hood that keeps my identity on my head and put the black cloth on my nose so that only my eyes are visible. I put my hands on the iron reins. I let 'Fastera' slide along my lips with a hissing sound. Reviri understands my demand and hits his wings harder in the wind.

I clamp my feet in the footrests that are mounted along the saddle. The wind blows so fast along my body that I have no choice but to hold on tight. The clouds rush up along my body and the tops where I just stood disappear further and further out of my sight, little dots remain.

In a vertical line it races through the clouds further and further away from the ground. When a height is reached that suits me I remove my one foot from the bracket. Reviri reduces his speed so I get the chance to put my foot against the saddle. I let go of my one hand from the reins so I only walk on one hand with one foot in the stirrup. A grin appears on my lips. 'Folig'

I take my last foot out of the brace and put it against the saddle as well. At the moment I put my second foot against the saddle I bend my knees. Still we race with an intense speed through the clouds, wind rushing past my eyes. I release my last hand from the reins and put my feet off the saddle.

As if I dive backwards into the water I let myself slide through the air. With my hands facing the ground, which is miles away from me, I race down at an intense speed. The enormous wind racing along my body, the feeling that I am flying and the sound of the wind together is what makes me feel freer than ever. This is where I belong, this is me.