Short Story: My Dragon
I was raising a dragon. Her scales were white as snow as she scampered around on the riverbank, sapphire eyes fixed on the sky. Excitement filled her every twitch and sound. I looked up as well, expecting to see birds or bugs, but I was wrong. Clouds—small and scattered—blew past the sun on a morning gale, making it flicker like a torch. My dragon wanted to reach the clouds but, despite her best efforts, ended up face-first in the sand. My dragon’s joy shriveled into despair as she sat there, her longing eyes tilted upward. What could she want them for? Did she intend to catch them? Or… be like them? My heart sank as I realized the solution. My dragon wanted to fly.
Somehow, I made my way toward the dragon and sat down beside her. She didn’t look at me. “Do you want to fly?” I asked. My dragon cooed and kneaded the sand. I was right after all. I gave my dragon a final pat before standing up. “Well, if you want to fly, I will teach you.” My dragon perked up at those words and bounded over to me, her excitement renewed. Days passed by like clouds in the wind as I taught my dragon to fly, and with each sunrise, I came to despise the swiftness of time. Time. The most beautiful and ugly creation in all the world.
Then came the day.
I stood beside my dragon, my feet sinking into riverbank sand as she watched the clouds pass over the sun just as they had all those days ago. She could reach them now, yet her excitement had died down, replaced with something reminiscent of my own emotions. Fear. Sadness. And perhaps a touch of anger. But I patted her scales all the same. “You have a will to fly, my dragon. To reach the highest heights and find adventure. Do not stay on the ground because of fear or sadness or even anger. You may leave me for a short time, but we shall see each other again. I will always wait for you.”
My dragon cooed and nuzzled me softly before spreading her wings. I gave her a nod before she leaped into the skies, catching the wind in her wings and leaving me on the riverbank. She glanced back at me once. I knew it was a goodbye… and a thank you. I struggled to watch as she flew into the clouds, her white scales blending with them, making her appear invisible. And then my dragon was gone. I stood on that riverbank in silence. Too much silence. I felt alone. I felt as though my world were a different place, because I’d shared it with my dragon, and now she was nowhere to be found. I could only hope she’d return one day.
Now I have my own reason to watch the clouds.
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