Forest Waterfall

“You’ve been working on this for how long?” I looked up, startled, as Cruz landed beside me, her many-hued scales, with their distinctive criss-cross pattern, shimmering like silk in the winter sunlight. “Don’t you think it’s about time you finished it?” She held out one foreleg, her needle-sharp talons delicately holding out a scroll of fabric.

She dropped the scroll into my hands, and I unrolled it to see a landscape of trees and water that could pass as complete from a distance, but up close I could see the gaps that remained. “You’re right,” I told her. “I promised this to my brother … how many years ago? I’ll get right on it.”

“Good,” she said, flapping her wings and rising into the air. “There are a lot more waiting when you’ve finished this task!” she called as she vanished among the cottony clouds.