The Road to Nowhere: Chapter Nine

                                                       Chapter Nine

          On the side of the river opposite the desert loomed a dark, foreboding mountain. It was the biggest, steepest mountain one could possibly imagine. At the top of this mount was Quasbed’s cave.

            As the three children stood in it’s shadow, they suddenly felt very small and out of place.

            “How are we going to make it all the way up there?” Kyle asked.

             It was at this precise moment that the golden butterfly flew past the children and alighted on a long, broad plank of wood which was propped up against layers of vines covering the side of the mountain.

            “Look! We can lift ourselves using these!” Kara said excitedly. She braided three vines together so as to form a sturdy rope. The children then knotted this rope around the piece of wood so that it made a suspended platform. Armed with their water pistols and the tortoise shell full of water, the three siblings climbed up onto the platform and proceeded to pull themselves up using the other vines.

            It is not easy to pull one’s own weight up the steepest mountain in Nowhere, and the children were exhausted by the time they reached the top. But there they stood, at the mouth of Quasbed’s cave, the desert sun setting behind their backs.

            “We should be wearing fire-proof armor if we’re going to fight a dragon,” Levi said. His brother and sister agreed. Each of them reached into their pocket, pulled out their apple, and took a bite. Immediately each of them had a full suit of armor.

            “Levi, what’s in that package that the dwarves gave you?” Kyle asked his brother.

            Levi reached into his pocket and produced the brown parcel. “I don’t know,” he said. “I had forgotten about it until now.” He tore open the paper and beheld a lyre, which shone with the same radiance as the golden butterfly.

            “Oh!” Kara said. “One of the dwarves said that Quasbed will fall asleep if he hears music! You can use that, Levi!”

            “Alright,” Levi answered. “Here goes.”

            The three children tiptoed silently into the cave, where they were greeted by a tremendous roar which shook the cave. A flame darted out above their heads.

            “WHO GOES THERE? WHO GOES THERE?!?!?” the dragon stormed.

            “Three travelers…far from home…the only way we can get home is to use…your…dragon scale.” Kara trembled as she forced the words out of her mouth.

            “My scale? NEVER!” Quasbed replied. His breath emitted another flame. Kyle extinguished the flame by using a water pistol.

            “Play, Levi, play!” Kara instructed her brother. Levi began plucking on the lyre, and right away the dragon crashed to the ground, snoring loudly. The three children approached him, water pistols in hand. “I feel guilty about this,” Kyle said. “I mean, he’s asleep!”

            “It’s the only way,” Kara said. “And remember, Quasbed will only be sick for a week. Then he will be back to normal.”

            Kyle looked thoughtfully at his water pistol. “I guess you’re right,” he conceded. The children soaked Quasbed with the water. The dragon then sneezed forcefully, which awakened him. He growled and turned on the children. When he tried to breathe fire, only a trickle of smoke came out from his mouth. Frustrated, he sneezed again.

            Kyle plucked a shimmering scale off of Quasbed’s tail. This made the dragon angrier still, but he could only continue sneezing.

            “What do we do now?” Kara wondered aloud.

 Of all the things to find in the dragon’s lair-the golden butterfly! It perched on the wall, then suddenly vanished. There on the wall where the butterfly had just been, golden letters now gleamed.

            “What does it say?” Levi asked as he dodged a blow from Quasbed.

            “Brisag…blaswak…eljmirahth?” Kara read, trying to make sense of the words.

            The children suddenly found themselves traveling upwards at a furious pace through a dark tunnel. Then they were thrust out into broad daylight. Once again, Kara, Kyle, and Levi were in their own backyard. No longer were they wearing armor and holding water pistols; no longer did they have magic apples in their pockets. Everything was as before.

            Kara thrust her foot into her sneaker. “Come on!” she told the boys. “We have to go tell Mom about this!” Excitedly, the children ran towards the house, while a little gold butterfly flew gracefully past them.

            “Oh Grandpa, that was a wonderful story!” the little girl told her grandfather.

            “Good, I’m glad you liked it,” the man smiled.

            “Was it a true story?” the oldest grandson asked.

            “What do you think?”

            “I…I don’t really know,” the boy answered.

            The youngest boy smiled up at his grandfather. “I think it was true,” he stated simply. “I know it was true, Grandpa Levi.”