previous part: https://jordynsaelor.com/2026/03/27/an-attempt-was-made/
all parts: https://jordynsaelor.com/cant-catch-me-now/
***
Yes, the lake had fish.
No, I couldn’t catch any.
So after a dozen failed attempts at nabbing slick blue fins
I just waited out the fire
that burned
the whole day
and the day lasted
longer than the days at home
I thought
though a boring day in a lake
getting hungry and thirsty
is not a good baseline
for comparing lengths of time.
Fortunately for me,
the grasses near the water
burned out
before the sun set
and the flames
advanced deeper into the trees
so I dragged myself from the water
and flopped on the dirt and warm ashes,
letting the heat steam liquid from my clothes.
Then I made
a big water purifying rune in the bare ground
with my arm
and found a roundish rock
poking from the dirt
that I used to scoop lake water,
then carried it on my lap,
scooting on my butt
from the shore
to the rune
a few paces away.
Then I lifted the rock
in my arms to the rune
then to my mouth
then I scooted back to the shore for more
and I filled my stomach
on rock-warmed water
wishing it were also food
so I went digging
through the ashes
for,
I don’t know,
a burnt animal to eat
or a cooked fruit
or something,
and I found some almond-ish
things,
tasted one,
found it sickly sweet
but I still ate it
plus the next seven
and wondered if I’d get to use my healing rune
to rid myself of toxin.
After the sun went down,
the blue-green shroud over the sky returned
like dust fell from the stars and settled over us.
I dug
for more food
but then the creature returned.
And I guess
my being out of water
finally convinced it
of sense
since it said,
“You’re not a naiad, are you?”
And I said, “No, I’m an adventurer,
what are you supposed to be?”
And it said, “I’m a dracan.”
So I said, “What’s that?”
and it said, “Me.”
So I gave it a foul look
like a mama rat gives
to someone who stole her library lunch
and said, “I’m new here,
do you
feed strangers
who are totally lost?”
And the dracan
frowned at me
with its big beak
and said,
“Where’d you come from, adventurer?”
“From another realm,” I replied. “I
escaped from demons
and a lightning person
and gave up my feet for these flippers
to travel through the lake.”
And the dracan
skipped a circle in the dust,
wings fluttering,
feathery tail
dancing,
and said, “That sounds like an interesting story
to tell me over breakfast.
Do you eat fish?”
And I said,
“As long as they’re cooked.”
Then the creature jumped into the air,
soaring above the lake,
feathery wings
brushing the blue-green shroud
so it sprayed crystals
that fluttered down into the water
and melted
but
dozens of ripples
broke the surface where they touched
and the dracan dove,
huge beak scooping water
and the whatever the ripple-makers were,
bringing them to shore to share them with me.
***
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