Lorenzo and his magical friend

By MariaThomasMaresco

(Translated by the team Childrensfiction, illustration by edoggypaws)

It's the first day of classes for Lorenzo. He is starting kindergarten at a new school, and he doesn't know anyone. So, when all the children go out to play at the playground, Lorenzo stays away.

The teacher is very nice and invites him to introduce himself to his classmates. But Lorenzo doesn't know them and prefers to stay alone.

He sits in a corner and makes little drawings on the floor with a dry twig. Rays, circles, and dots. Then he covers them with leaves he finds around him until they form a green mountain.
Lorenzo wants to have a friend, but all he has is a pile of leaves in front of him. He sighs and the air moves the leaves.

He gets angry and doesn't want to see them anymore, so he takes a deep breath and blows a lot of air, but the leaves don't fly: they just move slowly. He looks carefully and sees they inflate and deflate, as if they were breathing.

Then something magical happens: the pile of green leaves stretches, stretches and yawns ...

Lorenzo looks from side to side with wide eyes because the little pile has become a bright green dragon. The leaves turn into emerald scales. He has wings like a bat, but much larger, and big round eyes that observe him with curiosity.

Lorenzo looks around and sees his classmates are still playing without realizing a dragon has just appeared in the courtyard. Nobody sees him because the dragon is invisible.

"Hi, I'm Lorenzo," he says in a low voice so no one else can hear him. "Do you want to be my friend?" He asks shyly.

The little dragon comes a little closer, runs his tongue over Lorenzo's cheek, and wags his tail like a puppy. Lorenzo knows this means yes.

"I'll call you Gino," he says between laughs as he hugs his new friend.

They play together. Lorenzo throws a twig, and Gino searches for it. Then he throws some leaves in the wind, and Gino somersaults and catches them.
They have a lot of fun playing and running around the yard.

After a while, they tire and settle belly up on the floor to look at the passing clouds.

"That one looks like an elephant!" Lorenzo says. "And the other one looks likes a plane... Look! That one looks like a bicycle..."

In that moment the bell rings and everyone is supposed to go back inside.

"Recess is over," he tells Gino, "now we all have to go into the common room and work with dough, or glue colored pieces of paper together, or play some musical instruments. I like the tambourine..."

But Gino doesn't seem to be happy. He looks at him with a sad face.

Lorenzo gives him a candy he found in his pocket. Gino seems to smile and wags the tip of his tail slowly.

"Come on, Lorenzo!" the teacher calls. Lorenzo turns and realizes there is almost no one left in the courtyard.

"I'm coming!" he replies, but when he turns to where Gino had been sitting, the bright green dragon is gone.

Lorenzo is sad and goes inside. The lady waits for him and accompanies him to the door of the room. She bends down to him and ask softly:

"Why don't you play with the other children, Lorenzo?"

"I don't know anyone," he replies.

"And who did you play with in the yard?"

"With my friend, Gino!" he exclaims. "He is a bright green dragon. Nobody can see him because he is invisible."

"Well, when we go back to the patio, introduce me to him, okay?" asks the lady with a soft smile.

The teacher is alright. Lorenzo gives her a quick smile and enters the room.

He looks out of the window but doesn't see Gino. Where has he gone?

He sits on the floor with his classmates and they start singing a nice song. They sing it several times until they know it by heart.

Then they form a circle, and Lorenzo looks out the window again. But Gino still isn't around.

The circle turns and turns, and the children sing and laugh. And when the song is over, Lorenzo is happy and has many new friends.

They go sit at round tables that can seat many children.

The lady brings them a large paper like a tablecloth, and they all make little drawings and lend each other coloured pencils.

Lorenzo draws lines, circles, and dots. And he adds a stack of paper scraps on top of them.

He waits for his friend to appear. But all he has is a pile of multicolored leaves. He sighs, and the air moves the pieces of paper.

And in this moment, he takes a deep breath and blows at them hard. But the paper scraps don't fly away. Instead they move, inflate and deflate. They seem to breathe.

Then the magic happens: the stack of colorful scraps of paper stretches, stretches, and yawns ...

The children and the teacher are left with wide eyes because the pile of papers turns into a dragon with brightly colored scales and bat wings who looks at them curiously.

"He's Gino," Lorenzo tells them. "He is my friend, and he came to play with us."

The children laugh and applaud. The teacher is also very happy: she has always wanted to meet a dragon.

Time passes very quickly, and everyone has a lot of fun with Gino. Then the bell rings, telling everyone to go home.

They all run to find their backpacks, and when they return, Gino is gone. Lorenzo looks for him everywhere, but he cannot find him and gets a little sad.

"What's wrong, Lorenzo?" the teacher asks.

"Gino is not here."

"Don't worry," she says. "Even if you can't see him, it doesn't mean he is not by your side. Gino became invisible, but he will appear when you need him."

"That's true!" exclaims Lorenzo. "Tomorrow, when we go to recess, I'll pile up leaves to make him appear."

And so it is. Ever since that day, Lorenzo and his companions play with Gino in the courtyard. And when recess is over, they always give him lollipops so he will be happy until they see each other again.