Return to New Arden

No Pets

When Harvey's grandmother died he went to New Arden to help his mother pack up the house. It was like an archeological excavation of memory. Together they bagged and boxed items for goodwill and set aside what they couldn't yet part with.

Every so often his mother would pause in the sorting as a memory of her mother rose up. Harvey himself remembered being in the house many times as a child. Yet there were some things there that were mysteries to both of them. From times before either of them existed. When his Grandmother was young, she had been something of an adventurer exploring all corners of the globe and bringing back treasures.

At the end of the day his mother asked Harvey if there was any memento he wanted to take home with him to remember his grandmother by. Harvey chose an egg like object that sat on the mantle. The egg was not as heavy as he had expected, it gleamed purple and green, the same colours you would see in an oil slick, and had layered petals a little like an artichoke. His mother said it looked like a pineapple that had lost its leaves. The only clue to its origins was a piece of making tape on its underside that said "from China."

Harvey thought it looked like a dragon egg. Neither thought it was an antique; the colours were too fresh and wild for that. Harvey wrapped it up carefully and took it home to Forest Glen where he rented with his friend Geoff. He put the egg under his desk lamp where the light could catch the colours and make them shine. On his shelves he had lots of other paraphernalia, replica wands, bobble head dolls and other figurines, he liked to collect things. Harvey was a nerd but he was also generally kind and good with animals.

The egg sat unattended in it's sunny spot for some weeks, a fine layer of dust settled over it. Every so often when Harvey was studying he would give it an affectionate pat. He noticed that it was warm to the touch. His house mate Geoff speculated that it was made of metal and absorbed heat easily.

One day things changed, Harvey woke up to find the egg had shattered in the night, not only that but there was a trail of some dark sticky substance smeared all over the papers on his desk. At first he was angry thinking Geoff had somehow broken the egg but then he followed the trail and found a tiny dragon tucked up behind the couch it was snoring gently. Harvey cleaned up the mess and wondered what to do about the dragon. The place he and Geoff rented had a no pets policy. Dragons however were mythical beasts surely they were an exception?

When the dragon woke it gave a mewling squark, Harvey got down on hands and knees and spent some time gently coaxing the dragon out from its hiding place. He tried different food stuffs and the dragon showed definite interest in mince. It seemed like spaghetti bolognese would be off the menu this week. Eventually he got the dragon into a box, he put it back on his desk under the lamp where it went to sleep again. At first the dragon seemed content to sleep and eat mince. It was a curious little beast having both scales and some fur, its colouring was that of the eggshell. It's face was wide and it had a short snout and bulbous eyes like a pekingese. After some debate they decided the dragon was male. He reminded Harvey of a chinese dragon, he decided to name him Peeky.

Geoff observed Peeky and expressed doubts that they could keep him. They were renting a place in Forest Glen and the policy there was strictly no pets. The little beast grew and became restless within the confines of the box. Various small objects from Harvey's collection began to disappear and were found hoarded in Peeky's bed. Harvey bought the dragon pet toys. They started letting him out to explore the flat, playing little games with him as one might play with a cat. It seemed the dragon would grow up to have keen hunting skills if the enthusiasm with which he destroyed his toys was anything to go by. Peeky had very sharp claws that damaged the furniture and left scratches on the floors.

Keeping Peeky was becoming more problematic, the breaking point came when the dragon discovered the chili plant on the kitchen bench, he ate them all and with that seemed to find the fire inside itself. The boys locked him in the bathroom where he whined piteously. They looked at each other in consternation. They could not keep a pet that might burn the flat down.

"What do we do?"

"We could ask my mother?."

Harvey called his mother and without mentioning dragons enquired whether she knew anything more about the egg. His mother said she did not, that it had just been in her mother's house for as long as she could remember.

"Is it an antique?" she asked curiously,

"No, I don't think so." Harvey stammered, "Umm I'm sorry to say I broke it the other day."

"That's a shame."

He took this information back to Geoff who thought for a while and then came up with a new idea.

"There's this guy named Abraham in New Arden who I think might be a wizard, we could call him"

When they rang him Abraham promised to come over which surprised the boys because their tale sounded fantastic even to their own ears.

Abraham came over to their flat around midday. He was old and spectacled but he wore a knitted cardigan and did not look much like a wizard. When Geoff asked, he just laughed and said he just ran a book shop. Cautiously they opened the bathroom door to reveal a frustrated Peeky. Abraham nodded and went to pat the little beast who growled at him. "He's just shy," said Harvey as he calmed the dragon down with a gentle hand.

Abraham stepped out onto the balcony to make a hurried phone call. He stepped back in and eyed the boys.

"I have called a friend, they are bringing over some special equipment"

Harvey stepped protectively in front of Peeky, "What are you going to do with him?"

"He won't be harmed, dragons are very sacred"

"You won't hurt him?"

"No, I know a place called the Fucanglong monastery up in the mountains. There are monks there who have the knowledge to raise him."

"Are there other dragons there?"

"Some, they are very rare."

Abrahams friend arrived with a fireproof box and they coaxed the little dragon into it. It was difficult to say goodbye to Peeky who was clearly distressed. After they had left the flat seemed very empty and quiet. Harvey and Geoff tried to get on with their lives but they wondered if the dragon was alive and well. Searching on the internet they found the Fucanglong monastery, but there was no mention of whether they actually kept dragons there.

The boys made a resolution that they would go and see Peeky but they didn't get around to it until their studies were done at the end of the year. Then they caught the train to Athena Academy and then a bus that wound up long and narrow roads up to the Fucanglong monastery. It was perched high in the mountains looking over a deep blue valley and to reach it the boys had to go up a long stone staircase.

No other people had made it this far and so Harvey and Geoff had to go alone until an old monk came down to meet them. He explained that the monastery was Budhist and had been built up in the mountains many decades earlier.

"You know there are some special places on earth and this is one of them"

"We just want to see your dragons." puffed Harvey

The old monk smiled and led them into the temple complex and then to a pagoda where paintings of giant dragons circled the pillars and the roof. A feeling of disappointment came over Harvey because perhaps this was all there was.

He was about to turn away when suddenly there was a roaring bellow and a giant dragon landed in the courtyard in front of the pagoda. It came wuffling towards them pressing its face in between the pillars. Harvey rushed forward catching the huge head between his hands and ruffling the beasts fur. It was Peeky grown into an adult dragon. Peeky purred contentedly and rolled onto his belly. The old monk smiled and he turned his face to the sky. He whistled and another beautiful dragon burst through the clouds and came down to join them. It was then that peace settled into the boys hearts because they knew that their dragon had found his rightful place.