The Dragon King

Chapter 1 - Home

Anna May

Sitting in my grandma's small wooden cottage, I listened to her weave another story about dragons living in the lake. The sun was setting quickly, and my mom was cooking on a wooden stove. Although my family lives in a small village in Southern Asia, I have studied abroad for a very long time.

I recently returned to stay for the year, taking a break from school. When I was little, my grandma would tell me stories all the time. Tonight, I had begged her to tell me another story. The crackling of the firewood in the fireplace and the sound of my grandma's voice was the only sound in the small cottage. My mom was quietly working in the small kitchen area, and my father was outside the cottage smoking his tobacco. I could see him sitting on a small stool at the entrance of the cottage, his head leaned back and his eyes closed, although I knew he wasn't asleep.

"It was only briefly. She took a quick walk across the wooden bridge to the other side of the village. She had told her mother that she would return before the sun touched the horizon. She only wanted to visit a friend who was getting married on that side of the village," my grandma said, sitting in her chair with a thick shawl wrapped around her shoulders, and her white hair tied back in a small, loose bun.

"When she crossed the bridge, she heard someone call out her name. Now, back then, you weren't supposed to turn unless you recognized the voice that was calling you. If you turned anyway, whatever devious spirit it was-it will snag your spirit and drag you along with them. But she forgot all about it." My grandma shook her head, disappointed at the girl in the story.

"She heard a man's voice. It is said that the man's voice was like a siren seducing her to turn around. She couldn't resist and turned her head to look behind her. Her eyes landed on a half-naked man. He smiled at her, and she smiled back. Why wouldn't she? He looked as handsome as a prince. Immediately, she was smitten," my grandma continued, turning her head so that she could see me clearly.

I sat on the floor listening to her and not moving at all. Everything around me was completely silent as I focused in on her story.

"The young man tricked her. She followed him that night. When the sun touched the horizon, her mother went looking for her but couldn't find her. She crossed the bridge to the other side of the village and asked the villagers. Nobody saw her daughter. She walked along the edge of the water and called out her daughter's name, but, again, there was no answer."

My grandma leaned forward and pinched my cheek. "This happens every year to a maiden in the village. Some claim that they had seen it happen-a dragon that was as tall as the sky, appearing suddenly to take them away. We don't know exactly what lives underneath the black water of the lake, but we do know that every year a maiden is taken from the village."

"Do you believe in it, Grandma?" I asked.

She chuckled a little. "The question is, do you believe in it?"

I was not so sure if I believed in it or not, but the idea of dragons living under the lake sounded intriguing. Whenever my grandma told me a story like this, I couldn't help but get excited.

My father came inside carrying his bamboo tube pipe. He closed the door and slipped the lock on. The door was made up of nothing but sticks, but it gave enough privacy inside the house.

He went into his bedroom before coming out empty-handed. He walked over to my mother, and they started talking quietly amongst themselves.

I turned back to my grandma. "Have any girls gone missing this year?"

"Your grandma is just telling you an urban legend. It is nothing more, Anna May," my mother interrupted. She walked to the sitting area that was by the stove and unfolded a wooden table to set up for dinner.