Catharina Ethania Girsang, Secondary 3 Courage

From my dilapidated tower of a home, I look down from my balcony. A cacophony of laughter and jubilant cheers echoe from the nearest town. It’s a small town, but the people have compassionate hearts. Among the humble mortals donning clothes of desolate brown or grey, their jolly faces shine bright smiles from the bourgeoisie to the common folk. Flower fey in opalescent gowns of petals from the best roses to suits of the finest silk chat and trade with the mortals at makeshift stalls. The majority parade down the main road, marching with glowing lanterns of any craft that they release into the sky. 

The outskirts of the town are dominated by forests. I spot one great white stag as it prances among towering trees of silver bark and purple leaves. Giant poison dart frogs leap out from the leafy canopy, not harming the equally huge dragonflies that hover close by. Mist begins to sprout from the forests. Its fresh and honey-sweet scent reaches my nose despite the distance. Surrounding rolls of orange valleys are scattered across the land as transparent rivers snake between them to lakes that look like great water puddles from here. 

The hairs on my skin stand, an enchanted feeling rolling off me. The size of a boulder but as graceful as a swan, a dragon soars past my tower. I glimpse its armor of fiery crimson scales so shiny they reflect the sunlight, as a pair of amber eyes the size of my head blinks at me. The dragon’s wide wings with fleshy underside carries it towards delicate fluffy clouds, where more dragons of azure, oak green, black – or any color you can think of – fly together. A couple swing their long tails and breathe purple fire simultaneously, their beating wings giving a strong wind that tousles my hair. 

What a beauty and thrill to watch it all from my humble place as I look down below. What glorious and lively terrain to explore is this land – a whole new world in the great beyond.