Thank you Noddy. Thank you Nola.

NODDY YOU NODDY. THANK YOU NOLA

Florrie walked around the quirky little gallery.  The shelves were crowded with interesting and intricate pieces of art. The artist was talented and the gallery highlighted their work expertly.  

Florrie and her partner Liam were in New Orleans for a week-long conference.  It was the last day of the conference, and they were scheduled to fly home the next morning.  Florrie’s workshop had finished early, giving her an extra hour to do as she pleased.  She had chosen to explore the French Quarter neighbourhood around their hotel while she waited.  She couldn’t go home without at least exploring this part of the city.

Noddy’s Gallery was tucked into a small alley off of a street that ran parallel to Canal Street.  At least that’s where Florrie thought it was.  The streets were twisty, changed direction, or suddenly dead-ended.  She had to admit that she was a bit discombobulated, and had turned down the alley by mistake, thinking it would lead her back to the hotel.  But it hadn’t.  Instead it led her to Noddy’s Gallery—which, as it turned out, was a welcome mistake.

When she had entered the gallery, Noddy had greeted her warmly.

“Ah,” he said, “I see my work has brought you to my door!”  He smiled warmly.  “I am Noddy, and this is my gallery.”  He gave her a slight, formal bow.

Florrie couldn’t help but smile—no one had ever bowed to her before.  This must be how a queen would feel, she thought.  She didn’t have the heart to tell him that she was lost, and her being in his gallery was an accident.  Instead she wandered around the space admiring Noddy’s artwork.  It was all truly lovely.  He was a multi-media artist, who created his art using all different mediums.  There were paintings, all brightly coloured, depicting the city.  The swirls of colours were captivating and eye-catching.  He also did amazing work in clay and ceramics, creating all manner of shapes, all as gloriously coloured as the canvases.  He was also a sculptor and carver, focussing his art on whimsical creatures.

“Is that a dragon?” she asked him, pointing at a beautiful little blue dragon nestled on a glass shelf.

“Indeed it is!” he said.  “You have a good eye.”

Florrie lifted the little blue dragon into her hand and looked look at it closely, amazed at the intricately carved figure.  It was small enough to fit into the palm of her hand.  But the level of detail was amazing on such a small piece.  As she held the little dragon, her hand felt warm where it sat—not an uncomfortable heat, but a welcoming sensation that gave her a great sense of contentedness.  She focussed intently on the little dragon.  Her sense of calm and controlheightened. In that moment, she believed that she was meant to own this little dragon.

“What’s it carved from?” she asked still staring at the dragon.

“Aquamarine,” he said smiling.  “Aquamarine is tied to the sea, and is a protective stone for travellers.”  He looked from the dragon to Florrie.  “She will protect you when you travel, and help you when you need it.”

“She?”

“The most powerful dragons are female,” Noddy said, smiling at Florrie.  His look was all-knowing, conveying his belief in the statement.

She looked at Noddy.  “Is she for sale?” she asked, hopeful, but worried that the cost would be too high.  A carving of this calibre could very well be out of her price range.

“She is.”

Florrie waited for Noddy to tell her price of the tiny blue dragon.

“What do you think she is worth?” he asked gently.

Florrie thought for a moment, and shook her head.  “I have no idea.”  She looked at the carving in her palm.  “I’ve never owned anything made of aquamarine before.”  She looked up at Noddy.  “I have no idea of the cost.”  She paused.  “But she is extremely beautiful.” She looked back at the dragon.  “And she makes me feel calm and … complete?”  Her eyes travelled back to Noddy’s.  “Isn’t that weird?  That this little carved dragon can make me feel so much?”

“I can tell that you and the dragon belong together.  I can feel it, right here.”  He tapped his chest lightly.  “She is yours.”

Florrie was surprised.  “Thank you, but I need to pay you something for this beautiful piece of art.”

Noddy shook his head.  “How can I charge you for something you were meant to have?”

Florrie tried to convince Noddy to name a price, but he refused, insisting that she and the dragon were linked.

As Noddy placed the little dragon in a small metal box, he held out three tiny aquamarine stones in his hand.  “These are her eggs.  Dragon eggs must always stay with the dragon,” he said as he placed the eggs in the box with dragon.  “They symbolize wisdom and power, which will make your dragon stronger.”  He closed the tiny latch on the front of the box.  As he handed her the box, he said, “Keep them safe, Florrie, and they will keep you safe.”

She thanked him profusely, and said her goodbyes.  As she was trying to find her way back to the hotel, she jolted.  How had he known her name?  She had never told him.  She turned around to look back at the alley where the gallery was, but it seemed to have disappeared.

Liam was waiting on the steps in front of the hotel when Florrie joined him.  She showed him her treasure.

Liam looked at the tiny dragon, then back a Florrie.  “It’s beautiful, Flo,” he said, gently fingering the small dragon.  “I didn’t know that you were a Game of Thrones fan.”

“I’m not,” she said, looking at her prize.  “But she called to me.  She’s so beautiful.  Her name is Nola.”

“She?”

“Yes,” said Florrie, pointing at the three tiny ovals nestled in the box with her dragon.  “She has eggs.”

Liam picked up the tiny dragon, but put it back quickly.  “Ow!” he said.  “It’s really hot!”  He looked at his fingers, wincing.  

Florrie picked up Nola.  She was warm—something she’d noticed that at Noddy’s Gallery—but not hot.  She looked at Liam, concerned.  

“She’s a tiny bit warm, but …” she held the dragon in her hand, and shrugged 

Liam put his hand out.  “Let me try again,” he said.

Florrie felt protective of her dragon.  “No, it’s okay.  If she’s too hot, you might drop her.  I don’t want to take the chance.”  She put the dragon back into her box, and snicked the latch closed.  She put the box in her purse and zipped up the bag tightly.

With their convention over, Florrie and Liam were checking out of the hotel the next morning.  Florrie felt uneasy.   She knew she wanted to stay in New Orleans just a little longer, but she wasn’t sure why.  But she felt that is was the right thing to do.  

Florrie was looking at her phone, checking for later flights home.  The idea had occurred to her, that maybe she could find Noddy’s Gallery again, and take Liam there, and show him the treasures.  Maybe he’d find something that moved him as much as the little dragon moved Florrie.  And, she admitted to herself, she wanted to ask Noddy how he had known her name.

Liam wasn’t really convinced that they should postpone their flight.  He really just wanted to get back home.  But Florrie persisted.  

“We’re in New Orleans—we should enjoy it.  Who knows when we’ll be back again?” said Florrie.  “Please!”  She paused, showing Liam her phone screen.  “And, bonus, we’ll have a direct flight.  No stop in Atlanta.”  Florrie knew that being able to avoid the chaos of Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson airport would be catnip to Liam.  After humming and hawing for a few minutes, he finally agreed. 

“Yay!” shouted Florrie, giving Liam a hug.  She felt so much better.

They stowed their luggage at the hotel.  Before they headed out, Florrie asked at the front desk if anyone knew where Noddy’s Gallery was located, but no one had ever heard of it.  She’d tried to look it up online, but there was no listing.  Undaunted, they headed out.  She had a general idea where she’d found the gallery. She tried looking up where’d she’d been the day before using the tracking app on her phone, but it didn’t show any of her forays into the French Quarter.  

Weird, she thought.

They window-shopped while searching, but decided to that there was much more to explore, and decided to declare Noddy’s Gallery unfindable—at least by them.  Florrie was disappointed.  She’d been looking forward to seeing Noddy and his gallery, again—she had so many questions to ask him.  But she cheered up when Liam suggested that they stop at a small hole-in-the-wall restaurant for some lunch.  

After a delicious bowl of fresh gumbo, Florrie asked the server if she knew where Noddy’s Gallery was located.

The server laughed.  “You’re about fifty years too late, cher.  Noddy’s been dead and gone for a long, long time.”

Florrie was dumbstruck.  She was one hundred percent certain that the proprietor’s name was Noddy, and that the gallery bore his name.

She turned to Liam.  “This can’t be right,” she said, shaking her head slightly.  “I spoke with him.  He gifted me Nola.”

Liam covered her hand with his.  “It doesn’t matter.  Maybe it was a pop-up gallery, and someone just used his name.  Either way, you met a marvellous artist, who gifted you a precious sculpture that you can treasure forever.”

While not completely placated, Florrie was thankful for Liam’s support. They wandered around the French Quarter for a little while longer.  Liam bought himself some hot sauce—while not a wildly beautiful dragon, it made him happy.  

But, all to soon, it was time to head to the airport, and back to reality.  They picked up their luggage from the hotel, and hailed a cab to take them to Louis Armstrong airport.

As they were maneuvering their way out of the maze of streets in the old town, the driver asked them where they were heading.

“Toronto,” said Florrie.  “And all the snow.”  She sighed.  The weather in New Orleans had been amazing.

“You’re not going through Atlanta are you?” asked the cab driver.  

“No,” said Liam.  “Why?”

“There was a horrible storm, and a plane from here slid right off the runway.”  He looked at Liam and Forrie through the rearview mirror.  “The plane caught fire.  Nobody killed, but lots and lots of injuries.”  He shook his head.  “That airport’s gonna be closed for days!”

Liam and Florrie looked at each other, disbelief showing on both their faces.

“Wow,” said Liam in shock.

“Thank you, Noddy.  Thank you Nola” whispered Florrie, as she stroked the tiny dragon in her pocket.