Social Conundrums, Part XV

 By Renee Hughes

Anne

A sense of unreality swirled around me like a thick wool blanket threatening to cut me off mentally from the outside world. Physically, I was already isolated locked away in a room of the elders' choosing. It was nothing more than a square box with glowing walls. I could transform the interior to anything I wanted to see or feel but it was still a prison. I couldn't leave.

Feeling small and insignificant I changed my outer form to match. A tiny pesky rodent felt right. It was a creature our ancestors disdained and since right now the Little Dragon race considered me a blight, it felt appropriate.

I could still see the face of the murdered Little Dragon. Her golden eyes filled with terror and disbelief. It shouldn’t be possible for anyone to kill another energetic being without their consent. Yet I held her in my arms watching as the life drained from her face powerless to do anything. I remember frantically searching the glimmering strands of the energetic garden for her. We usually feel echoes of Little Dragons, who leave this life to experience the next stage of existence but not this time. She was just gone.

As the only witness to this terrible event, I had been questioned by the elders at length. Then escorted here. No one said it yet but I knew I was being blamed for this unprecedented horror. A part of me couldn't fault them. I mean a Little Dragon had been deliberately killed! Nothing like this had happened in over a 100 centuries! The implications were terrifying how could they simply let me walk free.

It didn’t matter that I was innocent because there was no way that I could see for me to prove it. The last 24 hours kept running through my head but nothing I could remember seemed to shed any light on how or why this Little Dragon had been killed.

My association with the dead Little Dragon began only earlier that morning. Her name was Linda Devin. My supporters and I had just finished our daily public demonstration endorsing Mediator Kim's third way. Only three days remain until the final meeting with the mediator and my part of the planet project could finally be put to rest. Linda introduced herself as a fellow 21st century historical anthropologist. She sat on a select board that verified research projects for our profession. Linda said she remembered reviewing several of my papers specifically one on 21st century music and how it affected our ancestor's culture.

She expressed support for our cause and the two of us had a pleasant conversation. Then Linda asked for me to visit her this evening. Loosing Gershom bothered me more than I like to admit. Our relationship had barely started and already it was over. I keenly missed him. His ideas although vexing at times had been stimulating and the attraction between us still caused my heart to race. If it hadn't been for the planet project, we could have argued to our hearts content and agreed to disagree on certain subjects. We would have lasted a lot longer than we did.

When Linda reached out to me, I jumped at the opportunity to not be alone with my feelings. I wasn't ready to admit to my friends how much I missed Gershom, not until after the vote when we no longer had to fight him and his supporters. Then I could grieve, for now I had to be strong. It turns out seeking solace in the company of a stranger was a huge mistake.

Linda asked me to meet her on a relatively remote but peaceful planet. She told me to look for her by a burning fire near the seashore. The night would be cool and cloudless a perfect way for us to experience looking at the stars the way our 21st century ancestors did. The simplicity of enjoying nature drawing me eagerly to the rendezvous.

I found the fire and next to it lay Linda's lifeless body. She wasn't in a human form but that of a Little Dragon. The body we all took when death came. I vividly remember turning her over, her scales dull, eyes frozen in a look of terror. A vertical slash across her neck with a few wisps of energy leaking through the wound. Whatever made that mark is presumably what killed her.

The walls of my prison suddenly started blinking bringing me back to the present. Slowly, I transformed into the dragon. I had no desire to be anything else, especially if I was to be further questioned. A form came through the walls and I was soon faced with a familiar pair of light golden eyes. “Jerome!” I called out running to him on all fours and immediately placed my wings around my former husband. He did the same.

Both of us became silent for awhile. We had been together long enough that words often weren’t necessary. His presence here alone told me volumes, he knew I was innocent. Even if no one else did Jerome knew it. “I am not the only one Anne,” he said reading my mind. “Everyone who knows you believes you haven’t done anything wrong.”

The nature of the silence took on a deeper tone allowing me to feel Jerome’s mind working through the problem. “I have been following your work with the planet project with interest,” he admitted. “In just three days you were supposed to go before Mediator Kim now all of that has been put on hold indefinitely.”

I could see where he was going and I didn’t like it. “Surely you don’t think Gershom or his supporters on the social code committee killed another Little Dragon to stop the vote!” I exclaimed unable to hide my disbelief. “Honest disagreements do not make Little Dragons murderers.”

“I know it is upsetting,” Jerome said his voice gentle, “But considering that a killer is on the loose, nothing should be taken for granted.”

That ends Social Conundrums, Part XV. Next month is Social Conundrums, Part XVI. Learn more about the Little Dragons by reading the earlier blog post series titled Humanity's Evolution.

If you have enjoyed it so far, please consider giving a donation of time or money to your favorite charity. A few worthwhile local organizations are Safe Futures, Inc., Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut and Thames Valley Council for Community Action. Together we can make a difference!