Yasmin blinked at few times. Did her sad eyes deceive her? Was her mind making this up? Or did the surroundings play tricks with her? No, it was no trick of the light, nor a mirage. It was real. The water of the pond swirled and twisted, as if a gigantic, invisible spoon was stirring it vigorously. Then it splashed like a large boulder had been forcefully thrown in it. Yasmin crawled back a little, more out of fear itself than fear of getting wet.

What she saw next, however, made her freeze.

Out of the maelström a large creature emerged like a fish jumping out of the water. It had a blue-green, scaly hide, a long tail like an ox, and a head that was a mixture of a moose and a dragon. A moose, because on its head two antler-like things protruded. And dragon-like as dragons seen on drawings from the Far East. 

The creature soared around 30 feet up in the air, made a somersault, and hovered slowly towards Yasmin, while its mouth formed a grin.

Yasmin, eyes wide open, felt like she had been struck by a high-voltage zap. She was so baffled, she couldn't move, and the creature drew closer, hovering in the air.

But it didn't seem dangerous or hostile. Its eyes radiated cheerfulness, and it smiled broadly. As it came close to Yasmin, it began to speak.

"Hi, beautiful," it said in English, with a voice that sounded neither male nor female. "Why the long face? Life to good! Live it, you only have one!" It made another somersault.

"Who... what... are you?" Yasmin croaked. She was so baffled she could hardly speak.

"Me? I'm a Kirin. A good fortune spirit. This pond is my home."

"Are you a dragon?" Yasmin asked.

"Dragon? Ha, ha, ha!" the creature laughed, making an upward piledriver motion and two backward somersaults in the air, laughing loudly. "No, I'm a Kirin. Kirins are Kirins. Dragons are dragons. The Chinese call us Qilin. But you from the West, you know us as unicorns. But we are no unicorns. We are Kirin. Kiii-riiiin...", it sang and made a few more silly moves in the air. 

"This must be a hallucination," Yasmin thought. "I am so upset, I start imagining things. Or I am getting mad. People who are under stress might see weird things...".

The Kirin drew near her again. "Why the long face, girl? Come, dance with me!" it sang.

"No," Yasmin said. "You are not real. I am getting mad. I am so upset I am getting crazy...".

"No, I am real," the Kirin laughed. "As real as you. Why are you so upset?"

Yasmin sighted. She began telling her story, hesitating at first, but soon she told everything. Probably the young woman thought the creature was just a product of her fantasy, so why not tell it how miserable she felt? No one was here anyway, to see and hear her talk to what was most likely thin air to a passer-by. 

As she finished, the Kirin, who had been listening intensely, made another somersault. 

"Aaah, the girl has been cheated on! The girl is sad. And she hates her job! But the girl is not mad. I can help to make you smile again! Yes, I will! Because today is your lucky day, Yasmin-who-sells-fish! Good fortune!" it exclaimed.

It made a face that looked like a mischievous grin. 

"I'll give you power. So you can take revenge! Sweet revenge for Yasmin. I can make you strong as supergirl, so you can beat the bad guy to a pulp! And flying! Would you like that? Superyasmin?"

Yasmin thought for a moment, picturing herself flying through the air and tearing an upset Michael to pieces. But no, that wasn't fun. She wanted to be noted, because she had always felt like a tiny, dispensable cog in a huge machine. It was time to make a mark on the world. 

"Aaahhh, Yasmin wants to be noted!" the Kirin laughed as she refused its offer and had told it the reason why. "Then I will give Yasmin the power to grow! She will be like Godzilla! Huge Yasmin, rampaging Yasmin! Everyone will notice her. Yasmin will be selling whales as if they are tiny anchovies! Yes? Maybe?" it sang.

The blonde pictured herself about 200 feet tall, stomping through Brisbane. And Michael, nothing but a tiny speck between her fingers, completely at her mercy. She felt a pleasant pang in her belly. Yes, that was it! The power to grow as big as she wanted!

"Yesssss....", the Kirin cried as Yasmin agreed. "You will have it! Watch!"

It dived into the water, and emerged again a few seconds later, a small vial in its mouth. The Kirin dropped it before Yasmin on the ground.

"Drink! Drink and be merry! This will give you all the power you need! You can get as big as you desire just by wanting to grow! The gift from the Kirin!"

With that, the creature made a few more strange movements in the air and dived in the water, not to emerge again.

Yasmin picked up the glass vial and looked at it. The liquid was plain, like water, and the vial looked as ordinary as they come. Would she drink it? 

"Not here," she thought. And somehow, it was all very weird. Yasmin stood up and hurried back to the bus stop. She had to digest all this. In her hotel in Tokyo.