The Pure At Heart

Others’ stories might start with the night being dark and deary, but if you think this is where this story is heading then you are dead wrong. The night was bright and sunny. Yes, the main character, the brave warrior, I will call him, Cameron, was anything but tall and handsome. Cameron was short, and cute, skinny, wore glasses, and stuttered when he spoke. He lived in Alaska, where everything that could eat him lived.

One day, Cameron went for a hike among the pines. The trail was long, curvy, uphill, and treacherous. He stopped to catch his breath. The sun was beating down on him. He took a sip of his water and as he did so, he felt that someone was watching him. Looking around himself, he saw nothing that a normal hiker might not see rocks, a waterfall, a hawk flying overhead, and two squirrels running after each other joyfully. Yet, as he turned a corner going left up a mountain, he encountered a very unpleasant surprise.

A dragon sat on the path blocking Cameron’s way. She sat looking at him, deciding whether she should eat him, or play with him like he was a small toy. She decided upon neither. Instead, she watched him to see what he would do next. – Most hikers that had met Misty, the dragon, before had not lived to tell any tale about her, because she had eaten them upon first sight. There was something different, about the lad, Misty sensed. I like him.

Cameron thought about running from the dragon in front of him, but he was too shocked to go anywhere. His legs had planted roots, as if he had suddenly become a tree, and his arms felt like branches, which pointed down wanting to grab the bare ground to use it as an anchor, so he would not fall over. A real live dragon, wow! He thought. I always wondered what would happen if one came to life out of one of the books I read, but I never thought it could happen. He continued to ramble in his thoughts. He thought he might encounter a bear, a snake, or say a boar, and those animals were bad enough to encounter while hiking, but a dragon? He wondered if he was hallucinating. He rubbed his eyes, opened, and closed them to make sure, but the dragon was still there.

Misty blew a ring of smoke out of her nose at the young man. He clearly did not know what to make of her. After a minute or two of silence, she playfully removed the baseball cap on his head, and put it back on gently and smiled. The young man was not moving. He just continued to stare at her. Growing impatient she decided to speak. “Young man, are you lost? Do you know where you are? Cat got your tongue?” she yawned and smiled, partially, because she was really playing with him now, and because her stomach began to grumble, and she was getting hungry.

The young hiker cleared his throat, “I, I, I have never met a dragon.” His cheeks grew red. “Can I touch your scales?” By now, he thought he was dreaming, so he decided to play along with the dragon. He was a bit worried about the noise he heard from her tummy, but he did have two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in his backpack. If the stranger thought about eating him he could offer those instead as an alternative.

“Yes, you may touch my scales young one. What is your name? May I ask if you are traveling with anyone, an army of sorts?” Her eyelashes moved up and down. She was seriously thinking about eating him for lunch. She had not eaten breakfast this morning and so she was feeling aches in her abdomen that were unbearable.

Cameron moved forward and touched her blue-green and purplish scales on her shoulder. As he did so, he said, “My name is Cameron and no, there is no army behind me.” He thought her scales would be rough, but they were the exact opposite. “Oh,” he sighed, “you are as soft as silk. Your scales remind me of this pillow I have at home on my couch. If you touch the pillow and move the sequins on it back and forth, they form different pictures. Its texture is like your scales. You are beautiful, “he smiled.

Okay the young man is getting cheeky, thought the dragon. I am hungry. Do I eat him now, or should I just let him go? He looks as harmless as a fly. She opened her mouth and moved forward and was to reach down and swallow him whole when she smelled something in his backpack. “What is that wonderful smell coming out of your backpack?” she said with a bit too much eagerness.

Seeing he was in trouble; Cameron’s eyes grew big. His arms came alive and threw the backpack to the ground. He unzipped it. He took out the sandwiches and laid them in front of the hungry dragon. “Here you go. I hope you like them.” If she liked them, she would let him go. At this point in his journey, he had decided that climbing the mountain today was not a promising idea. He felt weak and his own stomach was beginning to grumble.

Misty had no children of her own. A sudden empathic sigh came from her throat. “You are hungry too I see. We can share. Thank you for this delightful morsel,” she said as she swallowed the sandwich whole. “Oh, that is delicious. “I would like another, if you have one,” she gave her best smile.

“I am sorry. I do not have any more,” said Cameron, “But I can bring you one tomorrow, if you let me go home.” He smiled hoping the dragon would let him go. His knees were growing weaker and weaker and thought he might faint.

The dragon thought about Cameron’s offer. It would be nice to have another peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Would he come back though? She decided to take a chance. “I will let you go, but you must bring me another one of these delicious morsels tomorrow.”

Cameron agreed and then with a sudden burst of energy practically ran down the hill. I cannot believe I just saw a dragon. I want to believe this is real, but is it really, he thought to himself as burst into his house. His mom looked at him from the kitchen and said, “Where have you been? Take off those muddy shoes and put them by the door.”

“I, I was hiking up the mountain,” Cameron exclaimed. He said nothing more. He was sure his mom would not believe him. He took off his shoes and ran up the stairs, closed the door behind him to his bedroom and then hopped on his bed. Soon, the boy was fast asleep, forgetting to even undress for bed. He was thankful to be alive.

The next day, after going to church with his family, he changed his clothes and shoes and then he went into the kitchen. His family were all downstairs in the living room. He packed two peanut butter sandwiches and put them in his backpack. He went outside and went to the path that led up the mountain. Strangely enough, he was eager to see the dragon. He had not asked her name, like she had requested of him. He was not afraid to meet her again, he was more in awe of this mystical wonder. He wondered where she came from. He climbed the path once again. He loved being out in nature. He still wanted to climb to the top of the mountain, as he had wanted to the previous day, but would the dragon let him? As he turned the curve left to do so, the dragon was not there. He wondered if she had forgotten him, or had he just dreamed her into existence. He continued going upward, over large boulders. He was near the top when he saw the dragon. She was flying overhead. She spotted him. She picked him up by his backpack, and he held on to it and her tightly as she flew up to the peak of the mountain. She sat him down.

“Good morning, young man. Have you brought me anything?” Misty was smiling, and surprised that Cameron had braved the path once again. She had assumed he might not want to come back, because her looks might have scared him off, if not her big claws, but no she was happy to see that it had not.

Cameron smiled and said, “Yes, madam. Can I ask what your name is?”

The dragon was even more delighted with her new friend. “Yes, it is Misty.”

Cameron took out the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and laid them down in front of her. “I have eaten breakfast this morning, so please eat both. If you need something more to eat, then I can try to hunt down a bear for you,” he told the old dragon.

Misty sniffed the delightful morsels and ate them both up. “Thank you, young one. I do love them so. No, there is no need to catch a bear for me, as I am a skilled hunter. I could get one if I wanted to. My belly gets full faster than you think.” The dragon sat down beside him. He took a chance and sat down himself. “You are not like the other hikers that have come up my mountain before you.” She eyed Cameron and smiled and began to talk again, “Aren’t you afraid, that I might eat you or tear you apart into tiny bits and pieces?”

Cameron looked over at Misty, “If you were going to hurt me, you would have already done so.so. so...”

Misty eyed the young brave warrior in front of her. She had never met another person like him. “Why do you stutter so then when I talk to you?”

“I was born this way,” Cameron said slower, and something happened, that even he had never noticed up until that point in time. He realized that has he was less nervous, and calm, that the stutter began to go away. He had never noticed it, because he usually felt anxious when talking to others and this was the first time, he felt safe.

Misty being a mystical dragon of course could read his thoughts. “We both have learned something new today. “I have met someone I can trust and so have you. Do you like books? I have a whole lair of them. There are books about history, astronomy, culture, and people that have visited this planet before my time and yours. My favorite book talks about the planet where all dragons come from and how we came to live here on earth. I do not mind you looking through the books if say you promise to bring me another peanut butter and jelly sandwich tomorrow?” Mistry grinned.

“I will bring the sandwiches after school. My parents and teachers will search for me if I miss school.” 

Misty, being old, knew that the grownups might have a problem with the young lad spending time together with her. They did not trust as easily as children. She believed that not all adults remembered what real friendship was about, a place where you felt safe, and no one would ever dare to make one afraid. A place of honor. “Yes, I can wait until then. I will make sure I eat my breakfast tomorrow. Thank you.”

They both stared at the sky, neither one of them knowing if it was late or not, as the Alaskan sky was bright and sunny most days, during the three to six months, that the sun refused to go down. After a long time, Cameron’s eyes grew tired and he knew that he must return home and so he got up and said, “I must leave now. I will come again tomorrow. I bring you the sandwich and view your marvelous library.”

Misty waved at him as he left.

Arriving at home, Cameron quietly went up to his bedroom unnoticed. His parents and siblings were already fast asleep. In a family of eight, Cameron felt overlooked, but he was okay with his situation. He was not comfortable with the loud parties they would attend or being around their friends. He liked being the hermit. He liked being different. Everyone around him was usually comfortable with him being somewhere in the background. Around, but not visible.

Cameron fell asleep once more.

On top of the mountain, a quiet breeze was blowing. Misty felt a new beginning forming in the world of humans and dragons. Dragons had mostly gone unnoticed or so she thought. In most cases where humans had noticed them, they did not live long enough to tell anyone else, mostly due to their hostile behavior toward her ancestors. Tonight, under the stars, Misty vowed she would not eat this new lad that had entered her life. She would protect him. She realized that he was someone good and with a pure heart and he deserved to survive. She flapped her wings and flew up and went to her lair hidden beneath the waterfall.

The next day, Cameron woke. He went to school. He listened to his teachers and quietly ate his food at a table by himself in the lunchroom. After that, he wandered through the halls and until he went to the remaining afternoon classes. Moving through his day, until his last hour, he got on the bus and went back home.

His parents were still at work. It would be late into the evening before they came home. His siblings were all downstairs watching a movie with their friends. Cameron crept outside and climbed the path to the mountain. As he passed the waterfall, he thought he saw something silky purple, green, and blue flying up and out of the water. – Misty, wow, she was a water dragon! The old girl was full of more surprises than the shows he watched on television, that is, when he watched television.

Misty shook off the water from her wings, and approached her new friend, “I suppose you know now that you know where my lair is, what I have to do?”

Cameron smiled, and said, “Yes, you must show me this library you have told me about.”

“Yes, quite right, “Misty said back, “But the price of admission must be paid.”

Cameron sat two peanut butter sandwiches in front of his new friend.

It was just then that they both surprised by hearing angry voices coming from further down the path from where they stood. An army of sorts were making their way up to the mountain top. They heard, “We will slay the dragon. It will pay for taking our brother and eating him.”

Misty looked at Cameron and he looked at her. Both trusted one another, and they were loyal to each other despite the brief time it had been since the first day they met.

Cameron did not even wonder. He took a fake knife out of his backpack and prepared to fight to the bitter death to defend, someone he now considered family.

Misty knew Cameron’s heart was true. She winked at him and said, “There is a better way.” She disappeared. Cameron freaked out and looked around himself. He felt like crying, but then he felt a tap on his shoulder. “Put the knife away. They cannot see me now. If you must go come back and see me tomorrow or the next day… As many times as you wish… and sometimes please bring my favorite treat” He heard as he heard her eat the sandwiches and then slip away.

The army of his siblings stormed up the mountain. Toy bows and arrows in their hand. They saw Cameron and exclaimed, “We thought you had devoured. We know there is a dragon somewhere in this forest. Mom told us so.”

“What?” said, Cameron.” I am so afraid…and he said it without a stutter.

His family looked at him and wondered. Seeing no dragon, they looked at him again, “You are not stuttering. What have you been up to?”

“Hiking of course,” Cameron smiled. “I am surprised you noticed that, and he ran back down the mountain.”

His siblings looked confused at each other and turned around and ran back down the hill after him. “Hey, where you going? Where is the dragon? What are you hiding? - Hey, we are glad you are alive.”

Cameron never did answer their questions about Misty, but he did get to see her library of books. He did go on more adventures with the dragon that involved flying invisible at night, and long talks under the moonlight when it was not so bright and sunny outside. Cameron’s friendship lasted into his old age, luckily for him his wife was a librarian, who happened to love dragons. -Misty liked her as well.