The Return

The dragonling lay on my chest. No longer curled, but lying pitifully on one side, irridescent green flank heaving.

I'd discarded my t-shirt, since his scales had cooled so much they no longer burned. I hoped the warmth of my own body might help to stop him cooling even further.

He's dying.

Tears threatened and I scrubbed at my eyes, a surge of anger stabbing through me. No! I won't let him!

My mind raced, and then the answer was right there, obvious. Arriving like a thunderclap. Return him.

I'd be in a mountain of trouble if I snuck out of the house anyway, but at night? In a storm? I'd be lucky to be grounded for a decade. And taking dad's wondrous discovery with me (my discovery!) I might never leave the house again.

Actual thunder rolled right around the house, like a celestial curmudgeon rolling a sweet around his loose false teeth. It felt like a push, a call. Insistent.

The house was still, no sound from my parents' room. But somehow, I couldn't believe they were sleeping through the storm that buffeted the walls and cracked the sky. Still, I had to try.

I put my singed t-shirt back on, scooped him up to held him against my chest and crept downstairs as silently as I knew how.

No one stopped me. Maybe they were asleep after all. I didn't dare close the door behind me in case they heard it.

The rain was like nothing I'd seen before. I thought "pouring" was just an expression, but I'm that's how it was. Less like rain, and more like someone actually pouring water. Every inch of my clothes was soaked through in moments. Was I making a mistake? What if he got washed away?

He felt cooler by the moment; there was no time for mistakes. I ran, retracing my steps to the forest. When I found it, that odd little branch, twisted in a circle, the leaves and bark were smouldering.

"I've got him!" I yelled, "He's here!" Idiot! Dragons don't speak English!

A huge spiky black snout nudged through the circle, smoke curling from it's nostrils.

I really am an idiot. This is it, then. This is how I die.

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Word count: 366

Submitted on 30th January at 19:42

*Quick Author's Note*

Thank you for reading! Please leave a comment so I can reciprocate. Your thoughtful engagement is appreciated. If you enjoyed this, the best compliment you can give is to share it, or read another.

The story behind the story: Here are parts one and two of this micro series:

My "story every day" project: I'm writing a story every day this year. This one makes a 30 day streak. You can find all of them in my Index post, which you can find here. It's also pinned to the top of my profile.

If you're joining me on this "story every day" madne adventure, please leave a link to yours in the comments. Whether you're on a creative bent, like me, and writing mostly microfiction/stories, or whether you have your own, self-imposed criteria, I'd love to see what you come up with for today. I'll try to come back and edit this to link to your piece at the bottom.

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