Dragon Birding

 

            Ted clutched his binoculars as he waited breathlessly for another hoot of an owl. He had to make sure that he had really heard it the first time. Yes! There it was! He hurried over a small stream as he drew closer to the sound and searched the trees above him.

            Finally! Hours of stumbling around in the dark had paid off! A large, snowy owl was perched on a branch high above the ground. Looking through the binoculars, he made certain that it was indeed a snowy owl before logging it in his bird book. Maybe he could even capture a picture of it before it flew away.

            He carefully took his camera out of his backpack and searched for the owl through the lens. As soon as he snapped the picture, the great bird took off through the forest. What a beautiful bird!

            Glancing at his watch, he was startled to discover that it was almost midnight. Ted was familiar with these woods, so he wasn’t worried about getting lost, but he hadn’t expected it to take him so long to find the owl. Quickly packing up his backpack, he started back through the forest.

            He had just reached the trail that would take him back to his car, when he spotted an orange glow that seemed to be coming from the treetops to his right. Curious, he brought up his binoculars to see what it was.

            What he saw nearly took his breath away and made him wonder if he was even more tired than he thought. Was that… a lizard of some kind? Fiddling with the knob on his binoculars, he brought the creature into focus. It was like a dragon the size of a bird. It was perched calmly on a branch, just like the owl had been.

            As Ted watched, the creature opened up its orange wings and flew off into the night. Its scales were glowing and looked like a beacon, calling back to Ted.

            Forgetting how late it was, Ted immediately started after it. If this was real, he had to get a picture of it. No one would believe him when he said he had seen a dragon in the forest. Heedless of branches tearing at his clothes, he ran as fast as he could, trying to catch up to the orange light.

            The forest grew closer around him, and the glow grew fainter. He willed his legs to move faster as he forced himself past dense bushes. He realized he would have to give up when the glow completely disappeared. Bitter disappointment threatened to overtake him until he spotted a clearing just ahead.

            With one final effort, he exploded out of the bushes that were holding him captive. Breathing deeply, he looked up and saw… a dragon. This wasn’t the small bird-sized dragon that he had seen through his binoculars. This dragon was at least ten feet tall and staring right at him.

            Ted nearly collapsed when the dragon spoke. “Why are you following me?” There was anger in his voice and in his eyes.

            Ted gulped. “I-I-I thought you were…something else.”

            “What exactly did you think I was?” Menace filled the clearing as the dragon waited for Ted’s answer.

            Ted could feel the blood leave his face. “A f-f-flying lizard of some kind?”

            A low growl sounded deep within the dragon’s chest and turned into a scornful chuckle. “You see a glowing dragon, and you think I’m a lizard?”

            “Well, you were smaller back there!” Ted felt panicked. Had he upset the dragon? How was he going to get out of here?

            The dragon continued to chuckle and laugh, and the feeling of menace disappeared, replaced by the dragon’s good mood. Ted looked back behind him, wondering if he could safely escape while the dragon continued to laugh. His legs felt like lead, however, and he stayed where he was, unable to move.

            Finally, the dragon’s laughter subsided. The look he gave Ted was still full of merriment as he said, “My name is Keef, and you know what I am now, right?” Ted nodded mutely, unable to say anything else. Keef continued, “Well, what’s your name then?”

            Finding his voice again, Ted said softly, “Ted.”

            “Ted, consider yourself lucky. No one else has been able to see me in over 500 years. It looks like you have the gift of dragon sight.”

            “What’s that?” Ted asked curiously.

            “It means you and I are destined to work together, because you’ve been born with magic. It appears that I am meant to be your teacher.”

            There was so much in this statement that Ted didn’t even know how to respond. He just stared at Keef in disbelief.

            Keef didn’t seem to be bothered by this. He spread his great wings as he prepared for flight. “When you are ready to accept your destiny, come and find me.”

            “How?”

Keef drew closer and touched a great claw to Ted’s chest. Ted couldn’t move because he was frozen with fear. Thinking that he was about to suffer death by dragon, he didn’t notice what was actually happening to him. A warmth spread through his chest that radiated outward to the rest of his body. When Keef stepped back, Ted was amazed at how alive he felt. His entire life now felt as though he’d been asleep through it all.

            Keef’s eyes glowed red as he said, “At the start of your magical journey, I give you an awakening of your talents. When you are ready to continue on this road, use these talents to summon me, and I will come.”

            With those final words, the great orange dragon lifted himself up into the sky with his powerful wings. He headed off to the east where Ted could see that it was nearly sunrise. Had he been here all night?

            Exhausted, Ted stumbled his way back through the woods to his car. It didn’t seem to take nearly as long as it should have. He barely remembered driving home, or throwing himself on his bed. He had a lot on his mind as he decided what on earth he was going to do. His last thought before he fell asleep was, “Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to learn magic from a dragon. I bet magic would help me find more birds.” With that thought, his mind was made up—he would go seek Keef again in the forest.

A Harrowing Ride

 

            Anna’s mind was on autopilot as she drove to the store. Mom wanted her to pick up a few things for dinner and Anna agreed. She had homework to do, but she needed a break and the store wasn’t far.

            It was as she came up to the stoplight that it happened. The grocery store was down the street to the right, but she couldn’t slow the car down to turn. Alarmed, she frantically pushed on the brake, but nothing happened. The steering wheel wasn’t responding either.

            Throwing herself onto the passenger seat, she grabbed her phone out of her purse. All of a sudden, the car swerved to the right, and she was pushed back into the driver’s seat. Looking around wildly, she realized that she had turned onto a different deserted street. Trying the steering wheel again, the car didn’t respond. Then, it turned left without slowing down. In shock, Anna realized that the car was driving itself.

            Finally reaching her phone, she couldn’t believe it when she saw that she didn’t have any service. How could this happen? She was on the best cell phone network, and she always had service. She tried to roll the windows down to shout for help, but they wouldn’t budge. As she racked her brain for anything else she could do, she realized that she had left the city and was now bumping along a dirt road. When had that happened?

            The road disappeared, and the car was swerving through a forest of trees. Anna held on for dear life, just praying that it would be over soon. She looked ahead, and her heart nearly stopped. The car was heading straight for a rock wall.

            Anna braced herself and shut her eyes, waiting for the crash. But it didn’t come. The car continued to hurtle along, and when she opened her eyes again, she was in some kind of tunnel. Had she gone through the rock wall? Glittering diamonds and gems winked at her as she sped past toward some unknown destination.

            It got brighter and brighter as the number of gems on either side of her increased. Something else changed, too. At last, she was slowing down as she left the confined tunnel and a huge cavern opened up in front of her. The car finally came to a stop at the edge of a vast, underground lake. While Anna sat, staring and terrified, the door opened on its own and she felt the seat tilt sideways as her seatbelt unbuckled.

            The next thing she knew, she was on the rocky ground outside the car. With her eyes as wide as saucers, she wasn’t sure if she should get up and run or not. The cavern was silent, but brightly lit by the priceless gems that glowed with some strange inner light. The lake water was still, but then it started to ripple.

            Small waves reached the shore where Anna sat as she watched something rise up out of the middle of the lake. Spires and turrets appeared first, bringing up a castle beneath them. It was immense, but it continued to get larger until it nearly filled the whole lake. Waterfalls rained down from roofs covered in moss and algae. A great gate stood facing the shore. There was the sound of wood scraping along stone, and the gate opened.

            Anna nearly cried with relief when she saw a figure walking toward her. She picked herself up and ran toward the boy with the smile she knew so well. “James!” She threw her arms around her best friend. “What happened? Where are we?”

            After returning Anna’s grateful hug, James pulled back and studied her with concern. “Are you all right? I know how terrifying the first trip here can be.”

            Anna launched into the story of her harrowing journey while James listened patiently. When she finished, she asked again, “What is this place?”

            James’s eyes twinkled with excitement as he said, “It’s a place of magic.”

            “What, you mean like Hogwarts, or something?” She looked curiously at James, waiting for a joke.

            James just shrugged. “If you want to think about it that way, sure. Only people with magic are brought here. Those who have true magic manifest it around the age of 16 or 17. They are then brought here to learn how to control it. For the next few years, you can expect to come here every day to hone your new skills.”

            Anna took this all in with wide eyes. “How long have you been coming here?”

            “Just a few months.”

            Anna was confused. “But, how? I see you at school every day. When do you have time?”

            His eyes continued to shine and sparkle. “You have all the time you need here to finish today’s lessons. When you go home, you’ll discover that no time at all has passed.”

            Anna’s brain felt like mush. “Are you serious?”

            James gave her his best smile as he put his arm around her. “Come on, I’ll show you around.” Together, they walked into the still dripping castle.

            That day marked the beginning of Anna’s education as a true magician.

Waterskiing

 

            Bree stared out at the water as she sat comfortably in the passenger seat of the boat. She loved the water, but this was a dangerous idea. She knew Mara wanted to do something to celebrate with their friends, but all Bree could think about was what she needed to keep secret.

            As Mara drove the boat out into the lake, Bree did her best to decline any offers from the other girls for her to water ski. “No, thanks,” was her standard answer every time one of them asked if she wanted a turn.

            “Oh, come on,” Tracy teased. “This is your bachelorette party—one last day out with just the girls.”

            Bree smiled. “I’ve never liked water skiing. It’s fun to just be out here on the boat with you guys.”

            Bree watched as her friends took turns water skiing. She longed to feel the water on her skin, but she couldn’t let that happen today. Mara was a great boat driver. She expertly turned the boat at the best moments for the skiers, but it caused a bumpy ride for anyone inside. Bree kept a firm grip on her seat as the boat attempted to spill her out into the water.

            At the end of each run, Bree would go help the skiers climb back into the boat. She was helping Tracy when it happened. One minute, Bree was pulling Tracy out of the water; the next, Tracy flashed a smirk, and Bree found herself pulled in.

            The first thing that Bree felt was relief. The water was where she truly belonged. The next feeling that came was panic. She couldn’t let her friends see her like this. While she was still submerged, she removed the scrunchie holding up her ponytail to allow her hair to float freely around her neck and face. She took a moment to make sure that her secret was covered before she allowed her head to bob back up.

            Seeing Tracy’s grinning face, she immediately sent a huge splash toward her friends. “I said I didn’t want to get in the water,” she teased playfully.

            “Oh, well, I guess you’re already wet.” Tracy’s eyes danced mischievously. “Are you ready to waterski now?”

            “No, thank you. I’m good. Hand me a towel, would you?” Bree’s wet hair draped around her neck as she pulled herself up to sit on the boat’s edge. Mara threw her a towel, and she wrapped it around herself like a hooded cloak. No one noticed the tell-tale sign that she might not be completely human. She vigorously rubbed her skin dry until the gills on her neck disappeared. Wow, that was a close one.

            Bree managed to stay out of the water for the rest of the day as she laughed and joked with her friends. The secret of who she truly was remained a secret—for now. No one knew that she was actually a creature of the water, living her life on the land.

Fire Day

 

            Denise pushed the branches away from her face as she ran through the woods. This was the long way home, but she’d had a horrible day and didn’t want to be around anyone else. Tears threatened to spill out as she tried not to think about what had happened at school.

            She barely held back a sob as she thought about Rico and her ruined art project. How could someone be so cruel? She’d spent hours on her self-portrait with pastels and colored pencils. It had only taken Rico two seconds to set it on fire.

            Denise shook her head, trying to clear it of the awful scene. Mr. Fredericks hadn’t believed her when she told him what happened. Now she had to start all over, and she would only receive half credit for turning it in late.

            A groan escaped from her lips. Rico was beyond horrible. Why did he have a lighter at school in the first place? A whiff of smoke caught Denise’s attention, and she nearly stumbled over an exposed tree root. Quickly recovering, she saw a small fire directly on the path ahead of her.

            Her mouth dry, she could hardly think what to do. She grabbed her water bottle before she realized it was empty. Why was fire ruining her life today?

            Before she could do anything else, the fire suddenly burned itself out and she cautiously approached the circular blackened area. Right in the middle of the destruction, where the fire must have burned the hottest, was a tiny baby bird. It flapped its bare wings weakly and let out a tiny, exhausted squawk.

            Denise fell to her knees as tears finally spilled from her eyes. This was too much. How could this bird have survived? Where was its mother? She looked above her, expecting to see the nest that the poor thing had fallen out of, but the only thing she saw was clear blue sky.

            Fumbling through her coat pockets, she finally found her mittens and put them on. Slowly, she leaned forward and gently picked up the bird. The least she could do was get it away from where the fire had been. The poor bird was weak and barely moving. More of her tears fell and landed on the bird’s bare skin with a hiss as steam rose up.

            How could she leave this bird here now? What was she going to do? She squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to think. Nothing came to her and she sighed as she opened her eyes and looked at the helpless baby bird in her hand.

            She was startled to see that there were now tiny red and orange feathers covering its little body. Hadn’t it been completely bare before? But wait! As she watched, the bird lifted up its head and looked right at her with one golden eye. It didn’t look to be as weak as she had imagined, and there was intelligence in that eye.

            While she continued to stare at the bird, it started to grow. She swore it had only been the size of a golf ball before, but now it filled her hands. The red and orange feathers stretched and lengthened, and her hands were getting really warm.

            Denise didn’t know what to do. What was happening to this bird? Suddenly, the now handsome bird spread its wings and flew high up into the air. With her mouth gaping, she watched it until a brilliant flash of light forced her to look away. Momentarily blinded, she blinked furiously as she searched for where the bird had gone.

            There it was! It seemed to be coming back down, but was this the same bird? Its wings were enormous and the beautiful red and orange plumage made it almost look like it was on fire. Her eyes widened as it came in and landed directly on her shoulder.

            Hardly daring to breathe, she received another shock when it actually spoke to her. “Thank you for your kind concern,” it said as it unmistakably bowed its head.

            After she nearly jumped out of her skin, Denise managed to stammer, “Y-y-you’re welcome.”

            The bird tilted its head as it studied her. “What is your name?”

            “Denise,” she said weakly.

            “It is nice to meet you.” The bird nodded its head to her. “My name is Fiercefire. Because of your generosity, I was able to reach my adult form quickly.”

            Denise had no idea what to say. What had she done, exactly?

            Fiercefire answered her unspoken question. “Your tears were full of genuine compassion. Because of that, I name you a phoenix friend. If you ever need my help, you have but to ask.” Without another word, the great bird flew away and disappeared into the trees.

            Denise stood staring at the spot where he had disappeared. Was he really a phoenix? Were phoenixes real? She didn’t know how long she stood there, trying to figure out what had happened. It wasn’t until a stiff breeze blew past her that she realized she should probably get home to get started on her art project. It was going to take a while.

            Walking home was a blur as thoughts raced through her head. She trudged upstairs to her bedroom and tossed her backpack against the wall. Pulling out a fresh sheet of drawing paper, she sat down at her desk. To her surprise, there was already another sheet of paper in front of her.

            Denise blinked her eyes and shook her head, wondering if she was imagining it. The sheet of paper in front of her was her finished self-portrait. This was the one that had been burned by Rico. But now, miraculously, it was not. It looked just as it had this morning.

            Leaning back into her chair, she wondered how this could possibly be real. Had today been a dream? Pulling out her phone, she saw it was definitely the afternoon of her project due date. Her project would still be late, but she couldn’t help but wonder. Did this have anything to do with Fiercefire?

            As soon as she had that thought, she felt a weight on her shoulder and a whisper filled her ears, bringing with it a warm heat. “Thanks again, Denise.”

Sleeping Dragon Forest

 

            Meg sighed contentedly as she stepped into the cool stream. What a perfect day! The sun shone brightly, but the coolness of the tree cover was perfect. She sat down on a rock that was jutting out of the water as the stream continued to flow over her feet. She had already hiked two miles, but she had one more mile to go before she reached the cave.

            She smiled as she thought about all the stories she’d heard. Sleeping Dragon Forest was supposed to be haunted, but that didn’t stop her from enjoying the beautiful day. All those stories about a dragon living in the forest were utterly ridiculous. She might be new to the area, but how gullible did these people think she was?

            Feeling refreshed, Meg put her hiking shoes back on and continued on her way. She had no idea that a pair of eyes watched her from the water. When she got back on the trail, she was unaware that something was now following her every move.

            Dripping stream water, the thing rose and padded softly behind Meg. It stayed far enough behind that Meg had no idea that anything was stalking her. Razor-sharp teeth glinted in the sun and long spikes gleamed wickedly from the tail that swished back and forth. Giant feet with six-inch talons held the massive, serpentine body off the ground.

            As Meg neared the cave, the thing behind her crept closer. It waited until Meg stepped inside the cave before it boomed out, “Halt! Do not go any further!”

            Whirling around, Meg finally saw the creature that had been following her. With wide eyes, the only thing she could think of was that her new neighbors had been right. The forest was haunted by a dragon! She backed away until she felt rock behind her.

            The dragon slowly walked forward until its face was only a foot away from Meg’s. Its watery scales shimmered as it blew out a warm puff of smoke that soon surrounded Meg. “This place is forbidden!”

            With the dragon so close to her, its shout reverberated in her head as she closed her eyes and covered her ears. “I’m sorry!” she cried as she tried to make herself as small as possible.

            The dragon glared at Meg before backing away to the side of the trail. “Leave now and never return!”

            Meg felt the fiery gaze on her as she sidled carefully back the way she came, keeping an eye on the dragon’s scales. After nearly tripping on a rock, she finally turned around and started speeding back down to her car. She looked back only once when she heard a giant whoosh, and she saw that the dragon was now gliding above her, following her progress as she nearly tripped and fell down the mountain.

            When her car finally came in sight, she looked up to see that the dragon was nowhere to be found. Not wanting to wait around, she put the car into drive and sped toward the highway as fast as she could.

            She tried to calm her racing heart as she thought about the dragon that wasn’t just a made-up story. She had no desire to go back into the Sleeping Dragon Forest. Once was more than enough for a lifetime.

Star Dragon

 

            “There’s a dragon outside!” Abe ran into the house and threw his arms around his older brother, Tristan.

            “What?” Tristan hugged his brother’s small six-year-old body to him. “What are you talking about?”

            Looking up with frightened eyes, Abe explained. “I was going to bring in some more firewood, but there’s a long white dragon in the sky with six tails!”

            Tristan cocked his head curiously. Abe had a great imagination, but he didn’t usually scare easily. “Can you show me?”

            Abe hesitated before nodding his head. Both boys walked out the front door, and Tristan noticed it seemed too light outside. Had they left out a lantern? They walked towards the end of the house near the woodpile, and suddenly Tristan stopped looking for a forgotten lantern. Mouth gaping, he stared up at the night sky with its millions of stars. There was indeed a dragon up there! A giant ball of light illuminated the night with six streaks of light fanning out behind it. “What?” Tristan barely breathed.

            Abe was holding on to Tristan, saying, “I told you it was a dragon! Do you think it will come get us?”

            After staring for a few minutes, Tristan finally said, “Go get Pa and Grandpa.” Running footsteps sounded behind him as Abe ran to the barn where the men had been working. Soon they were all gazing up at the impossible thing.

            Grandpa was the first to speak. “I always told you boys there were dragons, didn’t I? This one is even bigger than the one I saw when I was a boy.”

            Tristan shook his head, disbelief on his face. “But that was so long ago. I never really believed you before.” He felt Abe’s hand grasp his own. He squeezed it when he felt it shaking.

            “Well, it was nearly fifty years ago,” Grandpa continued. “I was smaller than young Abe here.” He gestured towards Abe.

            “What did it do?” Abe asked in little more than a whisper.

            Grandpa put his hand reassuringly on Abe’s head. “The great dragon watched over us for a month before it finally left.”

            “Did it ever attack anyone?” Pa’s voice had a hint of worry in it.

            “No, it just stayed and looked down on us. Some said that it had come to make sure we were living righteously.” Grandpa smiled at the memory. “Once the dragon appeared, everyone showed up to church. No one wanted to anger the sky dragon, but it didn’t take long for people to forget about church after the dragon left.”

            “Is that why it’s here now?” Tristan asked. “To get everyone to go to church?” He looked at Grandpa skeptically.

            “Well, it definitely couldn’t hurt. You wouldn’t want to anger the dragon, would you? This one is much bigger than the one I saw as a boy. That one only had one tail.”

            Fear prickled down Tristan’s neck. The thought of the huge dragon crashing down on their farm made him want to do anything to prevent that from happening—even if he had to go to church.

            The four of them stared at the night sky for at least an hour. They finally decided they could go to bed since the dragon didn’t seem to be getting any closer.

            It was three months before the dragon finally left. Although they had grown accustomed to being under its watchful eye, everyone was relieved to know that they had passed whatever test the dragon had set for them.

            Tristan never saw another dragon. He never knew that there was another word for it—a comet. He told his children and grandchildren all about the great white dragon that breathed out fire as it flew through the sky. As he got older, fewer and fewer people believed his stories. He insisted that dragons were real and powerful creatures, even when everyone around him tried to convince him otherwise. He was confident in the truth.

Forest Door

 

            Mary’s chest ached as the moving van pulled away. There went any chance of going back home. Now they were officially stuck in this new house. Tears threatened to fall and her throat constricted when she thought about her old house. Why did they have to move? Why did Dad have to get a new job? What was wrong with the old one?

            The house they had moved to was nice enough. It was built almost 100 years ago, but the inside had all been modernized. Their new backyard bordered a wooded area, which Mary was actually almost excited about. That was the one redeeming quality about this place.

            Staring at it now, she decided to go do a little exploring. She was supposed to help unpack and organize her new room, but that could wait. She darted off toward the trees before anyone could stop her.

            Their new house was already outside of town and the countryside around it was pretty quiet, but it became silent when Mary stepped into the tree cover. The breeze didn’t penetrate the interior, and the sounds of her family coming from the house were gone.

            Feeling slightly intimidated by the absence of sound, Mary carefully made her way forward. The air smelled a little musty as she trod on last year’s leaves. The sound of crinkling leaves seemed deafening in here.

            A path appeared through the gloom and Mary breathed a sigh of relief. Here was proof that civilization wasn’t totally absent. She walked along the path until she reached a small stream. The clear water flowed silently by. The path continued over a small log bridge. The sight of the water brought calmness to Mary, even though the woods continued to grow darker around her. The stress of moving and leaving everyone she knew seemed to melt off of her. She knew she should be getting back, but something kept pulling her forward. As she did, the silence lessened. She heard birds chirping off to her right, and the snap of a twig made her turn around to see a fox darting away.

            The further Mary walked, the happier she became. Beams of light filtered down through the trees to land on patches of wildflowers. After being so dark, the area grew vibrant with different colors of flowers. The birds that she glimpsed were brightly colored also.

            The path ended suddenly at a great big oak tree. It was absolutely enormous and looked ancient. Knots grew all along the trunk to surround what looked like a door. Curious, Mary reached out to touch it, and the wood beneath her fingers changed to become a door. A silver doorknob appeared, and she was just about to open it when a loud snap sounded behind her.

            Whirling around, Mary was startled to see a wolf sitting and staring at her. Her mouth suddenly dry, she took a few involuntary steps backward away from the wolf. How could there be wolves in this forest? They weren’t that far out of town, were they? Her imagination ran wild with stories of big bad wolves eating girls traveling alone through the forest.

            This wolf, however, didn’t move. It just sat calmly, watching Mary as she continued to move back along the path. The wolf wasn’t surprised when the girl finally turned around and ran as fast as she could back to wherever she had come from.

            The wolf sat there waiting until a bright blue bird landed on a branch near him and said, “The girl has gone all the way back to the stream, Maximus.”

            The wolf finally moved and nodded his head at the bird. “Thank you, Lancet.”

            “How did she get here in the first place?” The bird, Lancet, cocked his head curiously.

            Maximus took a deep breath. “She is different from the others. Did you feel it?”

            “Do you think she’s the one then?”

            “Hmmm. Maybe. If she had opened the door, she would have been.”

            Lancet ruffled his feathers. “Do you think she’ll come back?”

            Maximus didn’t answer right away, thinking. He stood up and walked to the place where the girl had stood a few minutes before. “If she is the one, she’ll definitely be back. Have the others keep a lookout for her and inform me the minute she crosses our stream again.” He darted off into the trees, leaving Lancet to fly off and spread the word to the other birds.

            The door on the tree was left cracked open, a bright light shining behind it, waiting for the one who would be brave enough to enter and face what was waiting within.