Here Be Dragons, 3: Signs and Wonders

1. The Critter

People who read my facebook posts will know that I have something living in the wall between my living room and garage. The first indication was when, sitting at my desk by that wall, I heard something fall, slide and land with a thump, then lots of frantic scrabbling to try and climb out, but obviously failing. I thought it must be my resident possum. It quietened down for a long time, with only faint noises occasionally. I was anxious that it was trapped, possibly injured, and would die. But I couldn't get anyone to come and help. Wildlife carers are volunteers and the organisation doesn't insure them for climbing about in roof cavities to try and rescue creatures trapped in walls. One did come, but the Critter, as I eventually named it, was silent at the time.

'You'll soon know if it's a possum,' she said. 'They're nocturnal. It will make a noise at night.' She thought it was more likely a rat. It turned out not to be nocturnal, but active (now and then) both day and night. That was a relief! Possum safe.

The fire brigade referred met to the police; the police said they only rescue domestic pets. Various people suggested making a hole in the plaster on this side of the wall (the other side is brick). My landlord, the Housing Department, refused permission and assured me the creature would not smell after it died. (That was a concern, but mostly I was hoping to save a life.)

Over several days there were long silences interspersed with sound and movement. I could hear it crawling around on the beams in the wall. It evidently had claws; I could hear them. I discounted the possibility that it was a snake. I never heard gnawing or squeaking, so decided thankfully it couldn't be a rat.

My handyman has sold his ute. His ladder doesn't fit in his car. Eventually he was able to borrow a concertina ladder. He brought a thick rope to attach so the critter could climb up to safety. He went up into the manhole, and shone a powerful torch into thee wall cavity. He had a good look and he saw — nothing. Nothing at all. Not even any droppings or signs of claw marks, and certainly not a creature of any kind, let alone one as big as this one would have to be to make so much noise. So clearly whatever it is had found a way to get in and out, which could account for the long silences. Whew! It wasn't going to starve to death in there after all.

We walked around the outside of the house together to try and spot openings. (He is a tall man.) We couldn't see anything except the small spaces under the curves in the ends of the tiles at the roof edges. We decided it must be what I had already concluded: a large lizard. There are both water dragons and monitors around here. I have seen them in both my yard and my neighbours'.

The Critter, as I have named it, is still there, at least sometimes. Visiting friends have now heard it too, and think it doesn't sound like a rat or a possum. It doesn't seem to be doing any damage, and so we coexist. I still don't know for sure what it is, but lizard seems the only thing really likely.

'What is the lesson?' someone asked. I consulted the Medicine Cards and pulled Dragonfly. That made me laugh: it's the signal that Andrew and I arranged before he died, so I'd know when he was around. So it a was a message from Andrew? Sure that the Critter is a lizard, I pulled that card, which has a message to trust one's dreams. I had recently dreamed of Andrew visiting, and thought it was a true dream. (I have been told he is now my angel.) But I was occasionally tempted to doubt. OK, so it seemed the Critter was the Universe's way of telling me to trust the dream: that Andrew really did visit me that way.

Later I bethought myself that Dragonfly might be the nearest the Medicine Cards could get to Dragon, and that a lizard (if indeed it is a lizard) resembles a dragon. Perhaps the Universe also tells me to trust the truth of my dragon connection.

2. A new slant

A dear friend from Melbourne stayed with me a couple of days, in the course of which she did a reading for me. Among other things, she advised that Merlin would be coming to communicate with me again. (He used to, but it's been a while.) On the question of that dragon connection, she said, 'Think of the blood codes, not the form. Pendragon....'

I'll have to see how that plays out.