The Dragon Under my Bed

Dreams of dragons

~~Ever since I met Zagem, my dreams have been filled with the fascinating creatures that are dragons. As a child, I began to have lots of dreams about dragons a few days after meeting Zagem, and I remembered the first time I told him. As an adult, I dream about dragons on rare occasions, but not all that often. What I do dream about is what Zagem told me...~~

"I dreamt of dragons last night. It was amazing." I said the following night to Zagem.

"I'm not surprised. We dragons are memorable creatures. Mother says that once somebody sees a dragon for the first time, they'll never forget the experience." Zagem said.

"Well, I don't think she meant seeing a dragon under your bed," I said, tossing the flashlight up in the air.

"I've heard stories of weirder encounters, although I doubt they're true."

"Speaking of true, is it true that dragons kidnap princesses?" I asked, wanting to know the answer to this common fairy tale cliche.

"You meant like in the fairy tales?" Zagem asked. "The stories they tell children?"

"Yeah."

Zagem laughed. "99% of those stories are either fake or myths. We don't kidnap anybody without any reason. Especially royalty at that matter. Did you know that some of us tend to admire and respect royalty?"

"I did not," I said, interested. "What about the other 1%?"

"The 1% are stories that are actually true. Though I've never read any of those stories that seemed true. Almost every story had the same beginning, middle, and end. There was a beautiful princess who was kidnapped by a dragon for some reason, either for treasure or company, a certain prince charming comes and slays the dragon, they kiss and live happily ever after." He stuck out his tongue in disgust. "The world doesn't work like that."

"Can I ask you something?" I asked.

"What is it?"

"Do you ever feel... offended by these stories? I mean the ones about dragons."

"Why would I ever be offended by a piece of parchment?" Zagem said, puzzled.

"Because they don't properly portray dragons, and make them out to be foul creatures that don't deserve to live." I mostly guessed the last part, not knowing what kind of stories Zagam has been reading.

"I guess you're right. Every story had described the dragon as a cruel, foul beast that is a spawn of satan or something. When in reality, we all aren't that bad." Zagem sighed. "But to answer your question, no. Just because one doesn't understand our race doesn't offend me. It is almost amusing to see what humans come up with."

We sat in silence for a while, the soft drizzle outside was the only thing from keeping the room in complete silence.

"What did you dream of?" Zagem asked after a while. "You said you dreamed of dragons last night, what was the dream like?"

I scratched my head, trying to remember the dream.

"Well, I remember sitting on a grassy field. It was a starry night out, and I was watching the sky. Every so often, a dragon would fly by. As fast as a jet plane. It was quite the experience of I do say so myself."

Zagem scratched his ear. "Interesting. And do you often remember your dreams?"

"Do I often remember my dreams? I guess so. Why?"

"I don't. I just wanted to see if you did. Mother said that it was normal for some to hardly remember their dreams, So I was just curious."

"Now that I think about it, what do dragons dream about?" I asked.

Zagem thought about it for a moment. "Usually about mountains of treasure and the perfect mate. But true dragons dream of what lies beyond the sky."

"true dragons?" I echoed.

"Perhaps that wasn't the right term. Perhaps 'every dragon' works better. Yes, almost every dragon has dreamt at least once what lies beyond the stars."

"Why do you dream about that?" I asked.

"Because we cannot fly that far," Zagem said.

"I think I know what's out there," I said. I began explaining to him the concept of outer space, and that there are other planets besides this one, planets that aren't suitable for life. Zagem snorted.

"Interesting theory, young one. But there is so much for us to learn, I hardly even think what you said is true, but I admire your curiosity."

I decided to just accept what he had said and not argue with him, for I was too tired. But there was still one thing I had to know...

"Hey, Zagem?"

"What is it, Garret?"

"When you do dream, what do you dream of?"

Zagem thought for a moment before speaking.

"I dream of vast adventures..."