The Writers Voice
The World's
Favourite Literary Website
Old Folks at Home
by
Harry Buschman
It was late afternoon and Nogard limped painfully to the door of his cave. He
peered outside to see what the weather was. Nogard was an old dragon – very old,
and he rarely ventured beyond the front door of his cave anymore. His eyesight
was faulty too, but he could still see the ruins of the distant castle – fallen
into dis-repair. Gone were the Lords, the Ladies and the Knights who had pledged
their lives to defeat him.
In a cracked voice he uttered a half-hearted roar to establish his dominance
over the bleak landscape that no one wanted any part of to begin with. He huffed
a puff of smoke to show that he was capable of doing so, and then retreated into
the depths of his cave to dream of days gone by.
Nogard had seen better days, that’s for sure. The empty suits of armor hung in
long rows along the walls of his cave. The suits were dented, rusted and picked
clean of the knights that once inhabited them. They weren’t all that tasty or
nourishing to begin with, Nogard reminded himself – tough, stringy and full of
bones. The horses they rode on were far more palatable. He smiled when he
thought of the lavish suppers he shared with his wife, Rondag. There were
steamed horse entrees. Bat juice cocktails and pickled knights for appetizers.
Candlelight and old dragon songs from Jurassic antiquity. “Those were the days,”
he sighed.
Nogard limped painfully to his favorite niche in the corner and picked up his
claw file. Rondag looked at him piercingly, “Why do you bother?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” he sighed. “If something comes along – who knows, I should be
ready.”
“Nothing’s coming. You know that.”
Nogard shrugged and put the claw file down again. “She may nag a bit,” he
thought. “But she is right, I am not much of a provider these days.”
“I’m sorry, Rondag,” he said. “Perhaps I should sally forth and ... “
“Don’t be silly,” she interrupted. “You can’t sally, you can barely walk to the
cavern entrance. How far do you think you’d get out there?”
Nogard stood and spread his leathery wings. “I can still hold my own out there
... “ he bristled.
“A raccoon would carry you off!” she laughed. “Face it Nogard, you’re old. I am
old too. We’ve had our day, the castle is a shambles and the entire landscape
has grown to seed.” She began sweeping the floor of the cave. “We will live on
bat droppings and fungus. It is the way of the world.”
“Yield varlot!” Both Nogard and Rondag were shocked to see a thin figure in
rusty armor astride a most disreputable barnyard horse. “Forward Rocinante!” The
figure held a bent lance aloft and urged his reluctant horse to enter the cave.
“Just our luck,” muttered Nogard. “Another mouth to feed.”
The End
Critique this work
Click on the book to leave a comment about this work
