The first few nights of being in a new world were rough. Being warped away from everyone and everything that you know and being dumped in an unknown universe filled with creatures that were once only possible in fantasy. Eli felt alone as he keeps telling himself that it was all a dream, that none of it is real. But deep inside, he knows that it's real. He knows that he is no longer what he once was, but now a gigantic reptile of a creature. He looks down at his scaled green hands, observing how they look smooth and firm.

BOOM

Eli looks towards the direction of the dirty cracked window as the sound of rain tapping against the window of his shitty apartment. This apartment he was barely able to get as when he got here, he had no money nor job nor a place to lay down. But there was this place which resides in the slums of the city. But it's better than bothering, he hopes. As Eli observes the weather outside, he concluded that there must be a thunderstorm going on right now. This strangely reminds him of home in his universe where he would listen to the storm going on in the comfort of his home while sitting in the room with his family members. All the while there would be a fire going to keep the house warm. But these thoughts only turned his scales black as they reminded him of what he has lost and that he will never most likely see them again as they are worlds apart. He heads over to the old beaten-out mattress on the floor which is way too small for his large new body. But besides laying on it, the large reptile sits on the floor while leaning against the wall. He then stares outside of the cracked window, listening to the booming of the thunder and the thumps of the rain as more thoughts of home floods his skull. The eyes started to feel heavy and droopy as sleep slowly claims him for the night.

He woke up the next day with a sore back and bum as he slowly pushes himself off the wall that he slept against. He can hear the upstairs neighbors arguing again, something about food Eli believes but is not sure. They argue loudly about a lot of things. Eli heads towards the main area which is empty at the moment with his scales now being their normal green color. He knows that he will have to go job hunting again as rent is due in a few weeks. He knows that the coffee shop not far from here is looking to hire so maybe he’ll start there and get the job, hopefully. He go and grab his rags as they were the only things that he could wear as clothes cause he couldn’t find any that would fit his size or accommodate his back spikes. He wraps the rags around his shoulder and then around the bottom of his waist like he would be getting out of the shower and wraps a towel around to cover. After kind of getting dressed Eli headed out of the door and pulled. When he did the door cracked near the door handle as this new body possess a newfound strength that he never had before. He takes in a few deep breaths to calm down and not break the door before then slowly opening the old wooden door, bending down so he wouldn’t hit his head, and walking out of the door.

Eli then walks towards the stairwell as he then feels a force behind him, stopping him in his track and making him drop to the floor backward. He looks behind him as he rubs his lower back and notices that his tail closed the door but didn’t let go of the door handle. Eli so doesn’t like his tail as one he never had a tail before, and two, it seems to be more trouble than anything. The tail would always bump into things and people, would grab ahold of things for no reason, and also will sometimes grope people for no reason. It’s like it has a mind of its own.

Eli with a slight sore on his bum got up and headed towards the door with the tail still firmly holding the door. He then grabs the tail which has some spikes on it and the spikes on his back trail off onto his tail. After grabbing the tail, Eli then gave it a strong and tight pull. Eli pulled and pulled until the tail let go of the door handle, but when it did the force that Eli was pulling with still had an effect on him and caused Eli to fall onto his bum again. This was frustrating to him that he is having a shitty day and it has only just started. With his scales turning red he marches down 4 flights of stairs and heading towards the stair. After he reached the ground floor and head towards the door, his friendly neighbor which who is a very old looking Chinese dragon stops Eli as he exits the stairwell,


“Why Hello there good sir, you are my next-door neighbor right?” said the old trembling dragon

Eli looked at the dragon who seemed to be struggling with the groceries that he must have just bought, “Why yes I am, I moved in a week or two ago,” Eli then lends out a hand, “The name’s Eli.” The dragon slowly gives out his hand and shakes Eli’s.

“Lam Yiu Gwai, So Eli, do you mind lending a hand to an old dragon?”

“Sure,” Eli bends down and grabs the 3 bags of groceries. After he grabs them they both walk up the stairs as Eli went the pace of the dragon that he was following.

“Today is a beautiful day Mr. Eli, Do you have plans this fine morning?”

“I was planning on going to see if I could get a job at the coffee place down the road…”

“Oh, you want to learn how to make coffee, I teach you!”

“Thanks for the offer but I need a job so I can have money for rent and food.”

“I can teach you how to cook too! And pay.”

“I will think about it, recently I have been feeling a little down. But I will keep you in mind.”. They finally reach the 4th floor, and they walked to his room which is room 43. The green old dragon with his white whiskers of a beard opens the door and they walk in. His room was decent considering they are in a shitty apartment building. He has red painted walls, with nice-looking couches and tables. He had statues and paintings that look like he could have got them at a gift shop in china town.

“You can place them on the counter,” he says as he shuffles towards another room and points towards where the kitchen is. Eli goes and places the 3 bags on the counter, and starts to turn and leave but the old dragon shuffles back out of the room and towards Eli. “and here you are good sir for your hard work.” He hands Eli a 20 dollar bill and three ancient copper Chinese coins.

“Oh sir, I can’t take this.”

“You can and you will,” said the dragon. He then closes Eli’s hand which was holding the money. “Remember, Despair is a sign that hope does exist, fear is a sign that courage does exist, loneliness is a sign that love does exist, pain is a sign that joy does exist. You have inner strength in you, I feel it, you just got to feel it as well.” These words after hearing it brought a feeling that Eli can only describe as one that feels warm. His scales turn orange as he pockets the money that was just given to him.

“Thank you very much, I needed to hear that.”

“Your welcome kid, now go do your interview, and come back here by 6:30, I’ll have dumplings ready.”

“You got it,” Eli says as he walks out the door, slowly closes it with his hand this time, and head towards the exit of the building with a pep in his step now.


This is an amazing piece by my friend, but although he did give me permission to share it, he asked to remain anonymous. If you did read all of this and is now down here, then thank you for reading the short story that I cooked up, and please let me know how I did in the comments below. Thank You
Art: Friend
Eli:  Batfake
Mini Story:  Batfake