The invisible dragon flew over the Cyclades islands, innumerably dotting the south Aegean sea. Some were small and flat, barely rising above the waves. Others had large estates, with towns and farms and beaches, people living the idyllic island life as the winter solstice approached. Compared to the cold north of Europe, the weather here was mild. Cool days, but still sunny. The sunsets toward Italy and the occident created red and orange and crimson skylights, and every evening started with this "other world" ambiance.
His mind was busy with preparations, but for what? He was ready to fly further, to climb higher, he knew it. What adventures await? This uneasy sense of expectation of nothing was pervading him. Why the prescience of experiences to come, but no word or sign of what or where to go?
Thoughts of the Oracle seemed to be guiding him. He found himself tracing the coastline to Olympus, and beyond to the craggy, fire-lit outcrop where she kept her lair. Before he could see her, he heard her voice. "Why look for someone, when she has no need to see you?"
He followed the sound to the Oracle. She was gazing with her blind eyes into a fire rising magically from the earth. "I came back, because you guided me well before, great Oracle."
Very few creatures could intimidate the enormous invisible dragon. He was so mysterious, so out of sight of ordinary perception, in a world where the Ancient Ones rule and all souls harmonize. He knew little of the emotions surrounding intimidation and dominance. But he felt these emotions now. He felt she was too busy to see him. He felt he was nothing, and her wisdom and vision was being wasted and distracted by an annoying, pesky young dragon.
He opened his mouth to clumsily make his apologies and leave her be, when she unexpectedly read his mind. "I am not too busy, you are not wasting my time or distracting me, young dragon. Do you know why you feel this way?"
The dragon felt a kind of stumble in his thoughts, as he struggled to explain himself and his feelings. "I… I… I feel I am not worthy."
She turned away from the fire to face him. Her blindness helped her to see his invisible being more clearly than most. "I do not judge you, or others, to be worthy of not of my time. What are you worthy of, dragon? Can you answer me that?"
The dragon felt the wisdom of her guidance like a great invisible hand on his enormous shoulder, reassuring and encouraging him to the right path. "I came to you, Oracle, not even knowing what question to ask you. You have revealed my question: What am I worthy of?" He felt an overwhelming gratitude grow inside him. "I respect your wisdom, I did not know how great your wisdom can be until I felt so small next to you."
The Oracle smiled at the gentleness of the dragon's words. He was perhaps twenty or thirty times her size. She felt tiny next to him. Yet here he was, paying tribute to her lonely existence, seeing her for who she was. Seeing what most others were blind to. "I am worthy of my wisdom, gentle dragon. I have taken time to learn, allowed life to lead me through experiences good and bad. I lost my sight in the worst of these experiences, and yet this is the experience I treasure most. I found my truth. My sight was the sacrifice."
The dragon wanted to know her story, he was curious about this new information. What had happened to her? What took her sight? He was about to open his mouth, when he realized she was still reading his thoughts. She held her hand up, palm facing him, in the simple gesture that means "stop".
He stopped, and realized the questions of himself and his life that had flooded his mind in the last days were gone. The uneasy expectation of nothing was not there.
She continued, holding back from him the answer he craved. "Stories like mine cannot be shared in words. I have seen things, done things, felt things I cannot describe. To understand my life, you must pluck out your own eyes…"
The dragon was struck by this image. "Oracle, did you…?"
She flicked her head, in a gesture of annoyance. "I did nothing of the sort. Think, young dragon. You are intelligent. I told you I searched for wisdom. Does it sound wise to you that I should pluck out my own precious eyes?"
The dragon realized the grossness of him mistake. Shamefaced and humbled, he attempted to apologize. "I did not think before I spoke. I wanted to know your story… but as you say, your story cannot be told."
The Oracle cocked an eyebrow at him. "And so…?"
The dragon paused a moment, then the answer came to him. "And so I will never, ever know your story."
The Oracle turned back toward the fire. They sat together on the rocky outcrop, dotted with its mysterious everlasting flames. The night was bringing a chillier wind, so dragon spread his invisible wings to shield her a little from the cold. Was the consultation over? If she had given him a message, he had not understood the meaning.
Shielded from the wind, the fire and flames burned a little higher, illuminating the place where she sat. The Oracle turned to him again, and this time he saw her face more clearly in the firelight. She was obviously much, much older than he thought. The stories of her life had written themselves into the lines and wrinkles on her skin, her greying, thinning hair… and into the exceptional presence of her being. "If I could live my life over, dragon, you would have been born 4000 years ago, and we could make the journey together, and you would know the story."
The dragon was caught completely by surprise and was about to blurt out questions. 4000 years? That's impossible! Where did you learn the secret to live so long as a human?
But at the last moment he remembered what he had just learned. Think before I speak.
He saw the Oracle smile, and realized she had seen every thought pass through his mind. He thought about what she had just told him. Was the message she had for him embedded in this unfulfillable wish of hers, to journey though her life again together with him?
Slowly he realized what she was telling him. She spoke his thoughts aloud, reading them directly from his mind. "Other human beings are like the Oracle - they quest for greatness, and search for truth, love, wisdom and experience. Many journey alone, outcast because their quest takes them to places others have not the courage to visit. These fearless human beings lead a life that cannot be told in a story. These human beings are taking a journey worthy of an invisible dragon."
The dragon stared at her open-mouthed, amazed at the clarity of her vision into his inner being. He was so amazed, after a moments silence he coughed a little, and a tiny spurt of dragon fire shot from his nostrils toward the Oracle. She remained very still, but a little grin appeared. "Careful dragon. I have not so much hair left. Please do not singe what little is left!"
The dragon knew the time had come for him to depart. If he lingered now, he would be wasting this precious woman's time. "How do I thank you, great Oracle?"
She turned back toward the fire, and seemed to be disappearing into her memories. "Share their journeys."
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