Josh dreams of dragons.
He thinks it's just a welcome escape from everyday life. Until one morning, he wakes up with scales, wings, and a tail.
Josh faces a harsh new reality: he has become something that shouldn't exist outside the pages of his fan...
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Steam curled up from the mug of tea that I held tight in my claws. My mom had insisted that I drink something—and would have forced some food on me too—but I made it clear I really wasn't hungry.
Only a single light was on in the kitchen, throwing odd shadows over the room and the faces around the table where we sat. Alex seemed as transfixed by the mug as I was; her arms were folded, and her lips pressed tight. I was waiting for someone to break the silence.
"Can I just say something up front?" I began. "There's a lot I could talk about from the last few days, and I'll tell you whatever you want to know, but I feel like I should start with what's going to come next."
My parents both knew what I would say. They looked older for a moment; shadows cast by the single light source accented the lines on their faces. But they were quiet and inscrutable.
I forced myself to continue. "I can't stay here. I know that might be hard for you to hear, but I can tell you honestly that there's a place that I really belong, and it's with other dragons. There are even some others who changed like me, and they still go back and visit their human families. Please understand that I really want all of you in my life. I know I said some stupid things before, and I'm sorry, but this is one of those things that I just know deep down. I just hope you can understand." I paused for a drink, pouring some tea awkwardly into my mouth before swallowing.
"We won't say no, right?" Alex said after our parents remained silent. "I trust that he knows what's best, and I hope I don't just speak for me. You guys should've been there to see what he did today! It was...well, he can tell you in his own time, but believe me, he's found quite a group. I can tell they really mean a lot to him, and they feel the same way about him."
Mom looked at her clasped hands for a moment. "We were...wrong before," she said, "to try and make you into something you weren't. We've had time to think about things some more. It's hard for us, but if it means you're happy, that's what we want. I was just afraid you might never come back after what happened."
"I'm sorry too," my dad added. "I was more concerned about keeping things the same rather than let anything change, even if it was a change for the better."
"This will be a good thing for me, I promise," I said.
"You'll stay tonight at least?" Mom looked at me with some concern. "You look like you could use some rest, and your bed's all made for you and everything."
I smiled and took another sip of tea. "A night in my own bed does sound nice after all this time. Yeah, I'll stay here until the morning."
Alex put a hand on my shoulder. "Good idea. You'll need it after a day like today."
"Speaking of today," my mother said, "you didn't by any chance happen to be near Mount Rainier, were you?"
I set the mug down on the table with a sigh and a long look at my sister. "Well, I should probably start answering your questions now."
