Mythical Creatures

 

            Tina checked the list on her phone. She needed one more gift for her daughter, Tracy. Christmas was only a week away, and Tina had been doing some last-minute shopping. She had to make sure that each of her kids got the same number of gifts. She didn’t want anyone to feel like they missed out or anything.

            Tina sat back in the driver’s seat of the car with a sigh. She was tired, but she really wanted to get this done. What else could she get for Tracy? The answer hit her like a lightning bolt. Of course! Another book had just come out in a series that her daughter loved. Tina wasn’t even sure if Tracy knew about it or not.

            Making up her mind, Tina drove to the small bookstore on Main Street. Normally, she would have just ordered it online, but she didn’t want to take any chances of having a late delivery. The quaint little bookstore sold new and used books, and when Tina walked in, she inhaled the smell of the written word.

            Walking straight to the Young Adult section, Tina found what she was looking for right away. Yes! Tina felt a thrill at the thought that after she paid for this book, she would be done with her Christmas shopping. As she walked toward the front of the store to check out, she was distracted by the sound of books falling behind her.

            Spinning around, Tina looked at the rows of shelves, but nothing seemed to be out of place. But wait—there at the very end of the row, a book lay on the floor. She had walked right by there before. Did she accidentally knock it down? She walked back over and saw that it was one of the used books. Picking it up, she was intrigued by the picture on the cover. A magnificent green dragon with its fearsome outstretched wings dominated the picture, with craggy mountains in the background.

            Tina had always liked dragons, even though she was supposedly too old for such things. She ran her hand over the cover and flipped through the yellowed pages. It appeared to be some kind of illustrated encyclopedia about mythical creatures. Each page was more beautiful than the last.

            Making up her mind, she shut the book and took it up to the checkout stand. She was going to buy this book as a reward for finishing the Christmas shopping. She deserved it, right? Besides, maybe she could just count this as an early Christmas present.

            Clutching her purchases, Tina nearly raced back to her car. She wanted another look at that book. When she pulled it out of the bag, however, she was horrified to find that the dragon on the cover was no longer there. The mountain scene was beautiful, but it was dragon-less.

            Tina continued to stare at the book, wondering if she’d accidentally switched books inside the store somewhere. Should she go back inside and see if she could find the original book? Her hand was on the door handle when she heard a small cough from the passenger seat.

            “Ahem. Good afternoon.”

            Tina turned to stare at the glittering green dragon from her book, now sitting patiently on the passenger’s seat. “Whoa! Did you just say that?”

            The green dragon looked offended as he said, “Yes, I can talk. I’m here to teach you all about the so-called mythical creatures in the world. Didn’t you just buy my book?” He glared pointedly at the book still in Tina’s hands.

            Tina glanced down at the book, and then back at the miniature dragon. “Y-y-yes, but I didn’t realize that you would be narrating. I just thought it looked like a cool book about imaginary creatures.”

            “Excuse me, but none of the creatures in my book are imaginary.” He cleared his throat and said, “My name is Pablo. The fact that you even found my book shows that you have some magical talents and can make use of the information I can give you.”

            Tina looked from Pablo the dragon to the bookstore and back again. Was she dreaming? Was she okay to drive home? Realizing that Pablo was staring at her, she said, “I think this must be a dream.”

            Pablo’s eyes bored into Tina’s as he said, “You aren’t dreaming. With your gifts, you will lead your family to greatness, and I will help you do it.”

            When Pablo looked away from Tina, she blinked furiously, trying to find the words she wanted to say. When she looked back to the passenger seat, Pablo was gone and she was once again alone in her car. Glancing at the book still in her lap, she was startled to discover that Pablo was there on the cover again. Shaking her head furiously, Tina set it on the passenger seat and drove home, trying to convince herself that what had just happened was some kind of daydream.

            By the time she reached home, she had completely convinced herself that nothing had happened. As she went to put the books away, however, Pablo stared at her from the cover of her book. It was impossible for Tina to pull her gaze away from him, and then he blinked and beat his wings.

            Oh, well. Tina sighed as she put the book on her bookshelf. She did love dragons. She decided she would just roll with it. After all, who wouldn’t want to become the hero in a story with the coolest creatures ever?