Mon ami Gustave

One rainy summer's evening, Priscilla went to a Chinese restaurant, even though it was quite late, she was hungry and got drawn to this place she had not been to before.

The waiter sat her down to a big round table, and took away the other cutlery sets from the table.
She ordered some steamed rice and Monk's vegetables, on the advice of the waiter, along with some Jasmine tea.

She was thinking about her day, feeling tired but happy about such warming events she had had that day, surrounded by friends and people she cared for. She was thinking about many things; her difficulties, her troubles with letting go of the past; was it actually possible to let go of the past? She was thinking and thinking, and she suddenly noticed him.
A little dragon was on the table.

Whilst she looked at him, she felt an immediate response from him, not to her directly, but him saying to himself "Nobody cares about me anyway". The dragon had lost its tail. It probably had been torn away during a bloody battle with another force.
The dragon's thoughts were loud, he felt lonely though he was around so many other people.

Feeling immediately for this dragon that didn't mind saying those things aloud in front of her, Priscilla stopped all thinking and compassion took her to rise her hand to touch the dragon. She said to it "But it's not true, I am here and I heard you, and I care for you even if I don't know you; my poor dragon, what happened to your tail?"

The dragon let her stroke her, gently. He was not used to receiving attention.
Priscilla felt tears coming down her cheeks at that poor dragon who was suffering on its own, and took it, very delicately, in her hands.

She put it in the palm of her hands, letting its head come out so he could breathe and would not be scared at this stranger's hands who could do something hurtful to him.
The moments when she held the dragon in her hands brought more tears; she felt a great amount of peace, coming from the dragon and into herself, for holding this little animal who once was big, against her; giving it, imagining it would heal his tail. The dragon looked at her, and closed his eyes. He felt happy.

Somewhere else, in the vast universe, was a big strong dragon. He was terrifying others, attacking everyone and everything near him, for he had been hurt in that bloody battle and had his tail chopped off by a creature with more teeth than him. Dragons are not friendly, particularly when they are hurt.
He was big, so big, as big as a Hackney house in London; several humans could fit under his wing.
He was raving and ranting, this poor threatening creature; though, in the disorder and silence of his space and time, he felt, suddenly, a great great peaceful energy coming towards him. It came through the space, through the universe and came from a place he didn't know of; a place somewhere on a little blue planet.
He knelled down and put his head under his wing, all became peaceful around him, and he fell asleep, sensing this very strong and powerful, healing energy coming towards him.

In his dreams, he saw a little human, sat in a restaurant. She was holding a little dragon in her palm, singing to it like you sing to your cub dragon before it goes to sleep; she was talking to it gently, giving him much nurturing and all the love she could not express to anyone else, to this dragon. She felt pure, though chaotic.

Suddenly, the phone rung. Dragons do not like being disturbed in their sleep, particularly when they are having such a restful, recharging time, as it is not often they get other creatures having loving thoughts towards them! It was typical, that someone was going to spoil that! Or was it the person at the other end of that annoying bipping machine, who had sensed Priscilla sharing out her affection and love, and who thought that affection should be theirs, and not spared to some third party, be it dragon or human!


Priscilla answered the phone with regret; she was having such a wonderful time with the beautiful dragon, who felt so close to her and whom she could love, without fear. The voice at the other end was strong, confident, rushed, polite, not really concerned. She answered in a way which was unusually strong for her; she had felt love and had shared such intimate moments with a creature that she never had met personally before. The phone call ended.

The little dragon was waking up. He had ceased to give out vibes of feeling unloved and uncared for and started talking to Priscilla. He asked her to go and see his other life, the big dragon who was in that other galaxy.
To go and see him, all she needed to do was to travel in her imagination and go to this great rocky planet and search for the big sleepy dragon, the one with the missing tail.

She followed his instructions, and found herself quite quickly, in front of a browny-green gigantic creature, though he had a tail!
The big dragon took his head from underneath his wing and said to her "Thank you...Your gentle care and compassion helped my cells to reproduce and re-build a new tail, even though in real life, it would not have been possible, you did it for me, how much I want to thank you, I do not suffer anymore... Will you come and rest near me? "

Priscilla was very intimidated but knew she could trust him; she had always dreamed of being near a dragon, having a bit of a weaker personality herself, with her siblings, and not having much defense. To have a dragon-friend was one of her dearest dreams! What would be better than a dragon to protect her from other people who wanted to use her for their own aims?

She followed her dream, and slid herself on top of his wing, where it made a little cosy bed for someone her size. She snuggled in it, and felt the dragon breathing against her. She was safe. She was happy. But how could she, had done such thing than to help a dragon grow another tail! It was unbelievable, nobody would ever believe her.

She stayed there a little while; the dragon told her that his name was Gustave. He was aware of her insides; her rattling hamster like family inside her mind having a squatt, her past and darknesses eating her life force. He asked her gently, to go back when she was ready and talk to the little dragon, as he would guide her because of his size, to reconnect with himsef again and dig a hole inside of her chest, and abdomen, so to go and see what was really going on inside of her.

She went back with regret but joy to the restaurant, to the little dragon who was looking at her, all warm and happy, and came close to her. He said to her that he could help her indeed; and she agreed.
The little dragon changed itself into a pure energy, though keeping his shape; and opened her torso, which had a metal door like robots have.
Inside that door, he exclaimed as they both saw what was in there : "What a mess! How many knotted cables and false connections and decomposing-exploded cables and batteries you have in there! Would you mind...If I took all that out?"
Priscilla was a bit scared, she thought she was human and she surely shouldn't have a metal door inside of her, and certainly not electric cables! She could understand how all this had got in there. She agreed to him to do something for her. She trusted him. Well, both of them, into one.

The gentle dragon took out, slowly and lovingly, all the dead cables which were in there since Mathusalem; he was left with a big empty cavity, which was in the space of her diaphragm muscle, went up to a third of her lungs and descended down to her belly button.

Priscilla had had no pain, but was now feeling very odd. She said to Gustave "Now you have taken out all of this, I feel really scared, because I don't think I am anyone anymore, all I was was in those twisted cables, this was my identity, now I am nobody! I do not know who I am! I thought I was all this! There is nothing left to guide me or help me act in a certain way! What am I going to do! I will just be an empty body!"

As she said that, we heard a little twitting noise. All upset and compressed by the cables, was a little chick, all yellow, running out of her heart.
"Oh, she said. I am sorry, I had forgotten you lived in there." She explained to the dragon that this little chick had been found out to live in her heart, a few years ago, when she had gone on a trip with a person close to her and had found out her heart was all black and empty. This little chick had volunteered to live in there with her, but he was so small and fragile, he would need a lot of love from her to be able to grow into her and help her be her own self. That trip had had a great impact on her, as well as on her sister, who didn't know all this had also happened to her own heart (but without a chick)
Priscilla had cared for her little chick, for many weeks afterwards; but like all things, memories and life take humans away from their promises and inner goals. She had forgotten all about the little chick, other than once maybe in a couple of years when he had re-surfaced.
Today, he was coming out again! He had been much unhappy in there, he had had no room to exist and those hard and compressing cables had invaded his space more and more! He was suffocating!

She apologized to him. The chick understood, though looked at her with suspicion when she asked him to get back in her heart. He didn't believe she was not going to forget about him another time!

The dragon smiled at all this, and said to her: "I know you cannot take me away from here, for I belong here, and now you have given me much ressource and energy, I will be able to spread it to the table and to those who will sit here with me after you have gone.
But I, as I am many and in different states, can come into your heart, if you will allow me. I will protect you, and I will also protect this beautiful and fragile chick who is your sensitivity and self-love, whom you have not looked after so well lately.
I will reside in the emptiness of where those cables once were, so I will be close to Chick and close to you also. You do not need to feel empty nor fear you are nobody or just an empty body, you have me and him, and from us, we will help you find who you are.
All you need to do is think about us from time to time. I am your friend forever, and I am not saying that for the cheese of it, I will just be. "

Priscilla wanted to cry again as time was running out now, with her new friend; she visited one last time the big dragon and nested over in his wing, for another few precious and soft moments, and as she left, he said to her "Don't forget me, I am very grateful to you and I will be here for you whenever you need me. Thank you so much, for your free care. Au revoir!"

She didn't want to leave him, nor she wanted to leave the little dragon or at least, his representation; so she decided, since she was still drinking up her tea in the restaurant, to take the memory of the Dragon forever with her, by drawing it in her book. The tea was horrible, but it was worth every second. They wanted her out, now, but she took her time. She had never met any other like that, in such an event-less place!

She felt the dragon in her abdomen. She was a bit scared he would scratch her as her stomach linings felt so raw now, but he laughed at her and showed her his newly clipped nails; he said he would be very careful to keep them short!
She was reassured, and walked out with her new friend, in her heart, and her old friend that she had a bit abandoned, who now had come back and would not make himself quiet, this time!

ON her way home, she decided to take the most dangerous street, the one she dreaded most and which was all dark and creepy, to prove to herself she now was protected. The dragon did tell her off as he needed to keep his strengths and she should not run unnecessary risks, but he proved her security; there was no creepy soul in the street smoking about or being odd, and when she got back in the light, there were some friendly people standing outside a venue, having a cigarette. All was safe, the dragon was indeed with her and would protect her, she was sure, now!

We will not narrate here the other adventures she had on the way when she met a snail, and another night insect walking along a wall; it will be for another time.