24-Hour Story Contest Short Story | A Dragon's Lullaby

A Magic Lullaby, Nicolás Morales | Source

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‘Mrs. Ryman, believe me when I say I know how worried you must feel right now. But we’re talking about a perfectly treatable condition. You only need to follow our advice.’

Do you know what an awesome thing to have is?

I’m not talking about Jerry and his treehouse. Or about Sheila and her RC buggy. Those are pretty lame things when you compare them to what I have.

‘But… I don’t understand, Dr. Murray. As far as I can remember, Chris has always been a quiet kid, he has our entire love and support, how… how could he…’

People never seem to believe me, though. They always think I’m lying. But I’m not! It’s just he’s too shy, too tiny. He’s always nesting himself in my sweater’s pocket or hiding in my chest.

But one day, he will be big, big and strong as his brothers always are.

‘Mrs. Ryman, it’s important that you are able to address this situation properly. We’re talking about a disorder that can be pretty difficult to control if you don’t take it seriously. We should do a list of possible triggers and objects that could be dangerous if Chris is near them.’

He will soar the sky with his great wings, and he will take me to college in them!

Because, well, you know…

‘Oh, god… Dr. Murray, what is really going on with Chris?’

… I have a dragon.

His name is Scaly. I found him months ago when my classroom and I were on a country trip. Our Biology teacher, Mr. Hennessey, took us to the woods near the Winterson farm. He wanted us to know the “fragile ecosystem” that lied just miles away of our little town of Greenway, to get in touch with nature. I thought that would be, like, really cool.
Brad and his friends got me in touch with something else.

Maybe it was my fault. I should not have got so apart from the main group, but the trees were beautiful that day. They looked like giants, their leaves caressed by the wind. But Brad wanted my lunch money and he knew how to ask for it.

Three punches and a kick afterward, I was trying to find my way to the group again, who were already searching for me and screaming my name along the forest’s borders. I found the rests of a camp nearby, probably left by a young couple trying to have a picnic. My sister Monica always goes for picnics with her boyfriend, so, who knows, maybe they were right.

The campfire has been off for some time, and the logs forming it looked like a mess. But the coal was still lit, with a very light smoke coming out of it. I walked towards the bonfire, ducking as close to it to be able to gather some heat. I felt relaxed and dizzy as I saw the little red lights, still pounding and shining between the pieces of coal. I forgot all the pain that I was feeling on my face and on my belly. And, as I pulled my hands out of my pockets to warm them…

… I saw something moving beneath the ashes.

I stayed there, afraid, yes, but curious. And, as the coal slowly cracked and started to fall apart, I saw his little claws coming out of the ground. And a wing as well, trying to remove all the dirt and the coal from his back. I tried to help him, but the bonfire was still warm and it nearly burnt my fingers. But he eventually got out of the ashes, crawling clumsily towards my hands.

Its skin was really, really hot, but as he grew closer and more comfortable, I felt him getting cooler, adapting himself to my own warmth. As I caressed his little, spiky head, he licked my fingers with his tongue, biting one of them; but he wasn’t that strong. He was just a little dragon.

I took Scaly in my sweater’s front pocket, and I walked out of the forest to meet my teachers.

‘As I told you, Mrs. Ryman, it’s not that big of an issue, given we diagnosed it quickly. But we need to ask you some questions, and we need you to be completely honest. Does Chris has a history of school bullying or family abuse?’

When I finally got home, the first thing I did was telling Mom about what I found. I told her I found a little, orange baby dragon in a used campfire. I told her he bit my finger, and that I was going to raise him as my own. Mom laughed and caressed my hair, continuing to make dinner as I asked her what a dragon could eat. Still laughing, she told me that a dragon might need to eat meat, probably chicken or cow meat; guess what was she cooking that night?

Chicken nuggets! She even put three more nuggets on my plate. And I gave Scaly four. Because, well, Scaly might had been hungry after I found him in such a condition.

‘Well… Yes. Chris has been abused in the school by a pesky gang in his class. That child, Brad Wells, and his goons, always punch him and mess with him so he gives them either his lunch or the money my husband gives him. Or both. I’ve talked with Douglas so he teaches Chris how to fight, but you know how my Douglas is. He doesn’t believe you should go around punching people.’

Next day, when I was waking up, Scaly made himself a comfy nest with my sweater amongst the dirty clothing of the last trip. I went down to the kitchen, searching for some food to give him. Mom was not in the kitchen, but she left some boiled eggs cooking on a pot. I saw her down the hall, putting the washed clothes in the closet before ironing each one. Using a spoon, I took one of the eggs, carefully putting another one in the pot as I hid the cooked one I took on my short’s pocket.

But, as I went to my bedroom again, my mother caught me.

‘Jesus, Chris, can’t you just wait for breakfast to be done?’

‘Sorry, Mom. It’s for Scaly, you know? He’s hungry’

Mom looked at me, puzzled, crossing her arms above her chest as she tried to figure what I was talking about.

‘My dragon, Mom! Scaly!’

Mom sighed, kissing my forehead and taking my head between her hands.

‘Baby, if you’re hungry, just tell me, alright? I can put more eggs in the pot if you need them.’

She just walked to the kitchen again, putting more eggs in the pot as she started cooking other stuff for breakfast. I got the feeling that she didn’t believe me, but I ran through the stairs up to my bedroom again, to feed Scaly with the boiled egg I just took from the kitchen.

‘Mrs. Ryman, have you talked with the school principal, Mr. Broyles, about that young Wells child’s behavior? Because it’s not the first time that we heard about him in the practice. Quite a few fathers from the neighborhood have denounced him as the reason their kids are behaving in such a way.’

When I finally reached my bedroom, Scaly was nowhere to be seen. I searched him through the whole room, beneath my sheets, and in the dirty clothing’s bin. I thought he had escaped, but I couldn’t tell Mom. She would scold me for that. And I didn’t know what to do.

‘I don’t know if you’re aware of that, Dr. Murray, but Mr. Broyles is actually dating with Brad Wells’ mom. He’s not going to do anything about it. I talked to him twice about Brad’s behavior and he just said that kids are just like that. He suggested me to let it go and to talk with Chris about making himself stronger and the like… that bastard.’

Hours later, as Mom left home with Dad to buy some groceries, I went down the kitchen again, trying to search food with which I could attract or convince Scaly to get out of his hiding place. As I was searching the cabinets for food, I found Mom’s lighter, misplaced amongst the tuna cans in one of the top drawers. She was not that heavy of a smoker, but she used to have a cigarette or two in the afternoons. And she never left home without it.

I took the lighter, trying to turn it on the way she always did. After a few tries, the match finally clicked. It burnt with a light, bluish flame, fiery red on its top. It was funny, though. I never remembered liking watching the way Mom’s lighter lit.

And then, I heard a tiny, rubbish growl.

It was Scaly! He was hiding in the same drawer I found the lighter! I took him in my hands, caressing his back and his little wings and turning the lighter off as he growled again. He seemed to be somewhat, I don’t know, upset because I hid the lighter; as I turned it on again, Scaly relaxed again.

I felt relieved I found him before Mom did. I got upstairs with Scaly and Mom’s lighter.

‘I’m pretty sure we can talk with Mr. Broyles about that, Mrs. Ryman. But what about instances of family abuse? Anything that could have upset or affected Chris in his early childhood? Have you been giving him the attention that he needs?’

Later that night, I was with Scaly, sitting in the center of my room, giving him part of my dinner. As he slowly tried to eat the leftovers, I took the lighter out of my pocket, turning it on and off. I thought, who knows, that flames weren’t so bad after all… and I might teach Scaly how to breathe fire! After all, isn’t that a thing dragons do?

‘Hey, Mr. Ryman… Isn’t that Mom’s lighter?’

Dad was standing next to my room’s door. Scared as I was, I pushed Scaly towards my back so as he wasn’t able to see it, still holding the lighter on my hand.

‘Dad! I’m, I’m sorry! It’s just, it’s just…’

Dad slowly closed the door, trying to enter the room carefully without making any kind of noise.

‘Hey, hey, Chris, don’t worry. It’s OK. I hate watching her smoke as well. But you should be careful with that thing, it’s quite dangerous if you don’t handle properly. You should give it to me, she has been searching for it like crazy the whole night’.

When I look behind me, Scaly was gone again. Probably he hid under the bed.

Scaly was growing to be smarter than me.

Dad sat in front of me, tending his hand to me.

‘Please, Dad, it’s just… It’s just I don’t want to see her smoking again. I’ll protect it, I promise not to be lighting it, I’ll just hide it here.’

Dad sighed.

‘Alright, young man. You’ll be the lighter’s guardian, from now on. But you better be careful with it, we don’t want to start a fire out there. It’s a huge responsibility we’re talking about.’

‘Don’t worry, Dad. I’ll be careful.’

‘Well... Have a good night, Chris. And don’t be up till late, you know you need to rest.’

As Dad stood up and walked towards my room’s door, I asked him about Scaly.

‘Dad?’

‘Tell me, Chris.’

‘Do you think I can train a little dragon?’

Dad laughed a bit, leaning on the arch of the door as he kept it closed.

‘You can be anything you want, Chris. It’s up to you to find what do you want to do in life. If you want to grow and train dragons, who am I to stop you? But if you’re going to do that… make sure you do it really well, alright?’

As he started to walk out of my room, I stood up and took him by his arm.

‘But, dad… It’s just I found one day ago. I’m feeding it, and training it to be like, really big! He will protect us, and he will bring us food, and he will be awesome!’

Dad sighed again, caressing my hair as he slipped out of my reach.

‘It’s late, Chris. Dad’s tired. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.’

As Dad left my room, I took his words carefully into account.

I would feed and train Scaly to be the biggest, greatest dragon ever!

‘Dr. Murray, we have always given Chris the best we can. Douglas and I have raised him with love and kindness… Nothing that could amount for what you are showing me in this, this report, you know? My son’s neither an arsonist or a psychopath…’

Day after day, night after night, I trained Scaly, hoping that he started to breathe fire in some way or another. I slipped late at night from home, taking him to the woods behind our house to teach him. But as much as Scaly tried… He wasn’t of age to breathe fire. Every time he tried to do it, he just ended up spitting a slimy, black goo in whatever he was pointing at.

Me, on the other half… I was getting how to handle that lighter really well.

‘Mrs. Ryman, those are very harsh words, and neither I nor this prestigious institution is implying anything like that. We understand Chris is in a very young, formative state, but our tests have concluded that he might harbor some characteristics usually found within people with compulsive disorders that could lend themselves to pyrophilia and related activities. We’re just trying to be careful about these results, and to share them with you in the best possible way as to… prevent such developments in Chris’ mind.’

While Mom and Dad weren’t home, I used Dad’s laptop to find videos about people using fire to do stuff. Anything that could get Scaly on a more fire-breathing mood, you know? I learned how to use aerosol cans, and how to start fires with extreme care… Because I didn’t want Dad to be disappointed. I didn’t want him to tell me I wasn’t being careful about using Mom’s lighter…

… about not upholding my part of the bargain.

And, finally, the day when Scaly and I would get tested came right around the corner.

‘What… what happened to my Chris? Where is Mr. Broyles?!’

‘Calm down, Mrs. Ryman. I’m Mr. Hennessey, your child’s Biology teacher. Mr. Broyles is talking with the paramedics and the police right now. Chris is pretty safe, if a little shocked, I might add. That can’t be said about his classmate, Adam Hicks. He usually hangs with Brad Wells and his… well, goons, I might add.’

‘Tell us, Mr. Hennessey. What happened?’

‘Well… Adam tried to bully and to harass Chris, but he was alone in the Chemistry lab with him. He started to punch him and to provoke him, thinking Chris would just give him his money or whatever he wanted. A fight started. I’m terribly sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Ryman, I wasn’t in the classroom yet… I heard the sounds down the hall, of the rest of the children cheering them and taunting them to fight more and more.’

I was sitting in the classroom, still with the smell of fire in the air. Waiting patiently, with Scaly still nesting above my legs. Mom and Dad were outside, talking with Mr. Hennessey.

‘But… But I don’t understand, Mr. Hennessey, how does a simple fight evolve to a…’

‘We still don’t know, Mr. Ryman. I’m just telling you what the kids said. They said that Chris hid beneath one of the lab’s counters and that they heard the sound of things falling in the floor, cans and flasks alike. The next thing they saw was Adam’s jacket on fire, like if a dragon had just spit a column of fire towards him. I was able to open the door before the fire could do any more harm.’

What can I say?

I trained Scaly to be the meanest dragon in town.

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This short story is participating in the 24-Hour Story Contest Short Story by @mctiller featured here!