MYSTICAL DRAGONS

There weren't always dragons in the valley. Dragons didn't appear until a few years ago according to legend. Stories told of their fiery breath that blew across the sky sending waves of red, blue, yellow, and black against the stars late at night. Golden flames danced during the daylight as if they were dancing the tango with the sun.

On a bright sunny morning in early June, Sophie happily followed her mother along the river bank to gather ginger roots, berries, and honeysuckles for dinner. Father was checking the fishing lines he had set the night before in hopes of catching some fish to add to dinner. Sophie skipped gracefully, swinging her basket to-and-fro. Mother hummed a happy melody that seemed to be in rhythm with Sophie's steps.

Soon they reached the berry bushes upriver from Father. The berry bushes contained an assortment of colors: blues, reds, pinks, and purples. Sophie's favorites were the reds. Mother called them Star-lights because legend said they only grew from the magical light of the stars and moon.

Sophie sat her woven basket on the ground by the small bush. She was delighted to be big enough finally to pick her berries. Sophie sat to work right away. Mother had told her earlier that morning they would have to pick with haste today due to a change in the air. Sophie didn't understand quite yet what her mother had meant. However, she did not want to disappoint her mother or be without her favorite berries.

They picked the fruits and roots in silence. The only sounds heard were the rustling of the leaves as they picked and the soft hum from Mother. Steadily working and in her little world, Sophie didn't notice when the humming had stopped. She didn't notice the dark shadow that had fallen over them. A sudden hot breeze tickled the back of her neck, arms, and legs. Sophie froze.

She looked up quickly searching for Mother. Fear cascaded her body when she saw the look on Mother's face. Pale as cotton, trembling, eyes wide as stones, and unmoving. Mother was petrified. Sophie's eyes begin to sting with water. Her heart raced, slamming into her chest. The ability to breathe became a heavy task. Sophie then noticed the darkness that had fallen all around. It was about midday. There was no reason for the shadows to be creeping in so soon.

Sophie watched Mother with an intensity to see if she would breathe, move, or provide comfort in some way. She finally noticed a slow motion from Mother's hand telling her to crouch down easily. Sophie knew this motion as they would practice it whenever they were out deep in the woods. This was a motion that was to keep Sophie safe in case danger approached or hunters found them. "Something bad must be near," she thought.

Very slowly, Sophie inched her way to the ground. Moving as if she were gently deflating. When she was low enough, she shifted so softly to the edge of the bush. The thorns were prickly, but the danger was more severe than the scratches of the thorns. When she was close enough to the ground, in a swift motion, Sophie rolled deep into the berry bush. Thorns ripped her dress and flesh.

Sophie had closed her eyes during this in hopes that it was just a practice that Mother had taken to an extreme this time. Once she was able to calm her breathing, Sophie opened her eyes. The bush was thick causing her not to be able to see well. She looked at the opening area where she had rolled under. A strange object was at the edge.

A dark blue scaly-looking tree trunk was now where Sophie had been standing. Sharp black roots protruded from the tree trunk thing. Sophie was very confused. She hadn't noticed that tree there whenever she first arrived. A puzzled look remained on her face. She had forgotten for a moment that Mother was still out there also. Maybe Mother hadn't seen the tree at first and now it had frightened her when she noticed.

Sophie kept glaring at the tree trunk forcing her eyes to focus as hard as they could to burn the image into her little mind so she could describe it in grave detail to Father when they returned. Father knew everything and would know what type of tree this mysterious new one was.

Suddenly, a large glassy eye with pupils like a dark doorway and a fiery ring of orange flames dancing from the doorway was staring right at her. Sophie screamed! The eye squinted causing the orange flames to flair from the black doorway. "SOPHIE!" Mother shouted. The eye vanished from looking at Sophie. "Mother!" Sophie shouted. It was only then that Sophie had remembered Mother and her petrified state. Tears began to roll from Sophie's eyes.

A high-pitched screech pierced Sophie's ears. She clasped her hands over them to push out the sounds. She squinted her eyes shut while telling herself to wake from this awful dream. The air suddenly was hot robbing her of oxygen to breathe. Sophie began to gasp and cough. "Mother.." she squeaked.

Sophie looked back at the strange tree trunk. It was moving. In a swift movement, the trunk was gone. Strong winds pushed Sophie down into the Earth beneath her. The bush divided above her for a moment. At that moment, Sophie looked straight up at the sky hoping to see the sun. Instead, she saw the dark blue scaly belly of some weird creature. So she thought. A fiery blue jet of flames burst across the sky as the bush closed back over Sophie.

She was terrified. Sophie did not move. She waited patiently for Mother to tell her it was safe as she always had. No words came. No sounds came. The birds did not chirp, the water was still. Silence invaded Sophie's ears with a deafening crash. Moments felt like forever to her. What sounded like far away, came the pounding of feet and voices far away. Fear flooded Sophie. She wanted Mother to tell her it was safe. However, she knew something was wrong because it had been so long.

"SOPHIE! KATY!" called a panted weak voice. Sophie hoped it was Father but the voice sounded so weak she feared it wasn't him. Whimpering began. Soft at first. Then the soul-crushing heartbroken cries of a devastated person echoed throughout the area. "That has to be Father," Sophie thought as she easily rolled to tilt her head to see beneath the bush. Sophie's heart leaped! It was Father!

"Father!" she called as she began to wrestle herself free from the bush. "SOPHIE!" he exclaimed as he heard her weak voice. He noticed the bush rustling. He clamored to his feet and raced to it to pull her free. He grasped her hands in his as he pulled her free. He wrapped his arms around her as she wrapped hers around his neck. Both held on for dear life. Tears cascaded down both their cheeks. Sophie knew not what had happened to Mother, but she was safe with Father.

"Father, did you see the blue scaly tree?" she asked once her tears had subsided. Father looked at her with a confused look on his face. He seemed lost on what she meant.