It was all eaten by darkness. Not a drop of blue could be seen.

I searched and searched, circling on top of the gloomy, rippling surface where I had last seen my treasure. It was right here before, as endless as the skies. Looked almost eternal.

Now, it was swallowed by this ominous black water, where even the sun didn't shine over.

Now, it was all but a shade of what it used to be.

 

The sun! A revelation came.

The sun was covered by the thick clouds of winter. Its light couldn't reach the surface of the sea, the rays were eaten by this evil time of the year. Everything was behind a shadow.

That was how I had lost my beauty.

 

After some thinking, I was somewhat relieved. This meant I could get my treasure back when the winter was over. This was not an endless nightmare.

Only after this thought, I could fly in a straight line again. I flew a few more circles above the black sea just to calm my nerves.

 

I was hovering close to water when I saw the humans in the sea.

Oh, so they live this far from the land as well, I thought. Then I realized that they were not exactly in the water, they were in some kind of shell that was floating on the water. I didn't recognize any of the humans or their smell. It was quite a distance from the shore where they were living, apart from others. Humans’ way of living was unpredictable as ever.

I watched as they pulled a bundle of strings from the sea, full of fluttering things inside. They were talking loudly as always, two of them moving a pair of long sticks in the water as if they were racing with each other. The shell was slowly moving to the shore with the humans in it.

I wanted to see what was in those strings and what their rush was about. I could tell these were some sort of prey—so humans were decent enough predators—but I hadn't seen any animal like these before. They were small and shiny and slippery, they jumped and fluttered in the shell where humans dropped them. They wouldn't be enough to appease my hunger if I were to eat, they were too small, but they were large in numbers.

 

Oh, I remembered. Can these be fish, the prey of the sea serpents?

The stories of our distant brothers that lived far from the lands, in the deep waters were told in the Hive since long before I was a youngling. They weren't told by those who met the sea serpents themselves, but heard about them from others who saw the sea serpents during their voyages around the world. The sea was a foreign notion among us—the land dragons. Apart from its glaze, all we knew was that it was vast and deep and scary, and the knowledge about some relatives of our kin living in the sea naturally raised many questions. Most were left without an answer, unfortunately, but what the sea serpents fed on were told to be fish. We were told that those creatures were fast, even faster than the hares in our mountain, and they could breathe underwater—just like the sea serpents.

I didn't know if that part about the sea serpents was true, but fish did seem to live underwater, and not out of water, because their movements were getting slower and slower. I watched them die with their heads still attached, without a spot of blood to be seen—and humans hadn't even touched them yet!

Sadly, observing these peculiar creatures was beginning to turn into a hassle as humans started throwing their belongings at me. Most of them missed me entirely, and the ones that hit me didn't even hurt, so I rose a little higher out of their reach and continued to watch what would happen to those fish. The sea was gifting me with different beauties every time I saw it, this time it was the mystery of the preys from the sea. A mystery I was determined to uncover.

Meanwhile, humans within the shell were getting close to the shore, and they seemed to be out of things to throw. By then almost all the fish were standing still in the shell, all of this made it easier for me to inspect the prey of the sea.

I had the opportunity to get close enough to see their skin—with scales similar to mine, interesting—and their tiny arms and feathery tails. I was also close enough to take in their smell, which was not like anything I had smelt before. Strange and salty, like the sea, but also quite heavy for something which hasn't been dead for that long. In all honesty, it was a little hard on the nos—

I dodged as something almost hit me in the eye. Same smell.

It was a fish. In fact, more were coming my way. I looked down.

 

Unpredictable as always. Humans were now throwing their food at me. It was their prize for the hunt, yet they were wasting it, tossing them in the air with all their might.

Why would they do something like this?

I couldn't come up with any answer on my own, and the fish kept getting thrown at me. A growl of frustration came out from my throat as I watched the atrocious scene before me, dozens of dead prey sank into the dark waters with a splash, before it was just too much.

 

So, I launched forward and devoured three flying fish at once.

 

Let me be clear on this, I was no filthy thief. I didn't go around stealing other’s hunts. I wasn't even hungry to begin with.

But humans had left me with no choice. At least the food wouldn't go to waste this way.

I kept catching the fish in mid-air, and they kept throwing them with a newly found energy. Soon, the fish were all flying in different directions, I accepted the challenge and flew in circles around their rocking shell, dove sharply from time to time or strained my wings to go faster. I didn't let a single fish go to waste.

Meanwhile, I got to taste them, and it was not a surprise that their taste was just like their smell. A single one's meat was not enough for me to come to a decision, but in the end I chomped on a mouthful of fish and took in their flavor. Their taste was strange, sure, and they were easy to feed on with their crunchy little bones.

I decided I wasn't repulsed by the flavor, but there wasn't more to say about it. I needed more time to decide if they were to my liking.

Still, I was relieved when humans stopped throwing away their food and got off from the shell to pull it onto the land. They were in a hurry as usual, gathering the bundle of strings with whatever was left of the fish inside and pulling the shell over the sand to farther into the shore.

I waited, hovering above as they left it near some other shells—just to be sure that they didn't decide to toss away their hunting prize along the way—and as they climbed up the rocky hill below the village like a hasty herd of deer. I guess this meant they didn't live on the sea.

I landed on the sand when I couldn't see them anymore. The wind was strong and my wings deserved a rest for the effort they spent after a long time of stillness.

This is not how I planned to spend my time outside.

I chose a place away from the hills dividing the village from the sea—and me—checking the area for any humans left.

However, everywhere on the shore looked empty. Good. Time for a nap, then.

Not a sleep—no, that wasn't meant to be had anywhere outside one's lair. Just a quick and a peaceful nap. Even though it wasn't warm enough for my liking, I wasn't the one to miss a napping opportunity. Who knows, maybe it would restore my natural ability to have a proper winter sleep.

Folding my legs under my body, I curled on the shore. My claws were buried halfway into the soft sand and my tail swept on it with content. I was glad I had found a good place for my nap, where I could see my concealed—only for now—treasure before me and smell the salty breeze it brought. I was even glad for my encounter with the humans, for I got to see the prey of the sea serpents for the first time thanks to their hunting.

They have their shining moments at times, I thought and sank into a nap.

I woke up with the aftertaste of the fish on my tongue. It was after the sunset. Only sound was the waves lapping and the wind whistling. Still no humans to be seen around. Still calm.

It was just me and the sea—which was still black. Up above was covered in clouds, only the faint light of the moon could reach the land. It revealed the silhouettes of the rocky hills around the shore, but nothing else.

Nothing to be seen beyond the sea either. The horizon was as empty as the shore. I was truly the only one here, alone with my treasure. My lost treasure—no, my soon to return treasure.

I had just finished a nap, but strangely, I didn't feel like getting up at all. I just lay there curled up, away from my lair. Away from the Hive... Away from my friend.

Without my winter sleep. Without my treasure.

Maybe I should’ve listened to the elders. They had warned me. They told me to choose some other place, some other treasure. I could have had anything else. Some cave up in the highest mountain with no humans around. Or some gold and jewelry stolen from the traveling humans on the roads. There was no meaning in doing what I did, they had said to me, that it was an utterly foolish thing to do. That I was acting unruly again. And my friend had agreed with them, too.

Back then the only thing on my mind was the sea, and I had ignored their pleas and offers with a swing of my tail. I was going to be careful and smart about it, what else was there to worry about?

As I lay there with my head on the sand, my wings tucked and my tail circling my body, I wondered if I should rethink my decisions. Maybe their words were only the truth, maybe they were not muddled with the baseless beliefs of the old, born from paranoia.

And my decisions… maybe not all were the right ones. Some of my choices could have been a little miscalculated or a little… wrong. They were the reason I had ended up far away from the Hive, alone with no treasure to be seen, with a lair infested by humans, and a broken winter sleep, after all.

I let out a puff of breath and watched it swirl up into the air. My stomach felt cold—even though it was usually the warmest place in my body.

I should fly back to my cave.

This outing was longer than I expected as it was, but I still didn't feel ready to return to my lair. I didn't know what I was waiting for. I had told myself that I would return quickly. The plan was to get tired enough to slip right into a deep sleep, and it had worked—I was tired. So, what was the meaning in lingering around?

I don't know how long I stayed there. I didn't nap or get some shut-eye. Instead, I kept lying there blinking, staring far into the distance. Not knowing what to do after.

 

Until everything lit up.

 

The clouds parted, and for the first time after an eternity, I saw a light shining from the sky. The earth regained its details.

And so did my treasure.

The moonlight hit the sea in a gentle way, much gentler than the blinding sun, and on the surface appeared a gleaming path. It didn't spread farther, just a line following wherever the moon was above—just like a tail. It didn't light up the whole surface, but it didn't need to. This was enough for me. More than enough.

I took a reviving breath that swept away the cold inside—and I was in the air before I knew it. Chasing after the taunting tail, I flew over the sea, knowing that I would never catch up to the twinkling line on the surface of my treasure. But that wasn't the point.

This meant that I hadn't lost everything, even when it seemed that way. My treasure still existed. Yes, it was wrapped up in winter and yes, I had to wait for a while, but I still had it. This thin line of light had proved that fact.

And I was reminded that I still had my friend and my Hive, somewhere far away, but I was still a part of them, and they were still a part of me.

My decisions and my mistakes were mine, mine to live and experience and maybe regret, but my regret would be deeper if I had not pursued my dreams.

 

The moon hadn’t given me back what I wanted, but it had replenished my determination. More than that, it had given me the strength to get through this miserable season.

It had given me hope.