I had probably passed him on the street corner a hundred times before, but today was different, like I was seeing him for the first time. I was snowing and cold, the first really cold day of the year. There he was, sitting on the corner playing his guitar as usual, hoping to earn a little money. He was wearing nothing but a ragged tee shirt and jeans. People were walking past him, not making eye contact, not bothering to notice how cold he must be. As I got closer to him I noticed the smile on his face. He was playing a guitar in the freezing cold as everyone rushed passed him not even bothering to notice and he seemed happy. As he finished the song he was playing I dropped a twenty in his open guitar case and then walked into the coffee shop on the corner and bought two coffees. He seemed surprised when I walked up to him holding out one of the cups of coffee for him to take, but he took it gratefully. In that moment two strangers became friends, we made each other’s life a little better. Maybe sometimes a  friend is all anyone needs.

     Samraat Tigris was sitting on his gold throne in his gold castle almost dozing off. At first glance during the day he might seem like a normal human being. There was nothing out of the ordinary about his black hair or brown eyes in daylight, but all of that changed once the sun set.  He was a changeling; a wizard that changes into an animal at dusk. On this particular evening it was around 7pm. The sun had just set, so he was in his giant white tiger form. It was still quite early for him. His giant white head was drooping to one side when the doors to his throne room were thrown open. A cheetah raced into the room. He was running so fast that he slid right into the wall next to Sam’s chair, knocking a vase from the shelf. Sam woke up to the vase shattering over his head and the guards jumping to their feet at the sound of the commotion. He recognized the cheetah just in time. It was James; one of the changeling messengers that lived in the city.

     “Stop! Do not harm him.” The guards quickly backed away and sat down in front of Sam’s throne. He waved his paw and the vase was back to normal on the shelf. “What is wrong?” He could tell James was in a considerable amount of shock; something terrible must have happened.