Lost
She was cold, hungry, and lost in the woods. She’d been with a group on a nature hike, when something had caught her eye. After trying to get a better look, she suddenly realized that the others had kept going, and now she was alone. She had no idea of which way she should go to try and catch up with the group.
Darkness was already setting in when she heard what she thought was the sound of a big truck, and started walking in the direction from which the sound was coming, moving slowly so she didn’t fall off a cliff or something. Before she got very far however, she heard the sound no longer.
She was fairly sure she’d been going in the right direction to get to the road, but she thought it best to stay where she was until she’d hear another truck or some other noisy vehicle, and then she could continue moving toward the sound.
The chill in the air was getting chillier by the moment, it seemed to her. She wished she had some gloves, and something warmer than the light hoody she’d decided to wear; but then again, she’d had no reason to expect she’d end up lost and all alone in the deep woods on a cold night.
As she sat, waiting to hear the engine of another passing vehicle on the nearby road, she pulled out her phone, but as she feared, it had no signal. It was almost fully charged though, so that gave her hope that if she could just get close enough to a tower, she could call husband Harold to come and get her.
The next sound she heard, however, wasn’t a car or truck on the road. It sounded like a bird’s wings flapping as it flew, overhead, around her. She couldn’t see anything and she prayed that whatever it was that she heard, it was not a bat or group of bats. She’d heard about how they could get in one’s hair, but she had her hood up, covering her head, which made her feel safer if bats did invade.
“Come to the flame thou wilt see before thee; come, and warm thy hands.”
Chills shot up her spine upon hearing the spoken words. The voice sounded like that of a female, which made the situation even more eerie. But then, all of a sudden, she saw what looked to be a fire appear some distance ahead of her.
“Come,” the voice repeated; it sounded quite soothing.
She rose and started walking slowly toward the flame. As she got closer and closer, she saw a form close to the flame. Maybe a little too close. She couldn’t make it out very well, but it looked as though it could be an animal; an animal about the size of a medium-sized dog.
“That’s right, my child, come to the flame.”
As she got closer and closer to the flame, she began to think that what she was seeing was impossible… an animal with fire coming from its mouth, setting a nearby log on fire. It turned to look at her and said, “I am Princess Naiene, the Kind,” it said. “I have roasted a pheasant for thee, to remove thine hunger.”
She saw it there in a smoking nook in the log; it looked like a perfectly roasted chicken. It being cooked was what she’d seen as the flames were displayed in front of her. She tasted the meat and it was delicious. She ate her fill.
“What are you and can you help me to get to the road ahead?” she asked of the still unidentified animal.
“I am a young dragon, Princess Naiene the Kind. I have now been assigned to protect thee for the remainder of thy days. I will guide thee to the road, but now, look at thy phone.” When she looked, her phone had a full signal. She immediately called Harold.
Lost © free-reign 2020
This is my entry for the Power House Creatives contest hosted by 
Thanks for reading!
Sources for images used in this post:
(Public Domain photos are from Wikimedia Commons)
Dark Woods: Image by Jordan Stimpson from Pixabay
Dragon Cooking (Contest Prompt via ): Photo by Tiard Schulz on Unsplash
