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How to Seer, Part 26

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"I don't believe you."

It was a strange thing to be told to your face after first meeting someone but, in retrospect, it made sense since what I'd told him was probably not something that most people would easily be able to take at face value. I'd started off on the wrong foot, and had to find a way to course correct. "Just because you don't believe it doesn't make it any less real."

It was a comment that Talapus had said to me at one point and it seemed profound at the time though, when it came out of my mouth, it seemed almost silly... especially considering what surrounded me-- THAT was truly unbelievable.

I'd followed the dragon spirit to an alley a few blocks from my apartment and that's where we encountered the man that the dragon had told me was going to die. When I first spotted him he seemed like what I would have pictured as a 'generic homeless guy' but, when I got closer, I was stunned dumb: I'd always figured 'generic homeless guys' were probably old... or at least in their 30s, but this guy... he was probably around my age.

Although Herne had followed after us, the Elk stood off to the side, silent. The dragon, on the other hand, moved closer. "He is not being knowing the world around him... he is being in his own world."

I pulled out my cell and quickly dialed 911. Everything else was a blur as I explained the situation to the best of my ability, but, as I was relaying what I could to the lady on the other end of the line I noticed that the guy had stopped breathing. When I told her that, the lady said that the paramedics were on their way. At that point everything else faded into the background as the dragon sat down beside the man. "He is being fading, Human-Seer... if you is wanting to being helping, you is needing to see what he sees."

What the dragon was saying didn't make a lot of sense. "What do you mean? Are you trying to say I need to get high?"

The dragon stared at me as if I was clueless. "No, Human-Seer. You is needing to be touching him... to be speaking to him in ways not physical."

It still made no sense. "I don't understand."

The dragon reached out and rested a finger on his shoulder; the man shuddered, saliva and a little froth appearing at the edge of his mouth. The spirt stated "You is needing to being touching him, Human-Seer. I can be doing the rest."

Despite being on my guard, having fought alongside the dragon against Nephili, I felt that I could trust him and, wanting to save the guy's life, I slowly reached out and put my hand on his arm. Everything changed after that-- and I mean EVERYTHING.

The world around me had dissolved and I was standing in a meadow of clouds-- pinkish-reddish clouds as far as the eye could see. The sky above me was clouds and the 'ground' beneath me was clouds. Other than myself and the clouds, the only other thing present was the guy, and he was far more animated than he'd been back in the alley; he was running, and jumping, and laughing, almost like a six year old running through a field of flowers... only he was a 20 something jumping and skipping through a bunch of clouds.

Eventually he caught sight of me. "Hey... what are YOU doing here?"

That was the opening I needed since, in that moment, he seemed lucid. "My name's Billy. I'm here to help. You're... overdosing, I think."

Hence, the statement: "I don't believe you."

Is it possible to convince an insane person that they're not thinking coherently? I don't know, but I assume it would probably have been as hard as convincing someone that was tripping balls so hard that they were stuck in a mind prison consisting of a floor and ceiling of clouds and no walls as far as the eye could see.

So, in order to try and prove my case I shot out that little nugget of wisdom I'd heard Talapus say about reality and belief and, I kid you not, the man responsed with barely a moment's delay. "Then maybe YOU're wrong... just because you DO believe it doesn't mean IS real, right, Billy?"

Somewhere between struck dumb that it almost made sense and incredulous that he could be so combatative considering we were literally walking around on clouds, I had to try again. "Think about it. When was the last time you were actually really walking on clouds?"

He continued dancing. "Like... yesterday? Maybe the day before? I dunno, Billy... why you trying to ruin my fun?"

It was frustrating. "Because you're DYING."

His steps faltered, for just a moment. "I mean... everyone dies, right? Anyway, isn't dying happy better than living in sadness?"

The answer I wanted to give was to tell him that it obviously wasn't. Life was everything-- to continue living meant having the opportunity to have happiness in the future. Life was always better than death, wasn't it? In that moment, however, I had to ask myself that exact question and, for the first time, I realized that I couldn't truthfully provide the answer I wanted to give. The dragon, during our first meeting, made me realize that there were times when life just couldn't go on, and trying to reject death only created greater suffering. I let out a helpless sigh. "I don't know... maybe?"

Whether it was my honesty that snapped him out of his reverie, or perhaps the fact that my answer didn't follow some kind of preconceived notion of a script he was expecting, the man turned and looked at me-- REALLY looked at me for the first time. His expression, which had previously been one of indifferent levity, slowly relaxed until it hinted at something between resignation and consideration. "You know... you're kind of a buzzkill, Billy..." he took a step closer, confusion finally surfacing on his face. "Who are you supposed to be, anyway? I don't know a 'Billy'."

I didn't have a good answer for that. "I'm just... trying to help."

The dragon's voice broke through the strange haze that had surrounded me. "Seer-Billy... help is being coming."

The words broke me out of the strange world of clouds in which I'd found myself and, suddenly, I was back in the alley, the darkness interrupted by flashing lights of red and white. I recoiled, pulling my hand away from the unresponsive man's shoulder. "He... is he still alive?"

The dragon confirmed. "He is being aliving, but is being a'poisoned with N-1-2-phenethyl-4-piperidinyl-n-phenyl-propanamide."

I didn't quite figure out what the dragon was saying. "N-1-2-phenethyl..."

A paramedic pulled me away from the unconscious man. "Fentanyl?" he began inspecting the man's eyes and then moved his ear close to his mouth before sitting straight up, calling back toward the entrance to the alley. "Crag! Naloxone! Now!'

Everything moved in fast forward-- a blur around me, all except for the dragon, who remained patiently off to the side. The paramedics put some kind of nasal spray thing into the unconscious man's nose, at which point the dragon announced "1-N-allyl-7,8-dihydro-14-hydroxynormorphinone. They are doing helping."

The recovery was surprisingly fast; they barely had enough time to put him in a stretcher before he started growing, coming around with surprising speed. As two paramedics brought him out to the ambulance, my eyes met his and the man stared, mouthing "Billy?"

Although I never saw him again after that, I did see a news report a few days later in which I learned that the man's name was Colin. His sister was speaking to a reporter; apparently he'd been homeless for a few years and was dealing with drugs and mental health issues. She also said that she heard from him that someone named Billy had saved his life. When the reporter asked if she had anything to say to the man who saved her brother's life, she turend to the screen and said simply. "Thank you for being there. Thank you for showing up."

The entire affair changed my view of the dragon in a big way and, ultimately, made me feel better that he'd found out my name-- apparently he was able to see and hear the 'dream world' in which I'd found myself with Colin. Fortunately, the dragon didn't seem inclined to abuse that knowledge. It was the first time I'd had the help of a spirit in saving a human life, but it was far from the last.