From under a pile of disheveled blankets on a nearby bench a voice called out. "Quiet! Trying to sleep!"
The young dragon was still gazing dreamily at the magical view, so he forgot for a moment that he was invisible. "I'm terribly sorry, Sir! I didn't realize."
A bearded old man scrambled out from under the blankets to see who was behind the polite young voice that had awoken him. He saw no-one. "Ah, voices. More voices."
The dragon turned his head, to see who was talking. He didn't realize how close the bearded old man was, and accidentally bumped him. "Oops! I didn't know you were standing so close, good friend."
The man looked around, and picked up a paper bag with a glass bottle in it. "You should be more careful, invisible voice."
A few passers-by saw the disheveled, bearded old man with the bottle in a paper bag seemingly talking to himself. They walked a little faster, and one mother urged her young son not to stare.
The young dragon felt a little ashamed that he had bumped the man, and wanted to do something to make up for it. "I'm not just an invisible voice. I'm an invisible dragon. I can take you flying over the city, Sir, if you would like that."
The man teetered a moment, then focussed. "Wow, this one is interesting… You're an invisible dragon? And you can take me flying?" He pondered the situation a moment. "Around the Empire State?"
The man gestured towards the skyline, and the dragon realized he was talking about one of the tall buildings. "Yes, good friend, if you wish. Climb on my shoulders."
He craned his long invisible neck toward the old man, and gently nudged him. The old man reached up with his free hand, and felt the dragon's scaly neck and shoulders. "An invisible dragon, to take me flying… Hey, whaddyaknow…"
The crustiness in the bearded man's voice had mollified, but he seemed to be hesitating. The dragon encouraged him to a new adventure. "Sir, we can't go anywhere unless you get on my shoulders."
The next moments were not the most elegant of the dragon's life. The unsteady old man was stiff from a night in the cold, and found navigating his way onto the shoulders of a dragon quite difficult. But after a little time, and some helpful shuffling and shifting from the dragon, he was comfortably seated, and cloaked by the dragon's invisibility.
No passers-by were watching as the disheveled old man disappeared out of sight. But a few squirrels wondered what had happened to the hairy, interesting smelling old man.
The dragon checked his passenger. "Are you ready, Sir?"
He was. "Dragon, wherever you have come from, fly me to the Empire State!"
With a beat of his powerful invisible wings, they lifted off. The bearded man engaged completely in this adventure, flailing his arms like he was riding a stallion. The dragon noticed something fly out of the man's hand. "Sir, you dropped your paper bag!"
The bag landed in the lake with a little plop! His passenger was in too good a mood to care. "Matters not. It only contained emptiness."
They zoomed upward towards the heavens, then around the Empire State and along the Hudson. A city with so many people, and so much energy. The joyride of a lifetime.
The bearded man looked at the bench. "Perfectly alright. Thank you for returning me to my hotel."
The dragon wondered what hotel he was referring to, but was too polite to ask. He lowered his neck toward the ground. "You can climb down easily now, Sir."
The dismounting turned out to be less elegant than the mounting. The old man lost his balance, and fell headlong to the ground. Uncloaked from the dragon's invisibility, the passers-by saw a homeless person who seemed to have fallen from his bench.
Before the dragon could speak, the old man held up his hand. "It's alright! It's alright! I'm fine, I'll be quite good here. You go your way now, good dragon …wherever you are."
The dragon realized people were watching, so he craned his head close to the old man's and whispered. "Goodbye, good friend."
The bearded old man lay down on his bench, and pulled the disheveled blankets back over him.
The invisible dragon was about to leave when he saw his father the Magician sitting on a bench opposite. He flitted over to him and whispered. "It's wonderful to see you, good father. What are you doing here? Shall we go flying?"
His father was gazing at the old man. "Your mother asked me to come. We have a few minutes, so take me around the park."
They soared around the trees and lakes, until the Magician directed his invisible son back to the bench. They hovered above. Two people were shaking the pile of blankets, with no response.
The dragon craned his neck around to whisper a small joke to his father. "He must be sleeping very deeply!"
The Magician stroked the invisible scaly neck of his son. "No, my boy. He's gone. On cold November days like this, many people like him depart."
The dragon looked down at the scene. "Where did he go?"
His father drew a deep breath. "He has returned to the great Oneness. Those people are social workers, they will make sure his body returns to the Earth, as is the custom."
It took a few moments for the young dragon to comprehend. "He died?"
The Magician said nothing, for silence is often the most respectful thing.
After a few moments his son's voice came softly to his ears. "I feel so sad."
The father patted his invisible shoulder. "That's because you have a good heart."
They lingered for a time, until the Magician bid his invisible dragon son to take them home.
For a friend, who has joined the great Oneness
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