Last Dragon
Written and as told by Ryu Darragh
"The Last Dragon. An original story by Ryu Darragh. Based on various Chinese Myths"
Once, long, long ago, in a village in the mountains near the source of the Great Yellow River, lived a girl named Mei Lin.
Lin was a pretty girl, but, as the youngest daughter, had no dowry and would probably never be married.
Thus, it was her fate in life to work as a waitress in the tavern near the heart of the village. And, as the only child left to her mother, she also had to do all the chores in her household herself.
Every morning Lin would gather up her water buckets and travel to the springs in the hills above her village to get water suitable for cooking and drinking for herself and her mother.
For the water from the mighty Yellow River was full of silt and, although this was most propitious for growing rice in the many rice terraces in the village, had a bitter taste.
On the way down the hill she saw that a rock fall had occurred on the path, but, to her relief, had not blocked it completely. She sighed and told herself to remember to tell Jingli to send someone to clear the path.
As she was making her way past the fallen rocks she heard a frantic and pained squeeking sound and realized some living thing had been trapped under the rocks. She set her buckets down and went to investigate.
She found a small green lizard like creature trapped under a large rock and moved it hastily using a large stick as a lever. As the weight came off the lizard it dashed up the rock fall and, just before vanishing entirely, looked back at her for a moment.
She chuckled to herself and thought 'Mei Lin, to the rescue!', as this was the kind of thing her mother was always chiding her for, coming home covered in dirt and grime from rescuing birds or other small creatures trapped in brambles or a stray bit of fishnet.
The next day she passed the spot where the rock fall had been and it was gone. It looked as it if had never happened. The village fieldworkers had been very fast and unusually careful, she thought to herself.
As she came back down the hill she saw a glint of green from above and looked up, expecting to see the lizard again. No lizard this. She nearly dropped her buckets, for, above the crown of the hill she saw a magnificent green dragon looking down at her.
She bowed respectfully as best she could while carrying the buckets. But, when she looked up again, the dragon was gone. She must have been seeing things, she thought. Dragons had not been seen in the land for longer than her great, great grandfather’s time.
While working in the tavern the next day she waited on a man who called himself Long Shen. A handsome fellow, Shen caught the eyes of the other waitresses and several of the female patrons. But, to her surprise, he seemed interested in talking with her alone.
Long Shen, it seemed, had come to the village seeking work. As the village was always short of skilled workers, Jingli, the manager for the many farms the village ran, soon found many places for Shen to fill in.
Long Shen worked the fields, mended fences, repaired the terraces and did everything Jingli tasked him with in good cheer, lending a hand to anyone who needed it. The other workers never resented him as he was well liked.
His only peculiarity was that he never removed his shirt, even on the hottest if days when the sweat would run down the workers bodies in the humidity of the air in the fields.
As the days turned into weeks, Shen and Lin took long walks after their duties for the day were done. They talked of many things and Shen even helped Lin as she provided help to the village’s elderly, the ones who had no families.
Two months after Shen had arrived, disaster struck the village. Invading bandit Huns had come and began attacking the village. There would be only one end to this. Most of the men killed, several women taken and much of the villages supplies pillaged.
Lin saw one young girl about to be swept up by one brutish Hun and became enraged. This must not be ! She grabbed a pruning hook and ran out to beat the Hun about his head as he tried to pull the girl onto his saddle.
The Hun shouted at her and snatched the pruning hook from her hands. Snapping it in two, he rounded on her and hit her with his open hand, knocking her to the ground. The Hun grinned at Mei Lin and swaggered to her side.
As he was about to grab Lin, a great roaring came from the sky and a huge green dragon swooped out of the clouds. The dragon snatched the screaming Hun up into the air and dropped him from a great height. The impact with the ground killed the Hun instantly.
She watched in wonder as the dragon routed the Huns and scattered them to the four winds. The men of the village, emboldened by their sudden rescue, finished the job and either drove off the remaining Huns, or killed them outright.
When Shen appeared he ran to her and hugged her close asking "Are you alright ?". She burst into tears and held Shen closely saying "It was terrifying. I don't know why I did that. I could have been killed !".
Shen smiled at her and said, "You were protecting an innocent. Something, you might have noticed, the men of your village did *not* do.". She smiled with trembling lips and said, "Mei Lin, to the rescue..". Both of them laughed at that, for it was true.
Lin realized she had fallen in love with this man, this poor wandering jack-of-all-trades. Seeming to read her mind, he said "I love you, Mei Lin, and would have you as my wife, if you feel the same.".
She replied, "I am the last daughter of my mother and have no dowry.. would *you* have *me* ?". His kiss was all the reply she needed and she began to cry again. This time, tears of joy. Her mother merely smiled when she told her and set about preparing for the wedding.
After their marriage, Lin and Shen spent their time together much as they had in the past. Only now, everything seemed sharper for her. Had more color. More life. The only thing that made her curious was Shen never removed his shirt in her presence. Ever.
Life went on this way for many years. Mei Lins mother, having had a long and hard life, passed on content that all her children had found a spouse and a lifetime of love. Lin and Shen grew old together and were content, despite never having any children of their own.
Until, one day, many years later, Shen had fallen onto the bed and fallen asleep, his shirt torn by his days labor clearing a fallen tree from the mills water wheel. Mei Lin removed his shirt careful to keep from waking him so that she might mend it as she had so many others.
But, when she beheld her husbands back for the first time in her married life, she let out a shriek of surprise. For his back, between his shoulder blades to the small of his back, was covered in fine green scales !
Shen awoke with a shout and realized what had happened. "Mei Lin, you do not know what you have done !", he said. "You,.. you are the green dragon I have seen in the past !", she replied. "Yes." he said, in a sad voice. "And now I must leave you."
"What ? Why ?" she asked, putting a trembling hand to her mouth. "What have I done wrong ? I am sorry,.. please, stay !". He took her hand and smiled at her, as a mist began to rise from his skin. "You did nothing wrong, Mei Lin."
"In fact," he continued, "you have saved me. You see, I am the last of my kind. I failed a duty in being a guardian and, as punishment, had to remain on the earth whilst my fellow dragons moved on to the next world.".
"I would only be allowed to move on if I assumed a mortal form and lived a mortal’s life. I would have to resume my journey on the wheel of life. I was told that I would be sent to the outer darkness if I revealed my true nature. Thus, I never removed my shirt.", he said.
"But, I have harmed you ! I revealed your true nature and you will be sent into the darkness !" she sobbed. "No," he said as he rubbed a tear from her cheek with a finger, "you have saved me. For I was also told that if my true love learned of my nature, i would be allowed to leave also."
"Then, you concealed your nature all these years so you could stay with me ?" she asked in wonder. "Yes." he said with a smile. "And, because you have been true to me all these years, have been such a courageous soul, I tell you now, you will join me where I am going."
"I love you, Mei Lin. You have the soul of a dragon. And a dragon you will be in the next world. Not bound to the wheel of life, will you be.". Long Shen let go of her hands and stepped back as a cloud of mist enveloped him, only to clear, revealing the Green Dragon he had been all along.
"I will wait for you, Mei Lin. Farewell, my love." he said, as he began to fade like a dream of green cloud.
If you are ever lucky enough to travel the next world, look up into the sky where you may see them. The Green Dragon Long Shen, and the Pearl Dragon, Mei Lin.
~End
