The Rainbow Escape

You’re hoping for sun, but the day begins colder than expected. A low gray sky presses against the windows, and the chill in the air feels heavier than it should for the season. You sigh and try to distract yourself indoors — a book, a puzzle, a bit of baking — but nothing feels right. Each time you begin something, your little dragon interrupts with a chirp, a nudge, or a flutter of wings that scatters your focus. You can’t tell if she’s disappointed in the weather, too, or simply trying to help in her own small way.

Eventually, you give up; indoors just won’t do. Despite the unpleasant weather, you need to go outside. So you pull on a jacket, grab an umbrella, and step outdoors. The air is damp and cool, the kind of cold that sneaks into your cuffs and up your sleeves. Your dragon perches on your shoulder, warm against your neck, her tiny claws careful as always.

The rain is a pervasive mist. You follow a familiar path beyond your cottage, boots squishing wetly with each step. The world feels muted and still, but your dragon lifts her head, sniffing the air. She seems to sense something ahead.

You reach a small clearing just as the clouds begin to thin. A pale light breaks through, gentle and tentative. Then you see it.

A rainbow arcs across the sky — wide, bright, and impossibly vibrant against the lingering gray. It looks like a way out, a welcome escape. It feels like defiance.

The dragon coos, her wings giving a tiny flutter as if she’s been waiting for this moment. You realize you’ve been waiting for it, too. You stand together in the damp grass, watching the colors of the rainbow shimmer against the fading gloom.

For the first time that day, something inside you eases. The cold doesn’t feel quite so sharp. The quiet doesn’t feel quite so empty. And the moment, shared with your dragon companion, feels exactly right.

A soft, steady warmth settles in your chest as the rainbow glows above you.