I should have known it wouldn’t just leave me alone. It was a big, scary, hungry monster. I was going to be eaten, and there was nothing I could do about it. I took in a quick breath, wished that my family would be okay after I was gone, closed my eyes tight, and braced myself for whatever the monster did next. A second went by, then another. I opened one eye. Nothing. I opened the other eye. Still nothing. Was it gone? I thought hopefully. I looked at the ground at my feet. Nope, it wasn’t gone; the shadow was still there. I let my breath out slowly, then tried wiggling my little finger, to see if anything would happen. Nothing. Huh. Maybe it was actually nothing. Maybe it was just a figment of my imagination. There was only one way to find out. Swallowing my fear, I forced myself to turn around. I blinked in surprise when I came nose to nose with a velveteen head. It wasn’t the muscular belly of the monster like I had first thought it would be. Instead, it was the long face of a horse. It breathed through its nostrils and a rush of hot air fluttered past my cheeks. I blinked once, thinking it would go away. It didn’t. I slowly stepped back. As I blinked, the horse was suddenly further away than before. Right behind it, looming like an impassible giant, was a mountain. It was so huge, it blotted out the sun and half the sky. I had to crane my neck way up to even see the top of it. I almost tripped backwards; that’s how far I had to look up. I could see the stars above now, and they did not look familiar at all. It was like someone had thrown a giant blanket, made out of star constellations, over the whole world. The sky looked muted with its strange mixtures of greens, greys, purples, and oranges. Suddenly remembering the horse was still there, I quickly turned back to face it. I could see its whole body now, and I didn’t know how I ever mistook it for anything other than what it really was. Its body was sleek and glossy, exactly how the horse from Black Beauty might have looked in real life. It’s mane and tail were an untamed and wild mass of flowing pitch-black hair. Its face was long and angular, and a long sparkling black horn was protruding from the center of its forehead. It was so beautiful, and somehow, I just knew it could also be very dangerous. And it wasn’t a horse at all, but a black unicorn! When I continued to stare, it lowered its head and pawed at the ground. Could it actually hurt me? Probably. Would it, though? I hope not! I thought as I stood there like an idiot, completely unsure of what to do. The Unicorn lifted its head, stared at me for a long moment, then it just turned away. “H-Hey! Wait!” I called in a near panic. I quickly ran to catch up. It never stopped trotting forward, but I did manage to reach it after a couple of seconds. Once I had, it flicked its tail and looked back over its muscular shoulder at me. Its eyes were large pools of midnight color, and held a humanlike quality. Call me crazy for following the thing, but there was no way I was going to stay there, knowing the wolf/man/thing might come back. I don’t know how I knew this, but I knew I was safer with the Unicorn. Besides, didn’t the Unicorn always come to the aid of the fair maiden in all the fantasy stories? We walked side by side down a rocky path as the sun shone overhead. After a while, beads of sweat began to form on my forehead. I wiped my palm across it. It stung really bad, and I flinched from the pain. Even though the sun was almost completely blocked by the top of the looming mountain, it was still hot. “Um…’ I began awkwardly, ‘what is this place?” The Unicorn looked back at me, then back to the path, and kept walking. Okay. I guess we just keep walking. I thought. The mountain continuing to loom overhead, bigger and bigger, until it nearly blocked out the sky altogether. We must have walked for what seemed like hours before the Unicorn stopped, looked back at me, and its eyes seemed to say, ‘Are you alright?’ “Uh, y-yes! I’m fine, just, my palm hurts.” I quickly answered. The unicorn bobbed its head at me, then we started walking again. I kept looking at it; just to make sure it was really there. It was beautiful, sleek, and very powerfully muscled. I wondered how fast it could run. Did Unicorns follow the same rules of galloping as other horses? Or could they kind of fly over the ground? Is that how they got around so fast? Was it simply magic? I let my thoughts wander on the possibilities surrounding such a creature as we continued to follow the path ahead. The mountain always seemed to stay the same distance away, even though we we’re obviously getting closer. Its shadow crawled along the floor towards us, and I shivered at the thought of having to cross it. I looked away from it and back at the Unicorn again. I didn’t see the football sized rock looming ahead of my feet, and I made contact with it. I stumbled forward, my hand reaching out for anything to stop myself from falling right on my own face. My fingers grazed something silky and warm, and I clutched it, stopping myself in mid air. My eyes fell straight toward the ground. When I looked up along the path ahead of us, I couldn’t help but cry out in shock. “W-wait!” my voice squeaked out when I saw that the mountain was no longer looming in front of us. I turned back and stared in disbelief, my hand falling away from the Unicorn’s side. Somehow, we had crossed over the mountain without knowing it. We were now standing safely on the other side! I quickly looked up at the Unicorn, and it nodded its head vigorously. I knew this had to mean yes, that we had actually passed over the mountain, and somehow had ended up on the other side. But…but how did we— Before I could actually say anything, the Unicorn began stomping its front hoof. It snorted loudly in agitation, and flicked its head back and forth. “What’s wrong?” I asked, reaching out to sooth its flank. I quickly jerked my hand back. The Unicorn was ice cold, and frost now coated the parts of my hand that had touched it. “What—” I started to say as I turned to look back at the path ahead. An endless jungle, spanning as far to the left and right as my eyes could see. I had never been to the amazon before, but this is exactly what I imagined it would look like! The trees were so tall, I couldn’t see the sky above them anymore. The sweet smell of tropical flowers wafted over just as a heavy wind blew quickly past. A great rumbling noise, like the ground breaking apart from deep underground, was coming from within the treeline. The sound started softly. Then it grew; just like the beat of a heavy drum. The Unicorn turned sharply to the side as several of the giant trees cracked in half. I jumped back just as they fell to the ground with a deafening crash. My eyes followed the length of the trees until they came to rest on two gigantic paws. Sparkling white claws dug deeply into the bark, millions of sparkling stars reflected off what I thought was fur. As my eyes followed the length of those long limbs, a creature reared itself out of the jungle. It took a moment for me to realize what exactly it was. It was an animal of some sort, a bear maybe; but it was monstrously huge. Its face was distorted and covered in thick black scars. It had a thick hide of fur, and at the right angles, it completely disappeared when it was standing beneath the night sky. Before I could wrap my mind around what exactly the bear/monster/thing was doing, the unicorn stamped its feet loudly, then reared its head back, kicking its front legs out angrily. Was it actually going to try and challenge the monster bear? The Bear bared its fangs and growled menacingly at us. I jerked back a step when it threw its head up. A deafening roar rang through the air. I quickly covered my ears to soften the sound. It hurt so bad I thought my eardrums would burst. My skin crawled and tremors shook through the ground at my feet. Just as the roar ended, the Bear fell to its front paws with a deafening crash. I stumbled, nearly losing my balance, but the Unicorn pressed its side against me. I laid my hands against it, feeling its heart race beneath my palm. “Augustrian!” I heard a voice shout into the air. I had to step back, as the Unicorn reared up again. I blinked in disbelief, looking around to see who had spoken. My eyes looked first at the bear-thing, and then I turned to face the Unicorn. It was staring at me intently, its eyes wild with command. All I could do was just stand there when the Bear took a menacing step towards us. I felt a scream building inside my chest when the ground suddenly opened up beneath us. It spread itself wide until it was a perfect circle, just about the size of a large hula hoop. I reached for the Unicorn, but all I felt were its eyes on me. “Fly!” the same voice, as before commanded. Before I could reply, I screamed and fell through the hole. The hole above closed with a soft pop; just like a bubble bursting. The Unicorn, the bear, and the jungle were gone. Only a vast canopy of stars was left. My mind couldn’t put into words the images of the cosmos that opened up before me. If not for the fear that had paralyzed my mind, I would have thought it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Brilliant patches of swirled pinks and violets lit up the sky as clouds of dissipating teals and blues fluttered past. I began to seriously fall, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. The air dragged my hair and clothes past my cheeks and ears, and I tried brushing them back down. My body suddenly swirled around, and I was falling just like a skydiver would. Belly first, hair and tears streaming past my ears, the ground below a blurry image of trees, mountains, and empty snowy plains. I was above the jungle now, falling straight towards the Unicorn and the giant Bear. They were fighting, and something in my heart fluttered just like a tiny bird. It wasn’t fear, it was something else. Something…I couldn’t put into words. If I hadn’t been so scared, it might have actually been fun. But I knew there was something very wrong about what they were doing. I wanted them to stop. This wasn’t right! I opened my mouth to call out to them, but a high-pitched screech stopped me. I turned my face towards it. A flash of bright light appeared, disturbing the cosmos. A strange birdlike shape drifted through it. It had a dark outline, and looked like some type of winged creature. I felt myself gasp in awe, as the creature flew towards me, becoming larger and larger the closer it got. When it was finally close enough that I could have touched it, the creature unfurled its large wings. A thickly furred body, long dangling legs, thick claws, leathery wings, and the face of a giant bat greeted me. Was it actually smiling at me? Could bats even smile? The bat suddenly twirled its body in a wide arc, tucking its wings in together for few seconds, before it flew right below me. I had no other choice but to reach out and grab it. It glided just below me, and I drifted lightly onto its back. The air currents gradually began to subside, and my body relaxed. The bat was warm, and soft to the touch. It wasn’t leathery at all, but covered in a reddish, brown fur. It felt exactly like the downy of a chick. I took in a shuddering breath before I Looked up. We weren’t falling anymore. We were flying! Between the large ears of the bat, I saw a burst of brilliantly white light split the horizon. I leaned back and let the light caress me all over. It was so warm and welcoming. So full of promise. I felt like anything was possible. Like anything I wanted to do was possible. It was the most beautiful sunrise I had ever seen. It was both blinding, and warm. It was like this was how every sunrise was supposed to feel. How a sunrise was meant to be. Was this delight? Bliss maybe? I didn’t; have time to actually think about anything more. The bat suddenly jolted in surprise, nearly throwing me off its back. I gripped its fur so tightly, my knuckles turned white. I quickly looked around, and heard an angry screeching coming from my left. I looked over, past the now torn wing of the Bat, at a giant Owl. It was nearly invisible, since its feathers were the same strange colors of the sky. Just like the giant Bears fur had been. “Whoa!” I cried when the Bat squeaked in pain, flicked its wing powerfully. It was trying to knock the owl off. I held on for dear life as the Owl flew into us. The Bat jerked away again, barely escaping the sharp, bone white claws of the Owl. It veered down, tucking its wings, and me in, as it did. The wind rushed past us. After a quick twirl, the bat opened it wings up again. I sat up quickly, trying to shake off the queasiness settling in the pit of my stomach. I immediately starting looking around for the Owl. I couldn’t see it at first, but then, I spotted it too late. Its claws lashed out and pierced through the left wing of the Bat. I gripped tightly as the Bat jerked again, trying to free itself. The Owl was relentless. Its beak reaching in, again, and again, trying to snap at me. I screamed, my body jerking back and forth as the Bat tried to pull away, at the same time as the Owl tried to pull us in. Back and forth, back and forth. My stomach became queasy again. With a sudden, forceful lurch, the bat flung itself out of the Owls talons, narrowly avoiding its clacking beak. It wasn’t quite enough to completely get away. The lurch cost the Bat a bit of shredded wing, and some flesh dangled from the talons of the Owl. The lurch also cost me my grip on now slick fur. A scream of panic rose inside my chest. It pierced the air as I reached out, felt nothing but open air, and began to fall. The Bat must have felt the loss of me, because it coiled itself around. It dove with me, its one good wing reaching out. The tip of one claw snagged at my arm and sliced through the skin. I cried out, the pain was like liquid fire. I watched with horror as it was jerked back again, the Owl now on top of the Bat’s exposed back. I reached out helplessly before the wind rushed past. I watched through the wild whipping of my hair, as the Owl and the Bat continued fighting overhead. I was terrified. And yet…I felt that same strange feeling as before, when I was watching the Unicorn and the Bear. That strange feeling of unnaturalness. That things weren’t right, as they were. That I had to do something to stop them. I covered my ears as a painful squeak sounded across the sky above. I wanted it to end. I wanted this all to be just a bad dream. Most of all…I just wanted to wake up. It was this very thought that finally drove me to take in a long breath. My scream pierced the air with such force, it felt like the very world around me shuddered awake. The very fabric of the heavens quivered with power, and I felt something warm begin to beat in sync with my heart. And then, the wind just, calmed. It became a soft caress, like gentle fingers over my skin and hair. A thick coil of it wrapped itself gently around my legs. Then it slithered up around my belly. It held me tenderly, never squeezing so tight, as to hurt me, but tight enough to keep me bound in its invisible embrace. I felt my heart calm. The beats slow. I felt like I was being hugged. I lower my hands and look down. Scales. As large as my head, layered around a body so thick I couldn’t have wrapped my arms around it. It was like a lizard, but smooth and cool to the touch. A brilliant mix of blues, greys, and teal; all swirling in delicate patterns across the scales. Thick corded muscles wiggled beneath, and drew me closer to the ground. As the coils neared, I heard the sound of waves washing over sandy beaches. We’re at the ocean? I thought with surprise. I felt a pull drawing me upwards towards the sky. I looked up, but I could barely make out the shapes of the Bat and Owl still fighting impossibly high above. Had I really just been up there? Flying? I reached a hand out, almost as if to urge the two giant creatures to stop their fighting. Why was I so calm all of a sudden? I thought, as I lowered my hand. I stared up at the sky for a few seconds longer before I looked back down at the coils. I let my hand glide along the scales as the body of the giant snake began to unwrap itself from around me. My feet were gently pressed on to the sand of a glistening beach. I looked out at the waves lapping the shore, my fingers still gliding along the curve of the snake’s scales. As the last of it disappeared into the ground like it was made of water, I swear I heard an approving hiss sound behind my ear. My toes sunk deeply into the sand, the waves peacefully gliding back and forth with the tide. Tiny purple and teal crabs scuttled along the waters edge, picking up small bits of shell and rock. I lifted my hand and reached out towards the sunset just beginning in the distance. The light was bright but not completely blinding yet. Just before I opened my mouth to say anything, something slidacross my shoulders, and took hold of my outstretched hand. It had come from behind me, and I knew it was lending me its strength. I turned around slowly. A strangely familiar warmth spread across my body, as a shadow gently reached out and drew me in for a hug. It cradled me close, and I could feel a strangely beating heart beneath my ear. “Shhhh,’ the shadow soothed, ‘everything is going to be alright.” I blushed furiously. Only Da had held me this tightly before. I didn’t know what to do, so I just stood there, allowing this strange humanoid shape to hold me. After a few moments, a sense of relief flooded my mind. The shadow drew me from my feet, and laid me down on my back. When it had lifted its arms from me, I saw it clearly for the first time. It looked like a man; but it had beautifully blue skin, just like the night after the sun sets. Dark swirling marks had been painted up along each of its arms, continuing down a muscular torso, and then disappeared beneath a pair of Arabian looking pants. Thick, black hair coiled along each bared shoulder, and a pair of horns curled up from the sides of its head. It stared down at me with humanlike eyes, but the pupils were a midnight blue, and the irises were completely black. It was smiling at me tenderly. I couldn’t explain it, but I knew he wasn’t going to hurt me. “Safe now,” the strange blue-skinned man whispered softly. His voice sounded exactly what you would imagine the depths of the ocean would sound like, if it ever spoke aloud. He turned aside and sat in the sand next to me. He laid back, hands raised above his head, like he didn’t have a care in the world. I stayed sitting up and stared at him for a long moment, before deciding to lay back too. I listened to the waves washing back and forth across the beach at our feet. The water tickled my toes, and I drew comfort from the strange man’s presence. The longer I laid there, the heavier with sleep my eyes got. The man beside me began to hum a soft lullaby and I closed my eyes. The sound was so familiar, I found myself humming along. After a while, my eyes became too heavy to stay awake, and the sound of the waves lulled me into a dreamless sleep.