17.11.

2015

LESSON IN PATIENCE
by Alexis Papageorgiou

For Patricia.

I was on my journey and got lost in a mountain area. I wasn’t sure if my path was leading
me to my goal because I have been wandering for months now. I didn’t know how many
days or weeks I travelled. Quite frankly I wasn’t sure if this was still Nepal. We decided to
reach the next village and find a place to rest for the night. Early morning I went to the
local market to get some fruit for me and some food for my man.
After I found everything something caught my attention in a little alley. A small girl was
running around a little dragon and hitting it with a small still. The dragon tried to catch
the stick with its mouth. Both seemed very lucky to enjoy each others company. After
seeing cruelty and poorness in the months before, my heart got warm. I felt the love
between the two figures.

“What are you doing?”, i asked.

“We are playing a game”, the small kid answered. “He hates it when he loses”.

The green dragon jumped up and down and on the kid’s shoulder to grab the stick. The
girl lowered her arm and quickly the creature snapped, caught the stick and let out a
grunt that sounded like pure happiness. He destroyed it instantly to leave no room for
interpretation of who was the winner.

“What’s his name?”

“Alex. I named him after my grandfather who used to take care of me. When he passed
he turned into a dragon, so that he protects me from evil. I see you have a heavy bag
mister. What is your goal?”

“That’s a long story. I will try to make it short. I come from Greece, a wonderful country
far away from here where the people live an untroubling and comfortable life. My
parents passed away very young. They were hit by a disease no one understood. From
then on I had to take care of my little sister. I taught her how to hunt, how to fish, how to
play and how to smile. She is my favourite person in the world. One day she did not come
home from fishing. Dead worried I was searching the area where she worked but couldn’t
find her anywhere. I ran back to our home to see if she was there but no. I wanted to run
back to the sea when a neighbour was shouting my name and instructed me to follow
him. He lead me to a small wooden cabin. There was my sister lying almost unconscious
in a bed. The same illness had caught her that had killed our parents. The doctors again
were without answer. There was simply no cure. So I sold my parents home and our
sheep to find someone who could help me, but no one could. Frustrated I searched for
help in Delphi and asked the Oracle. She told me to go east and travel seven bridges and

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seven seas. I will find mountains and continue on that path. If i don’t lose my faith, it said,
I will meet someone named Patricia who will help me cure my sister.”

The little kid felt it’s pocket and picked out a flashing green stone. It then mumbled
something to the dragon. When she dropped the stone in a small flask the dragon spit
fire from above.

“This will help you on your journey”, the little kid said.

I got on my knees to examine the inside. The green stone now was neon red and seemed
to be moving. When I looked up the kid and the dragon were nowhere near to spot. I ran
down the alley and came to the end of this mountain. To my left there was an older man,
but no one else.

“Excuse me old man, have you seen a green dragon?”.

The old man laughed. “I heard much about dragon but believe me, in 87 years i have
never met one.”

“It was small and with it a young kid”.

The old man suddenly stopped laughing.

“You are talking about the old story of the dragon of Moosberg. I haven’t heard this story
in many years, why bother now?”.

“Mister, would you be so kind and tell me the story. It may just be this story that defines
my upcoming path.”

The old man took a long and deep breath. He looked up to the sun and awaited for
almost a minute.

“Alright”, he said. “Legend said that there was a small dragon who found himself at the
bottom of a mountain. Rumor has it that he could never grow and was banished from his
family. Because of his size he played a lot with the young kids in the neighborhood
villages next to the mountain. The inhabitants were afraid that their precious kids might
get hurt so they called in a meeting with the elders of the area. They proposed to forbid
the dragon to live near ten walking days from the area. Everyone seems to agree with this

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but one old man stood up and spoke in front of the wise men. He said that everyone,
whether mankind or creature, deserved a chance to show his true color. He claimed the
dragon was harmless and he should be allowed to stay until proven guilty. Besides, that
kids loved the dragon. The elder were not happy about it but acknowledged the
argument. So the decision was made and the dragon continued to play games with the
kids. It remained calm until one day the very same old man tripped and fell down in his
house. He tried to hold on to something but could only reach a small table. He
accidentally knocked it over and with it an antique oil lamp.

The fire spread quickly. When the dragon arrived it was already too late. He tried to save
the old man but his power was not enough to lift the old man. He flew upstairs and found
a little kid. He picked it up with his teeth and flew outside where the angry mob screamed
and shouted at the dragon. The were wearing knives and hammer and threw whatever
they could find at him. One sharp blade made its way into the left side and green blood
spread amongst the floor. He quickly grabbed the kid, flew over the village and never
came back. This legend is so many years old but no one ever same the dragon nor the
kid.”

I looked at the little flask I was still holding in my hand. The red stone turned into a
colorful liquid.

“Tell me old man. It is a beautiful story. Do you remember the name of that little kid?”.

“Of course. Her name was Patricia.”