reality 2: “a dream of a past long faded”

“Through grit, determination, endless bravery and his trusty sword, the prince managed to slay the dragon in the end.” A voice. So gentle, kind, loving. 

A bearded man was sitting on a chair in a small living room. He was thin, there were bags under his eyes and he looked incredibly exhausted, but still his voice echoed with great kindness.

A small hand, much smaller than the man’s, reached out and pointed at the colored picture of a dragon being slayed by the prince. The owner of the hand’s eyebrows furrowed as he studied the picture closely. He then turned his gaze towards the man, his father.

“Why must the dragon be slayed?”

“Hmm?” The father looked down at his small son sitting on his lap and smiled at his question. “Because he tried to eat the elves.”

The boy was still unconvinced. “But why can't they talk to each other? The prince could help them both.”

The father was used to the boy’s odd questions now. At first he’d been confused why he was so unaccepting of these kinds of stories with one victor, but over time he’d accepted that it was an endearing trait of the boy.

“I’m only reading the story, son.” The father chuckled and ruffled the boy’s hair. “I didn’t write it.”

“You should write one then!” The boy exclaimed excitedly, his eyes shining bright as he stared up at his father. “Make one where everyone can work together!”

The father didn’t answer, he simply chuckled. 

“Why not ask your elf friend what they think of the dragon being slayed?”

The boy scrunched his nose and held the elf doll with the red hair to his father’s face.

“Avra doesn’t think the dragon should be slayed either!”

“Is that so? Then what does Avra think we should do?”

The boy held the doll close to his ear then nodded as if he could hear the doll speak.

“They want the prince to sing to it! To calm it down, and then they can work together to make peace!”

The father laughed once again. He’d always been so pleasantly surprised at his boy and his imagination.

“Ah, I forgot that Avra was a lovely singer.”

The boy seemed proud of the complement and touched up the doll’s hair in content. “They sacrificed it for a good cause.”

“Indeed they did.”