Dragoned in Half

Prologue

Jefferson

When I was younger I found the world to be such a cruel place. As two young kids who had no choice but to be on the streets. Every foster home we ran away from. Together as brothers we needed no one else. Eventually that all ended too. It was a normal day. We had just stolen food from the local grocery store. We were eating it in a nearby alley. My twin Morby as I called him, sat with me while we feasted on chips and candy. The smiles on our faces sere filled with Joy as we filled our stomachs. We laughed as we told each other jokes that we had heard from other children who attended school.

We set frozen in fear as a shadow appeared over us. For sure this time we were going to get caught as the thieves in the grocery store. At times we felt that sometimes the store owner knew the kinds of kids that we were. We thought that he felt bad because of how we looked. We have been wearing the same clothes for so long that we lost count. Bathing ourselves in open restrooms and in the rivers of the forest was our normal. We made do with what we had. We always discussed the plan for what to do if we ever got caught.

The pain in the back of my head was the worst that I had ever felt. I still remember the look of shock on my brothers face as his gaze lay on a space I couldn't see above my head. As the world around me faded to black in the moment I remember calling out his name. I have no idea how much time had passed while I was out. I awakened disoriented and in pain. My eyes hurt as they opened and I peered around. In the distance I saw a body on the floor and I pushed to my feet as fast as I could.

My steps faltered and wobbled as I headed toward the opening of the alley. When I saw that it was my brother laying on his back on the ground I fell to my knees. I tried to shake him awake as I screamed for him to get up. I called out for help but he just wouldn't respond. Desperate to make sure that he was okay I broke our rule. My brother was hurt and I didn't care if he would be mad at me for it later. I ran inside the store that we stole from every day and I grabbed the manager.

His steps followed behind me quickly as I led him to my brother. I prayed that he would still be there. I wanted things to be different. I wanted to go back to the moments before when we sat there laughing with our candy. When he told me jokes and made sure that I always ate more than he did. When my best friend was awake and I could look into his eyes.

I should have known after everything that we have been through that I wouldn't be that lucky. I should have known that I would lose the only person in this whole world that meant something to me. I remember being in such shock as I stood there staring at the spot where my brother had lain. All that was left of him was a puddle of blood on the concrete. The color was a bright red and I could swear that when I blink it shined.

I remember as the shop owner shook my shoulders and kept yelling at me to tell him what happened. I remember the crowd that gathered as I stood there unable to say a word. My mind kept racing as I tried to remember who was in that alley. Did I see anyone else near my brother? Did I see anyone hit him or who took him? Did I see a car or hear any noise at all? I would face all these questions for so long but never be able to come up with a single answer.

For years, the very thought of that moment would make me angry. I had lost my brother all because I broke the one rule that he ever gave me. There was so much blood that there was never a question as to what had happened. My brother was gone. My life would never be the same without him. The other half of me would always be gone.

It took so much time for me to heal. So much time to find even a piece of forgiveness in the moment. It made it so hard for me to accept myself and what came with being a dragon. Having the power to illuminate joy and happiness was the worst part. How was I to ever show others these things when I didn't feel them myself? It all became a moot point when I lost touch with my dragon.