The Lizard Boy

In a very small house. In a very small village. On a very small hill. A very small boy found a very small lizard. He loved this lizard with all of his heart. He loved how it skittered about on his hand and up his arms. He loved how it flicked its tongue out and sat on his shoulder. The lizard did not tease the boy for his size or push him to the ground. It simply sat and listened as it chewed on whatever bug it had acquired for lunch. He would wander through the village square with his lizard on his shoulder, spewing his latest musings of the day into its blank stare. Every day he walked around the square and soon everyone knew of the strange lizard boy. They would gather around him and point and laugh but the boy did not care. He had his lizard and so he was happy. 

Unfortunately for the boy, novelty often breeds fear. The boy’s parents were called before the village elders and asked about his strange activity. They were both as confused as the rest of them and could only apologize for raising such an abnormal child. It was decided then and there that the boy would be forced to give up his lizard before his strange behavior created a stain on the village’s reputation. They all immediately set off for the square where they knew the boy would be but they found nothing. They searched for hours but the boy was nowhere to be found. His parents cried and called out for him but by then he was too far away to hear them. He had heard them plotting and so, with only a small bag and a pocket full of coins, he set off with his lizard to see the world.

They walked through cities and villages, fields and mountains. The boy grew tall and his lizard grew wings. The road was hard and the people were often mean but the boy would just look at his lizard and smile because he knew that he had the best friend in the world. They wandered for years until they came to the other side of the world. They stood on a beach and looked out at a vast ocean. The boy is now a young man, tall and strong, and his lizard is now a young dragon, as large as a house. The dragon looked down at his friend and sighed with tears in his eyes. The man looked up in surprise, as this was the first time he had ever seen his friend sad.

“Why do you look like that?” the man asked.

“I am too big to sit on your shoulders,” the dragon sighed. “In fact, I believe I am too big for the ground as well.”

The dragon opened its enormous wings and bowed its head to the man, who climbed up onto it’s shoulders. It beat its wings once and rocketed up into the sky with such speed that the man thought he would be crushed into its back. He clung tight to the scales as the dragon soared through the clouds, enveloping them both in wisps of grey darkness before it erupted into a crystal clear sky. The wings tucked in and the man’s stomach flipped. They dropped down to the cloud tops and settled into a glide. It felt as though they were skimming the surface of an ocean of cotton and the sky above was as blue as the water below. The man sat up and yelled with joy. The dragon still wept.

They returned to the ground and the man sat upon his dragon looking out at the ocean, fully content with his life. The dragon bowed its head and ushered the man to dismount. It stared into his eyes and spoke without words.

“I can not remain with you,” the dragon said.

“Why not?” the man replied, taken aback.

“I need to find my own kind,” the dragon said. “I want a home and a mate. I want to grow old with hatchlings and I want to be apart from the humans that I know will never want me.”

“But what about me?” the man asked, tearfully. “You are my only friend, the world doesn’t want me either.”

“They only push you away because of me. You belong with your kind as much as I belong with mine. I have kept you from living a life. You left your home and abandoned your parents. I can see you aging and yet I still feel as young as when we left. Your time is so much more precious.” The dragon rested its head on the ground in front of the man and he reached out to touch it’s cheek.

“I don’t want you to go,” the man said.

“I know,” the dragon replied, as it opened its wings once more and flew up into the sky.

The man sat down on the beach and cried. He cried for hours until the sun dropped down behind the water and the moon rose up from the waves in its place. The cold settled in around him and he made his way into the woods where he made a fire and laid down to sleep. He dreamed of flying through the clouds and living in caves. He dreamed of traveling with his friend and of the hatred they received. He dreamed of scowls and taunts. Dark thoughts filled his head and he woke up in a cloud of spite. He shook the feeling off and thought of the clouds again. A smile returned to his face but his eyes were still sad and his heart was still heavy. He did not know where to go so he chose a direction and walked until he reached a small village.

The village was small and quaint with little houses and a square. The people were milling about, laughing and smiling, as they began their morning chores. The man walked among them, prepared for the pointing and whispers. He gazed around and realized with a start that no one was paying him any mind. A woman walked by and smiled warmly at him. A farmer with a cart nodded respectfully as he squeezed through the narrow street. He noticed movement to his right and turned to see a small child waving at him from their father’s shoulders. He gave a small wave back and retreated into an alleyway. He gazed out from the shadows at the crowds of people and smiled, his heart lightening just a bit. His hands clenched and with a deep breath, he straightened himself upright and marched into the crowd.

As the years went by the man continued his journey with renewed vigor and a new purpose. But even though he tried his hardest the years of solitude had taken their toll and he still struggled to make friends. One day, when he was at his lowest, a captain of the guard approached him and offered him a job. His time in the wild had made him strong and with training, he became a ferocious fighter. Word spread of his talents and soon he had a battalion of soldiers under his command. He still had few friends but now he had respect. The people who would have laughed at him before now bowed at his feet. The small seed of spite grew into a raging fire of anger. His axe knew no mercy and every invader quaked at the mention of The Captain. Songs were written of his deeds and kings paid him incredible amounts of gold to fight with them. His victories brought him power and land and soon he was a king himself. He laid down his axe and took a wife who bore him three children. Time softened his heart and made him forget the anger. He used his knowledge of the world to rule and his subjects thought of him as the wisest man in the kingdom. The children taught him innocence and his wife showed him love. The people now called him The King and he felt truly happy for the first time since that day by the ocean.

It was midday on the longest, hottest day of summer when a poor farmer approached the throne. His face was covered in soot and his clothing blackened by flames. He fell in despair before the king and told him a tale of fire and destruction. A terrifying beast had swept through the northern hills and burned acres of crops. It descended from the sky in a flurry of teeth, scales, and flames. The people had tried to fight back but the monster ignored their arrows and spears. Hundreds of sheep had been taken and the farmers would surely starve in the winter. The King sat up for a moment at the mention of scales and teeth, certain in his heart that this was his old friend. He calmed himself as best he could, the people could never know his past.

“That is terrible news,” the King said. “I want any families who have lost crops and livestock to come to the castle immediately and I will provide them rooms and food until they are ready to return. Do you know where this beast has gone? I will muster the army and destroy it.”

“Oh thank you, my king,” the farmer cried. “We sent our fastest rider to follow the beast. It has taken shelter in the highest mountain to the north.” 

The King thanked the farmer and quickly left to speak with his wife. He told her about his childhood and the lizard friend that he had lost. His eyes filled with tears as he told her about the emptiness in his heart that his friend’s absence had left. She took his hand in hers and promised to keep his secret. She told all of her handmaidens that the king was unwell and not to be disturbed. They placed guards at their bedroom door and told them to let none but the queen enter. The King then left under the cover of darkness and set off to the northern mountains. He traveled through the wild and slept under the stars. It reminded him of his youth and he could almost feel his friend next to him in the dark. 

Several days later he found himself looking up at the tallest mountain in the land. It was a terrible peak of jagged rocks and crushing winds. The climb was long and hard. The wind whipped around him and his bones stiffened in the cold but the thought of his friend pushed him upwards. When he felt that he could go no further he crested a snow drift and came face to face with the mouth of an enormous cave. He hurried inside without much thought, lighting a torch as he went. His vision grew with the flame and a horrifying sight greeted him. Bones. The cave was carpeted in bones of all sizes. He recognized the skulls of rodents and sheep, cows and mules. Each step he took crunched and echoed down the endless chamber. He trembled with fear and thought that perhaps he had made a mistake, his old friend would never live in a place so dreadful. A soft rumbling from the back of the cave snapped him back to attention. The deep, thunderous roll of footsteps too large to be believed came closer and closer. His torchlight failed about twenty feet ahead and just beyond that, hovering in the inky blackness, were two small flames. They bounced and swayed in unison, growing larger by the second. They were still far back in the dark when the snout and blood-soaked teeth emerged into the light. Rows upon rows of teeth still dripping with blood, as long as a bastard sword and twice as sharp. The jaws curled back into a hideous smile and the two small flames crackled out from either side, ready to be unleashed. The King now felt like a man once more, as small as a leaf in the woods.

“Who are you?” the dragon spoke into the king’s mind. “And what brings an old man to the entrance of my home?”

“I believe that I am an old friend,” the king said. “And I hope that you still remember traveling the world with a very small boy who loved a lizard with all of his heart.”

“I have been tricked by men before,” the dragon said. “I did know that boy once but he was known by many. And I left him. I do not know if he is alive or well.”

“He is very well,” the king said with tears in his eyes. “He has killed and destroyed, he has known hatred and loss. He has felt empty and alone, abandoned by his only friend. But he also found love. And he learned to listen and be kind. He has filled his heart with joy and grown wise in many things but he is still missing something.” The king slowly raised his hand to touch the dragon’s cheek. “He misses his friend who once showed him the space above the clouds, over the ocean, where no man has gone before or since.”

“I did not think I would ever see you again,” the dragon replied. The fire at the corners of his mouth died down and he brought his head close to the king. “I am sorry that my leaving caused you so much pain. But I am also happy beyond words that you have a good life.” He then reared back and studied the king. “You look unwell, are you sick?”

“Oh no,” the king laughed. “I am just old, my friend. I think you’ll find that the years have been quite kind to me if I do say so myself. We can not all age as gracefully as dragons.”

“I suppose that is true,” the dragon mused. “I am terribly sorry about the mess.” He swept his tail and the piles of bones scattered into the back of the cave. “It is not fit for visitors but perfectly acceptable for dragons.” It curled up around the king and settled it’s head down next to his. “Now tell me, friend, tell me the tale of your life. We have a lot of catching up to do.”

They both laughed and talked long into the night. The king told the dragon about his days as a soldier and how he became a king. He told him about his family and the kingdom that he loved more than anything. The dragon told him about his mate and five children who were waiting for him far away in the East. They talked until the king felt his eyes grow heavy and he fell asleep with his head on the dragon's arm. For that night they were not a dragon and a king, they were a boy and his lizard once more. Morning came and the dragon woke to find the king staring out of the cave with a troubled look in his eyes.

“Why do you look so concerned?” the dragon asked.

“My people have suffered from your hunting.” the king replied. “I snuck away to speak to you but they will not survive if you take more of their livestock. They will expect me to send the army to hunt you down.”

“I will hunt somewhere else,” the dragon replied. “There is a land across the ocean where no human lives. My children are now strong enough for the journey. The food I have gathered is for them.” He plucked a small scale from his side and gave it to the king. "Bring this to your people as proof that you have killed me. They will be forever grateful I assume."

“Thank you, my dearest friend,” the king sighed. “I am glad that I got to see you again.” He looked up into the dragon's eyes which were as large as him. “May we fly, one last time?”

The dragon bowed its head and the king climbed up, now much slower than all those years ago. He sat atop his old friend's back once more and looked out, not over an ocean, but his kingdom. The land sprawled out before him and just barely visible in the distance he could see the sparkling silver sliver of the ocean. The dragon kicked off and the two friends soared into the sky once more. Two very small beings in a very large world, sailing through a very big sky.