# Cassandra

Author: Shiriak
Tags: Clean, Dancing, Dragons Lair Contest 2, Longing, Love, Swimming, Water Dragon, failure

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I was only a child when Cassandra came into my life.&nbsp; She was everything to me.&nbsp; The day I met her, and lost her was the best and worst day of my life.&nbsp; It seemed that I was given an elixir on a golden platter, only to drink from it and then realize that it was all a lie.&nbsp; I wasn't the same after that.&nbsp; It has haunted me for many years.&nbsp; My name is Damian, and this is my story.

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This story starts out like many others, it was a lovely spring day.&nbsp; The birds were wheeling overhead, each plaintive cry sounding like a dirge to anyone who didn't know the real meanings behind them.&nbsp; They spoke of plain love for the sky, a cry to the heavens, one of joy and passion.&nbsp; Underwater, the fish swam in effervescent rainbows of bubbles.&nbsp; Look, a clownfish!&nbsp; It seemed to smile at me while I was resting on the seafloor.&nbsp; I watched it go in front of my face, the undulating motion of the side-to-side swimming entranced me for a moment.&nbsp; I gently nudged it with my nose, and bubbles scattered as the clownfish raced away to a purple anemone hidden in the rocks a few feet away.&nbsp; It looked at me with what seemed like reproachful eyes as I laughed a little bit at it.

I'm a water dragon.&nbsp; I've spent my entire life either in the ocean, or at the top of it.&nbsp; I'm not much to look at, just a deep blue underside with a lighter blue top.&nbsp; It came with the genetics, I suppose.&nbsp; There isn't much else in the way of color down here, unless you make your home in a coral reef, like mine.&nbsp; I had a nice sandy pad laid out in the middle of it, it was all that I needed.&nbsp; My parents left me at birth, as all water dragons do.&nbsp; By this time I was five, maybe six dragon years.&nbsp; But, it doesn't matter.&nbsp; All that is important is Cassandra.

This particular morning, I watched the coral reef become a bustling hive of activity as the sun reached into the depths of the ocean, turning it from a deep blue to an azure sapphire that glittered in the sun and woke up the residents of the deep.&nbsp; Angelfish in their whites and yellows swam next to pillar corals and lobsters that scuttled around the ocean floor, kicking up sand as they went about their daily business.&nbsp; Some glass fish decided to peck at the local staghorn coral that had taken residence there a few years back.&nbsp; The colors of the vibrant ocean seemed to radiate life and health to every being that saw them.&nbsp; It was a peaceful, comforting sight, one that I never tired of.

There was a small swooshing noise in the distance, and I perked up when I saw it was another water dragon, a small and petite beauty of perhaps four dragon years.&nbsp; Maybe this dragon would finally fill the void I had in my life.&nbsp; I was lonely, you see.&nbsp; There's not much to do except swim around by yourself all day, so there was a draconic need for interaction at least some time.&nbsp; I rose from my sandy bed and the light glittered through the soft disturbance of sand in the deep, filtering through in colors of golden blue.

I called out a greeting, but the other dragon seemed to not hear me.&nbsp; Odd, I thought to myself, until she came closer.&nbsp; I could see that she had suffered some sort of horrible tragedy in the egg.&nbsp; One side of her face had been disfigured.&nbsp; I guess she couldn't hear me.&nbsp; To be honest, it was a shock.&nbsp; There she was, Cassandra, I would learn was her name later.&nbsp; Her... accident cost her the beauty of her looks.&nbsp; It cost her the use of her ears and vocal cords too.&nbsp; She not only couldn't hear, she couldn't speak as well.

Her eyes perked up, the ridges making an upward motion, only the left side didn't move.&nbsp; It couldn't.&nbsp; She cocked her head to one side and smiled a lopsided smile.&nbsp; There was beauty there, hidden, but I could see it.&nbsp; It was simply wondrous to see her like that.&nbsp; It was an amazing sight to see her twisting and diving among the corals, almost inviting me to come play with her.

As I kind of just hung there in the water, she flicked her tail at me and then darted away.&nbsp; I smiled and started after her, only to find myself almost instantly outmatched.&nbsp; Her sense of direction was wonderful.&nbsp; We twisted and danced and played through the entire day.

Leaping among the fish.&nbsp; Twirling among the sapphire blue sea.&nbsp; The golden sand, obscured by a flash of a fish fin, the mollusks on the ground.&nbsp; A red lobster, venturing out into the wide open ocean.&nbsp; The angelfish swam in a group and we darted through it, playing.&nbsp; Sometimes I would catch her tail, other times she would dart around and tag me on my scales.&nbsp; It was a beautiful time.

The water slowly turned a darker blue.&nbsp; We didn't notice the time we spent together.&nbsp; We found ourselves entwined in a special dance, a dance that spoke of longing, of love, and of remembrance.&nbsp; Racing along the bright red coral, the fish scattering as we twirled among the stones.&nbsp; It was a song, a dance of utter beauty.&nbsp; The golden sand that was kicked up as we playfully swam past it sparked like diamonds in the light.&nbsp; The swoosh of our underwater flight.&nbsp; The rushing of water past our scales.&nbsp; It was something that I will never forget.

Swimming fast, swimming slow.&nbsp; Watching her swim, she sometimes watching me.&nbsp; It was a glimpse into eternity.&nbsp; The rushing waters carried us over rocks, and under coral.&nbsp; We didn't disturb the local wildlife, except when we barreled through them to get ahead.&nbsp; The fish eventually learned to keep their distance as we danced with each other, under the sea.&nbsp; They were silent shimmering spectators, until the last curtain call.

Eventually, as all things must do, the sun was setting over the open ocean.&nbsp; I was out of breath, tired, and exhausted.&nbsp; I could tell she felt the same way.&nbsp; In her own silent, stalwart way, she was next to me, gently gliding over the ocean floor.&nbsp; I breached the water, taking a breath of air and looked towards the setting sun.&nbsp; There was a beautiful painting of reds, oranges and purples.&nbsp; The air was fresh and clean.&nbsp; The setting sun gently slipped over the horizon until I could see no more of it.

We watched the moon come up together, Cassandra and I.&nbsp; It was this giant, silver, pockmarked orb in the sky.&nbsp; It hung there, like a ball perfectly balanced on a talon.&nbsp; The silver lover, it watched us as we stayed together, arm in arm, as we silently and effortlessly glided above the now sleeping world of darkened color below.&nbsp; I will admit, I moved to kiss her on the cheek.&nbsp; The movement startled her, she let out a wordless cry of surprise, then settled down.&nbsp; As my lips touched her cheek scales, I could not only taste the salt of the ocean water, but those of tears that were now streaming down her face.

I looked at her, concerned.&nbsp; There was something special here.&nbsp; Even though I hadn't spoken all day, I felt a deep connection to her already.&nbsp; It was, in a word, love.

She moved her face away from mine, silently choking on tears.&nbsp; She didn't make a sound.&nbsp; Couldn't.&nbsp; I started to say something to her, then fell silent again.&nbsp; She slowly pushed me away, tears streaming down her beautiful, scarred face.&nbsp; They caught in the little ridges of her scales, and sparkled like stars in the moonlight.

I moved after her, concerned.&nbsp; I wanted to help.&nbsp; I tried pantomiming that I wanted to hold her, to help her.&nbsp; I was frantic.&nbsp; She started swimming away, and as I followed her, I got a nice whack on the snout.&nbsp; It stung, and I squawked in surprise.&nbsp; I stopped swimming after her, watching her recede in the distance.&nbsp; She slowly got smaller and smaller, until not even the clear sky and moonlight streaming down from the heavens could illuminate her anymore.

I settled back down to my small gravel bed to lay down on.&nbsp; It didn't seem like diamonds in the sea any more.&nbsp; It felt more like a rocky pit.&nbsp; My little piece of heaven had been taken away from me, and I didn't know why.

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I've always regretted not swimming after her.&nbsp; I live in the same place now, as I did back when I first met her.&nbsp; It reminds me daily of my failure.&nbsp; My failure to myself, and to her.&nbsp; It's hell, under the sea.&nbsp; Nothing, nothing at all matters.&nbsp; My life will waste away on this small patch of rock, colored only in my botched robe of life.

I write this down, not to punish myself though.&nbsp; I hope that it may reach Cassandra someday.&nbsp; I hope that she remembers me and the time that we swam through the water like there was nothing between us.&nbsp; Most of all, I hope that she comes back.&nbsp; I am waiting for you Cassandra, right here next to the little clownfish that just had babies.&nbsp;

Please...

Please...

P...l...e...a.....

Source: https://sofurry.com/view/211812