Palm trees?

Hunger after days at sea.

“Wh wh who who who are you?” Leaf asked as his eyes grew wide. 

Silence. 

The bird was still on the bow observing this amazing interaction. He knew the fins but he’d never seen a yoga bunny. 

“I’m Magnolia”, the big eyes said. 

Leaf kept mumbling to himself “relax Leaf, you’re ok. Relax Leaf, you’re ok. Relax Leaf, you’re ok. ok. ok. ok.

“Ar, ar, ar, are, are you a fish?” Leaf stuttered in a very low whisper, trying not to move a hair since he was utterly terrified.

“I can’t hear you” Magnolia said, and leaned in a little closer. 

“Ar Ar ARE YOU A FISH?” Leaf repeated more loudly, almost shouting, leaning back and away from these ginormous eyes. 

“Oooooooh, no”, she giggled. “I’m a deep sea dragon.”

“A dragon”, Leaf whispered in amazement. “A dragon” he repeated to himself since it was not registering with his brain.

She shook her head to the right a few times. “I have water in my ears so hearing is tough: did you ask me something?”, she asked. Leaf stared at her still unable to move. 

“What is a deep sea dragon?” he asked. “Oh, we are a prehistoric breed. We used to fly but the Vikings hunted us almost to extinction so we hid deep in the sea. Some of my breed went to the lakes and, along with their wings they also lost their fins. Have you heard of Nessie from Loch Ness? She is a very distant cousin”, Magnolia smiled hoping this might make Leaf laugh. Nothing like a dinosaur joke to break the ice, she thought. In reality it was all too much for Leaf. He kept wondering if she was about to eat him. Then he thought, why don’t I just ask her. I have nothing to lose. “Are you doing to eat me?” He asked timidly with a bit more confidence in his voice. 

Her smile grew even bigger and Leaf’s eye widened even more and he drew his chin inward and stopped breathing. She giggled. It was a very deep friendly laugh, the kind you tend to associate with St. Nicholas. “Oh no no no. I’m a “plant based” dragon, although I do like to occasionally nibble on a worm or two, they are so just yummy”, she said as she rolled her eyes back and smacked her lips together. “Yum, Yum”. She smiled at Leaf who was still wide eyed and unsure how to react, so he tried to grin: it was more of smirk than a smile.  

Knowing new friends were hard to come by, she tried to distract him. “Can you show me how to do that thing you were doing in the boat?” Leaf pondered for a moment and drew his chin in, paused and then widened his eyes. “You want to learn yoga?” he said incredulously. “Yes, Yes” she responded. “Surrrre” Leaf responded cautiously, not knowing how to interpret this request. “I’m serious” said Magnolia, knowing that tone. She had centuries of experience interacting with people who did not believe, so she could easily identify the tone of incredulity in a heat beat. “I have a very sore back. Do you think that might help?”  “Sure”, Leaf said yet again. He felt like he was in an alternate universe and tried to pinch his arm but he’s limbs were frozen. He shifted his gaze to the bird. They stared at one another and then the bird shrugged his shoulders. Leaf blinked. Yup, I’m in an alternate reality: dragons, birds shrugging and me, about to teach yoga to a dragon named Magnolia. Who knew dragons could have back problems, he whispered to himself. He paused and then thought: I have back problems so why am I having a hard time believing a dragon has them as well? Smarten up Leaf: open your mind and stop being so closed minded! 

He paused again. 

He realised his breathing had calmed. He wiggled his fingers and his toes just to make sure they still worked. He took a big breath in and said: “Ok, I can teach you yoga but, if you’re serious, we have to be on an even surface. You won’t fit in the boat, is there an island nearby?” Magnolia’s eyes twinkled. She was beyond excited to make a new friend who did not simply scream in terror nor try to harpoon her. “Hold tight” she said and she dove under the boat, positioned it on her head and lifted it out of the water. Both the bird and Leaf turned to faced forward while Magnolia increased her speed. Leaf crawled forward positioning himself beside the bird, “Do you have a name?” he asked. “Roger” the bird responded, “but my friends call me Roge.” Leaf smiled. Sure, now he talks, he thought to himself and smiled at the bird. Then he heard that deep voice, “You might as well get comfortable, we’re quite far from land”, Magnolia told them as she continued to increase her speed, cutting through the water like a hydrofoil. Leaf allowed himself to look away, sat on the boat floor and stretched across the hull while Roge leaned into the wind like he was accustomed to windy conditions. Leaf smiled. He looked up at the sky. The setting sun was turning the clouds various shades of pink. He stared at the puff like forms and felt his eye lids grow heavy. He dozed. For some odd reason he felt safe. Instead of over analysing, like he normally does, he payed attention to his intuition and allowed himself to relax, and fell into a very deep sleep.

We was awoken by a sharp bump to the bottom of boat and felt himself lifting up off the floor, and then landed with a huge thump. Shocked and not fully awake, Leaf peered over the side of the boat.

Nothing.

The stars were twinkling above but there was no sign of land, Magnolia nor Roge. 

“Hellooooo??? Anyone around.”

Silence.

Did I dream all of that: he wondered. Then he felt a warm breeze on his back, turned and saw Magnolia’s big smiling face. “I thought you might like to meditate before dawn and before my yoga class” she whispered, “we’re only a short distance from Branch”. “Branch?” asked Leaf, puzzled. He’d never heard of that island. Leaf pondered what he might like to do. He’d totally forgotten to meditate while stranded. He was so scared and discombobulated it never occurred to him that it would help, as much as he knew it would. Its funny how my brain works: the one thing that might help me maintain balance is the first thing I forget to do, he thought to himself. He looked at Magnolia and smiled. “Thank you” he said. She beamed and her smile grew bigger exposing more rows of glistening teeth. Leaf sat in the middle of the boat, crossed his legs, adjusted his bum to really be on the sit bones, and closed his eyes. 

Magnolia, not wanting to be voyeuristic, swam under the boat and once again lifted it out from the sea to stop any distracting rocking that might occur. I might as well swim to the beach so we can start the moment he’s finished, she thought to herself. 

Fifteen minutes elapsed and then she heard Leaf: “is that Branch Island?” She grinned. “You finished your meditation. How did it go?” she asked. Leaf felt lighter and less stressed happily, but he was not sure he wanted to share that insight. “It was good, thanks for reminding me. How did you know I did yoga and meditation?” “It was just a guess about the mediation. Roge told me about the yoga” she responded. “Roge? The bird?” he asked. “Yes, he’s a good friend, and knows the problems I’ve had, so he suggested I meet you.”  That sly little bird, Leaf thought, pretending not to know what was happening. 

Leaf stretched his arms up and looked out at sea. Magnolia was slowing down and Leaf caught site of the ocean floor through the clear turquoise water. He could also see Palm trees. “Palm trees?” he whispered to himself in a confused tone. “Yes, we’re just off the coast of Ireland” she said. Leaf’s stomach grumbled. For the first time he realised that he’s not eaten in days.