Bedtime - A Short Story Anthology

Tommy Blue and the Big Green Dragon

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."