An old dragon warmed its scales; black and red in the spring sun. He was visiting the human kingdom, he almost never roamed our lands, but this time he had a purpose. For her part, Poka had her eyes closed, until a rabbit passed by her side, it was a ridiculous creature compared to the beauty of the beast. The sound of the animal's legs against the grass forced her to open those eyes as black as darkness and in doing so she saw the beauty of the universe. Before that moment he had not been able to appreciate the trees, the sky or the clouds in detail, which he should have done just by arriving. It was a custom to carefully observe each place he went, the rocks, warmed by the sun, the breeze, cool and the creatures, especially the creatures!

 

The trees were old pines, with dark foliage and a pleasant smell. Their trunks, tired of carrying that weight for so many years, hovered proudly over the heads of the animals. There were saplings, sticking their little branches out of the ground for the first time, with many, many years ahead of them. Some trees had already fallen, had fulfilled their function in the world. Squirrels scampered through the branches and jumped from tree to tree, under Poka's warm gaze. The rabbit sat next to the stomach of the huge dragon, he was not afraid, he could feel the peace that this beast emanated. Poka put her head close to the little boy and helped him up. That animal had already transcended, now its spirit rested.

 

"I guess you won't need your meat anymore" the dragon said to himself as he released a white flame on the rabbit and gobbled up the tender prey.

 

Sure Hraun would scold him for altering the human world, but that rabbit had already done what he had to do, his body was irrelevant. Poka decided that it was time to return to her world, she had been sunbathing there for two years, but before that she had to do one more thing, something she had promised herself a long time ago. The dragon took the form of a human, as a sapling becomes a tree and the tree becomes a dry trunk. Walking through the city, Poka looked around. There weren't many other dragons, which was usual, it wasn't allowed to intervene in human affairs. The only ones of their kind who were allowed to go to the world of man were those who had the duty to raise the spirits. The humans stared endlessly at their phones, lost in their own world and ignoring that of others. A woman was walking a dog that she had claimed as her own, Poka found that horrifying, no living being should belong to another. The human dragon approached the woman and smiled warmly at her.
 

"What is this little guy's name?" asked Poka

"Maximo, he's a Siberian Husky" the woman replied kindly.

 

Poka hated the tone of voice of humans when talking to strangers, they didn't trust each other, they knew they were capable of hurting, that's why they feared them. They were not honest with others, some were not even honest with themselves and their mere existence was an act, but they deserved the same respect as all other creatures, but at least for Poka, they did not have it.

 

"He's a nice dog" Poka complimented him.

 

Máximo looked at him while wagging his tail innocently. He enjoyed his life in captivity, he did not know freedom and he did not want to, he was satisfied. Poka understood and respected his decision. With a sad smile he walked away from the woman and continued his journey. The houses were the same at first glance, but the walls told stories, there were secrets in their corners and their floors remembered everyone who walked on them.

 

Poka entered a house just like the others, with the slight difference that there was a balloon arch at the door and many people came and went cheerfully. The dragon listened, beneath the human sound, the scratching of claws against the ground, the falling of a drop of blood, the slipping of a leg. Poka opened the door and held it, at which point a small wine-stained ferret shot out the door, leaving droplets of blood behind him. The little boy's trip didn't last long, he ran and kept running to the street, ignoring his tiredness, suddenly his body gave up. The ferret didn't seem to notice, his spirit was still strong, so he kept running, Poka followed him and approached him. With one hand, Poka helped him up, turning him into a beautiful pink dragon.