Artwork by Ebros

The Wishing Map is a full-length fantasy that is being posted episodically at this site. To read the previous episode, click here. To read the entire novel, begin here.

A baby dragon! Gina had come to Ismara in the hope of finding her brother Zack. But instead she’d found herself beside a hatching dragon’s egg in the midst of a tiny temple defended by aristocratic pixies! It was hard to think about her brother when, well…

All her life she’d wanted a pet, but could never have one because of her stupid allergies! Every time she touched a puppy or a kitten her eyes turned to water balloons. To be fair, she’d been told she could have a small bird or “a very docile reptile,” but what was the point of having a pet you couldn’t pet? Yet here was an adorable creature—with no fur! And it was practically begging her to pet it!

“No!” she told herself. “Focus, Gina! You have to find Zack!”

Ignoring her own orders, she began ripping away the thick leathery shell. In a few minutes, she was able to stick her whole hand inside. She cautiously stroked the creature between two nubs where she guessed horns would eventually form. The dragonlet’s gold flecked skin was neither rough like an alligator’s nor slick like a snake’s; its baby scales felt like duckling down. As she scratched between its drooping ears, it closed its eyes in ecstasy. “This is the first time anyone’s ever touched you, isn’t it?”

The creature answered with a strangely musical purr.

“And you can sing!” Gina labored even harder. With creature and human working together, the top of the shell was dismantled in a quarter of an hour. At some point the dragon began trying to climb out through the opening, but its newborn clumsiness, combined with the height of the hole, made this impossible. “Wait, wait, wait! I have an idea.” Gina tipped the egg over, but it was heavier than she’d expected and listed to the right, causing the little dragon to scutter around inside. The egg rolled against the stone temple, taking out another three miniature arches.

Groans of dismay arose from the underbrush, along with the now familiar voice of the pixie Prince Jenblevó: “You will eat the death I deliver!”

Gina unconsciously sat on a remaining section of column and watched as the creature stepped out onto the forest floor. As its elbows came into view, she was half delighted and half alarmed to see two delicate wings. They were folded back like the wings on the little jewelflies that populated her backyard pond each summer. The creature struggled to get its lanky hind legs free. It had gawkishly large feet.

“Like a puppy!” Gina exclaimed. She watched, mesmerized, as it pulled its lacey tail out of the egg. It was finally free. A stream of “Awws!” broke out from the undergrowth. Seeing the creature en toto was jarring. It was the size of a full-grown Irish setter and had only just been born! Nevertheless, it needed her. And somehow, Gina felt…

She needed it.

φ

Thoughts: The love of an animal, any animal, is a priceless gift.

To read the next episode, click here.