The Metallic Orb

 

            Cody couldn’t believe his luck when he found the figurine at the yard sale. It was a blue and gold dragon made out of metal that was about six inches tall. Cody had always thought that dragons were amazing, even if they weren’t real. This dragon became even more amazing when he saw the price tag. “It’s only a dollar!” he cried happily. He just so happened to have one dollar in his pocket.

            Cody paid for the dragon and then carefully carried it home. He was only a few blocks from his house, so it was an easy walk. He proudly showed it off to his older brother, Max, who was out riding his bike in front of the house. “Hey Max, check this out!”

            Max looked skeptically at the hunk of metal in Cody’s hands. “What is it?”

            Slightly confused, Cody replied, “It’s a dragon. Isn’t it cool?”

            “Looks like a metal blob to me.”

            Cody looked again at the finely crafted dragon. “What are you talking about? This thing is amazing!”

            Max shrugged. “Whatever.”

            Max rode away, and Cody was left thinking that older brothers can be so mean sometimes. He walked into the house and smelled dinner cooking. Wanting someone to notice how nice his yard sale find was, he went into the kitchen. “Hey, Mom, look what I found at the yard sale!”

            Mom glanced up from making dinner to look at the dragon. A strange look came over her face. “Erm, that’s nice, dear. How much did you pay for that?”

            “It was only a dollar!” Cody cried happily.

            Mom raised her eyebrows. “You probably should have just saved your money, sweetie.”

            Cody gaped at her. “Don’t you think it looks amazing?”

            Mom squinted her eyes and tilted her head. “Well…I guess it’s pretty cool for a block of metal.”

            “But…can’t you tell that it’s a dragon?”

            “Hmmm, well, I guess it could be a dragon, but I don’t want you spending any more of your money at yard sales.” She turned back to making dinner.

            Cody couldn’t believe it. How could Max and Mom not see how cool this dragon was? He took it upstairs to his room and sat down at his desk. He studied the fine details of the dragon. It had its wings spread as if it were about to take off. Cody studied the tiny grooves that were the dragon’s scales. It was impossible to mistake this figurine for anything but a dragon.

            Mom called up the stairs that it was time for dinner. Reluctantly, Cody set down the dragon on his dresser. The more he studied it, the more details he saw. The dragon almost looked alive. With one final glance, he turned around and went downstairs.

            After dinner, Cody had homework to do. By the time he came upstairs to bed, he was tired and had nearly forgotten about the metal dragon. As he went to set his alarm for the next day, however, he was reminded when he saw a jagged metal rock sitting on his dresser. “What the…?” he mumbled. What had happened to the dragon?

            Cody heard someone clear his throat behind him and he whirled around. At first, he didn’t see anyone, but then he saw blue and gold movement from his pillow.

            Cody’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head when the blue and gold dragon spoke after clearing his throat again. “Good evening, Cody.”

            When Cody recovered from the shock, he answered. “H-h-hi.” He stared at the dragon that used to be the figurine on his dresser. “How are you alive? What happened to you?”

            Although the dragon was only six inches tall, he stretched his mighty wings and then sat on his haunches, looking almost like a small metallic cat. “My name is Apollo, and you have freed me from the metal orb.” He nodded to the jagged lump of metal on Cody’s dresser. “Now, I’m bound to serve you.”

            “So, you came out of the metal, then? How did that happen? Was it magic?”

            Apollo flicked his tail saying, “The orb is magic, but you were the one to see me inside it. All I needed was for someone to imagine me, and here you are.”

            “So, I imagined you then? I guess that makes sense…sort of. That’s why no one else could see you?” Cody was starting to understand why Max and Mom hadn’t seemed so interested in the dragon before.

            Apollo nodded. “I, as well as many others, have been trapped inside of the orb for a very long time.”

            “Others?” Cody asked, raising an eyebrow.

            “You saw me, so that makes you and I bound to each other. Other people will have to see something else in the orb to free someone else. That’s why you must pass on the orb as soon as you can. It doesn’t happen often, but others may see something inside of it.”

            “Okay, so what do we do now? Will other people be able to see you, now that you’re free?”

            “No, I am bound to you and you alone. No one else can see or hear me. I will help you in any way I can, but you and I are now partners.”

            Cody thought this over and started to realize how awesome this could be. He’d always wanted a pet, but now he had something even better. Who wouldn’t want a secret dragon friend? He grinned and said, “Okay, Apollo, sounds great to me.”

            Just then, Max walked by and poked his head into Cody’s room. “Who are you talking to in here, Cody?” he asked.

            “No one,” Cody said, trying to appear nonchalant.

            Max looked around the room, and his eyes lit on the jagged metallic orb. “Whoa, where did you get that?” he asked, pointing to it.

            “I bought it at a yard sale today, but I’m thinking of getting rid of it now. Do you like it?”

            “Why would you get rid of that?” Max sounded surprised. “That’s the most life-like figurine of an eagle that I’ve ever seen.”

            Cody picked up the piece of metal and held it out to his brother. His eyes flicked over to Apollo, who had flown and landed on Cody’s shoulder. “You can have it,” he told his brother with a smile.

            “Wow, thanks Cody!”

            Cody grinned again. Brothers were meant to share, right? This would be the coolest shared secret ever.