Tommy Blue and the Big Green Dragon

By phattimaddi

"Tommy Blue! Don't you wander off. I don't want to have to tell you again. Tommy stood from where he was crouched. He had been following a frog and hadn't been paying much attention to where he was going.

He turned to look back at his mum who was gingerly pinning their laundry on a clothesline to dry. She wasn't watching him, but he knew she didn't have to. It was like she had a sixth sense - she always knew when he strayed away too far.

It was a hot day, the first of many rainy ones that had plagued their home over the last several days, and his mum had taken the opportunity to wash and dry all of their laundry outside.

Tommy jutted out his bottom lip and crossed his arms across his chest defiantly. He stuck his tongue out at his mum just as she finished pinning a long, white sheet to the line, hiding her from view.

"I saw that, Tommy."

With a huff, Tommy sank to his bum in the grass. He absentmindedly sucked on the lollipop his mum had presented to him earlier that morning while looking around him for another source of entertainment. When he couldn't find one interesting enough, he busied himself with picking dandelions, their bright yellow a stark contrast against the sea of dark green. +

He continued this for awhile, quickly depleting the ground around him of the pesky weeds (or at least, that's what his mum called them), until something in the distance caught his eye.

It was sudden, a blinding flash of light that forced him to blink and look away. With one hand, he wiped away the tiny tears that had formed in the corners of his eyes and turned his head slowly back in the direction of the light.

It gleamed again, whatever it was, and this time, Tommy was able to clearly see from where it was coming from. The edge of the forbidden woods.

Tommy peeked back at his mum who was still hidden behind the clothes that were clustered together on the line. She was humming a low tune that carried on the wind, and to him, it seemed like she may just be distracted enough not to realize what he was up to.

Slowly, he stood, his eyes refocusing on the object that continued to gleam in the daylight. He had to see what it was.

Moving with the upmost caution, he began to creep towards the woods; one step at a time, he silently made his way. Every so often, he would sneak a glance back at his mum, but, somehow, she didn't realize that her son was stealing away once again.

At the very entrance of the woods, Tommy found what he was looking for. But what exactly it was, he wasn't so sure.

He bent down and examined the object. It was like nothing he had ever seen before; it looked like a large, green teardrop perfectly nestled in the green grass around it. Carefully, he picked it up, turning it over and over in his hands. Its surface shimmered wildly.

He stared at it, entranced by its beauty.

"I see you found one of my scales. I really must be more careful when I'm out and about during shedding season."

Tommy's head snapped up in the direction of the mysterious voice, and the scale slid from his fingers. There before him, basking in a patch of sunlight like an overgrown cat, was a dragon.

"You're a...a...." Tommy's mouth was suddenly very dry and fear paralyzed his voice.

"A dragon? Why yes, yes I am, you clever boy."

The dragon smiled a warm, toothy grin.

Tommy's eyes widened as he took in the sight of the dragon. He pulled from his mouth the lollipop as it fell open in shock.

The dragon had a large green snout from which smoke softly billowed. Small, pointed spikes ran from its neck down the length of its spine and stopped at the end of its tail which was lazily flicking up from the ground every few seconds. Two wings were perched half open on its back, and its body was completely covered by the green teardrops, each one softly glistening in the patch of sunlight.

"But, you're a real dragon." Tommy said breathlessly.

The dragon's smile grew even bigger.

Tommy felt his fear trickle away. The dragon's smile put him at ease and before long, he was smiling too.

"But what are you doing out here?" Tommy said as he cocked his head to one side. The dragon did the same. +

"I'm enjoying the sunshine just like you. It's been a miserable past few days what with all the rain. Thought I would stretch my wings for a bit." Its massive wings twitched and stretched a little further from its back. "Also, I'm waiting for nighttime. That's when I can have my dinner." The dragon sighed, and his smile faltered. "Haven't had a decent meal in a few days."

Tommy mulled this over for a moment. He glanced down at his lollipop that was still clutched tightly in his hand and an idea came to him.

"Would you like my lollipop? My mum says you shouldn't eat dessert before dinner, but...she also says dragons aren't real so..." He shrugged his shoulders and stuck his arm out so that the lollipop just barely passed the wood's entrance.

The dragon's eyes softened, and low chuckle escaped his throat.

"Won't you come into the forest then to join me?"

Tommy chewed on his bottom lip. "I can't! My mum says I'm forbidden to go into the woods alone."

The dragon nodded at this and said, "Wise young lad! Always listen to your mum. Now about that lollipop..."

A snakelike tongue escaped from between the dragon's lips and crossed the short distance between itself and Tommy's outstretched trembling hand. When it reached the lollipop, it wound not once, not twice, but three times around it before pulling it back into its mouth.

"Mmm," he purred, "watermelon is my favorite flavor."

A smoke watermelon puffed up from its mouth and into the sky. Tommy giggled in fascination at the sight.

"Tommy? TOMMY BLUE!"

Tommy froze at the sound of his mother's voice. He gave the dragon one last glance who was looking at him with a puzzled expression before spinning around just in time to see his mother rapidly approaching him.

"WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU DOING?! You know the forest is off limits! I thought I explicitly told you not to wander off? Haven't you been listening to your father and I? It's not safe out here! What with our sheep being picked off by wolves every other night. Good gracious, Tommy, you scared me half to death."

Tommy frowned at his mother's pale and stricken face. One hand covered her chest, and she looked like she was having difficulty catching her breath. Guilt burned his cheeks and flushed him a scarlet red.

"But Mum, I wasn't going into the woods, honest! I just...I saw...a dragon!"

He forced the words out and pointed forcefully behind him at the spot where the dragon was. His mother glanced up to where he was pointing, but instead of looking shocked like he had expected, her face only became more stern.

"Oh, Tommy," she sighed and closed her eyes for a brief moment, "you and your imagination."

Tommy's mouth fell open once again. He spun back around, expecting to see the dragon and its wide smile curled up in the patch of sunlight, but it was gone. The patch of sunlight was empty.

"But...But..." Tommy sputtered in disbelief. "It was right there, mum, I swear!"

Tommy looked frantically back up at his mum, but she just shook her head.

"Come along now, Tommy. Back to the house with yeh."

Her voice matched her stern expression, but the hand she gripped Tommy's with was gentle as she led him back towards their home. He stole a glance back at the entrance of the woods, his eyes desperately searching for any flash of green he could find.

Could he really just have imagined the encounter?

Sullen, Tommy's head drooped, and he stared at his feet as they carried him farther and farther away from the woods. It was then, just as he followed his mother up the front steps of his home, that he felt a soft plunk in his pant pocket.

His head shot up, and he sprinted away to his room, his mother's voice calling after him. Once inside, he closed the door and jumped on his bed. With trembling fingers, his hand reached into his pant pocket and grasped the green teardrop that had magically appeared there. He pulled it out and stared as the colors danced in the sunlight.

Grinning widely, he stared out of his bedroom window and towards the forbidden woods, thinking to himself,

Your secret is safe with me.

Illustration by edoggypaws