Saturday!
ENCOUNTERS
Dan was already unbuttoning the thick duffel coat his mum had insisted he wore whilst out playing. Finally he mastered the toggles and slipped the coat off, leaving the hood on his head, and ran as fast as he could. The coat waved behind him like a large grey cape. Panting, he stopped at the edge of the wood to catch his breath. Beads of sweat fell like miniature raindrops from his brow as he took off the coat completely and hung it, carelessly, onto the upright post of the fence, which surrounded the wood.
Dan climbed the stile and stood with one leg either side of the fence, and surveyed the scene. It was a clear, crisp morning. Dan’s hot breath gushed forth, in steady clouds and steam slowly drifted upward from Dan’s hot head. Dan could make out the cluster of houses, which made up his small town. A tractor, busy working the field with groups of birds in tow, was visible. The noise of the tractor was just a faint hum rising up to meet Dan as he stood, in wonder, looking all around him.
The sun that shone brightly down, could only penetrate so far into the woods, so dense was the canopy. Earthy smells drifted out and Dan could hear faint rustlings as the local wildlife went about its daily business. Dan felt that he belonged here.
A well- worn path wound its way into the wood from the style. It veered left, ever so slightly, all the way through the wood and eventually came out near the old church some distance away. Dan descended into the wood using the path, sensing the woods closing in on him at every step he took. After walking for a couple of minutes, Dan suddenly took off to his right, whooping like a crazed lunatic until finally sinking to his knees amongst the bracken and listened for signs of life. Creeping through the wood, commando style, Dan sensed movement to his left. A rabbit suddenly bolted in front of Dan, surprising him so much that he toppled backward into leaves, earth and moss! Laughing, Dan sat up, catching his breath from the scare that the rabbit had caused.
After a while Dan got to his feet and began to walk through the woods, trying to be as stealthy as possible. The wood was so quiet though that Dan felt he sounded like an elephant crashing through an African jungle, rather than a small boy making his way to his favourite spot.
The wooded glade was silent, with swirling mist that drifted through, Dan’s favourite place of all. The foliage grew less here which made for a natural clearing in the heart of the wood. Old logs lay strewn about and at one end stood the oldest tree in the wood. A tall oak, with a huge trunk, that rose up into the sky. Dan wished he could climb the tree but could never get past the first few branches. Dan had never been keen on heights!
The breeze didn’t filter down to Dan as he stood in the glade, taking in the different greens, blacks and browns of his surroundings. Here and there splashed colour as bluebells poked their tiny heads up, stretching to reach the tops of the canopy, an impossible dream. Dan whistled a tune to himself, a song he had heard on the kitchen radio a few hours earlier. He stopped abruptly when he heard a slight rustling to his right. Crouching, Dan watched intensely to witness the scurrying rabbit or squirrel, which must be behind an old log, situated a few metres away from where Dan squatted.
Dan’s skin began to prickle as he noticed the log itself begin to move, slowly at first. It then seemed to rise up and stand on end. Two yellow eyes moved unblinking, surveying the scene. Dan’s mouth opened as if to say something but nothing came out but air. He couldn’t believe what was standing not five metres from where Dan crouched. A dragon!!
DRAGON!
The dragon stood up and stretched. Its scaly tail flicking restlessly as it opened its mouth and yawned. Dan saw sharp teeth gleaming in the gloom of the wood and stayed deathly still.
Dragons take many forms. Dan’s was a tree dragon. Tree dragons live amongst the roots of old trees, in burrows as badgers and rabbits do. They are considered small, for a dragon. About the size of, say, a nine year old boy! Their skin is scaly, brown and green in colour, which was the reason Dan mistook this dragon for an old log. Dragons like to sleep, usually curled up in their burrows. However, on occasions, they like to stretch out and sleep in the open, when alone of course! Dan had done the unthinkable and caught one unaware.
It didn’t take long for the dragon to notice it had company. It stared at Dan who, knowing he had been spotted and seeing no reason to crouch hidden anymore, stood up and said the first thing that came into his head.
“Hi! Are you a dragon? I thought you were a log!” Dan giggled nervously and shifted his feet in the fallen leaves on the woods earthly floor.
The dragon opened its mouth and hissed slightly through its shiny white teeth. Slowly, cautiously, the dragon moved toward Dan until they were standing toe to toe. Or toe to claw! The dragon raised its scaly arm and gently placed its claws on Dan’s head. It patted his head slowly, then leaned toward Dan and whispered,
“Tell no one. Please?”
SECRETS, SECRETS!
Dan had walked home after his encounter. He was dazed and confused. How had he not seen the dragon before? Where did it live? Had it really spoken to him? Dan couldn’t quite believe it. The dragon had vanished, quickly running into the woods and search as he could; Dan hadn’t seen the dragon again that day.
His mom had asked if anything was wrong on his return but Dan had kept quiet. He could hardly believe it so he didn’t think his mom would! But Lucy might? Yes he had to tell Lucy.
Dan wanted to tell the world. He wanted to walk to the front of the class, stand on the teacher’s desk and tell the world. They wouldn’t mock him them. They would rush to be his friend, to see the dragon!
Dan smiled wryly to himself as he sat at his desk at school, awaiting the teacher’s arrival. He watched the other children file into the room. The smile slowly disappeared as Dan recalled the dragon’s words,
“Tell no one. Please?”
In his excitement, Dan had completely forgotten the dragon and the impact his blurting out might cause. He looked guiltily down at the desk in front of him. No, he wouldn’t tell anyone, except...
“Hello Dan! Missed you on the walk to school this morning” Lucy beamed at Dan, who leaned towards her and whispered,
“I’ve something to tell you. Meet me in the playground at first break?”
Lucy sensed the urgency in Dan’s voice and immediately nodded in agreement. Peter eyed them suspiciously and decided to try and find out what the ‘something’ was! He would follow Dan at first break.
The lesson dragged for Dan who kept glancing over his shoulder at Lucy, who gave a shy smile back each time. The lesson finally ended and all were dismissed to break. Dan collected his belongings and made his way as quickly as he could to the playground. He was unaware of the boy following him!
“What’s the big secret Dan? What’s going on?”
Lucy had finally appeared in the playground and, having spotted Dan, walked over to him. Dan sat Lucy down on the steps at the edge of the playground and explained how, where and when he had met the dragon. He hardly paused for breath and Lucy made Dan go back over the story to make sure that she understood what he was telling her.
“Sure it was a dragon Dan? I mean, it’s pretty dark in the woods and you have got quite a...vivid imagination!” Lucy felt guilty questioning Dan but was finding it hard to believe. Ghosts and ghouls in dreams were one thing but a dragon, in broad daylight, in the local woods? Lucy didn’t know what to think.
“I know it’s hard to believe Lucy, but I’m telling you, it’s true. All of it.” Dan pleaded with Lucy to accept what he had told her.
“Oh Lucy, If you don’t believe me, then who will?”
Dan sat back quietly, awaiting Lucy’s response, praying she would believe him.
“I believe you Dan, I really do. If you say you saw a dragon, then you saw a dragon. I just can’t wait to see it too!”
Dan beamed the biggest smile he could muster, until a voice behind him filled Dan with fear, dread and loathing.
FIGHT!!
“Dan has seen a dragon? Dan’s gone mad!
Dan’s gone mad!” Peter chanted at the top of his voice, doing a peculiar dance as he skipped and jumped around the playground. He then walked up to Dan and poked him hard in the arm.
“You didn’t see a dragon, you’re a liar!”
Peter began to push Dan as he taunted and teased him. Every time Dan struggled to get to his feet, Peter would push him again, knocking Dan back onto the hard playground tarmac.
“Stop it, leave him alone”.
Lucy pushed Peter back who pushed her in the back, hooking his foot behind Lucy’s, which resulted in Lucy falling onto her hands and knees, grazing one in the process. Lucy shrieked in pain.
This was too much for Dan, who leapt at Peter, knocking both of them onto the floor.
They tossed and rolled, locked together in a confusion of legs and arms. A crowd began to gather, forming an irregular circle around them. The crowd began to shout, urging one or the other on. Dan couldn’t tell whom they were supporting though. He suspected it was Peter however.
A shout from the back of the crowd made everyone look round in surprise, as the booming voice of Simon, the grounds man, reached both Peter and Dan who stopped scrapping and looked in the direction the voice had come from.
“Stop this at once, what do you think you’re playing at?”
The deep-set voice seemed to reach down and pick them both up onto their feet. Simon dispersed the crowd