Fuzzy -Not!

“Mom, look what the man gave me! Can I keep it?”

“What man? What is it?”

“That man in a long black dress gave it to me. He said it was an egg, a dragon’s egg! Can I keep it?”

“Where’s the man? Where is he? Did he touch you?”

“No, Mom, he didn’t touch me. He just gave it to me, and said it was a dragon’s egg, and I need to keep it warm until it hatches. Then the dragon will be mine forever.”

“What are you talking about? Can you show me who gave it to you?”

“He was right there, by the tree. But, he’s gone now. I don’t see him anywhere.”

“I don’t see a man in a black dress anywhere. Are you sure it was a man? Men don’t usually wear dresses.”

“Maybe it was a robe, like a wizard’s robe, not a dress, but he was definitely a man. I know some women, like Aunty Rosa, have a few whiskers, but this guy’s beard was half way down his chest, so…yah, definitely a man. But, he’s gone now.”

“And, he didn’t touch you or do anything strange?”

“No, Mom. He just gave me the egg. I turned to see where you were and he disappeared.”

“Well, it looks more like a rock than an egg. Let me see it.” 

I hand the egg to Mom and she jiggles it a bit, taps it with her knuckle, turns it round and round, looking at it. Finally, she hands it back.

“It’s pretty smooth, and shiny and too round to be an egg. I’m betting it’s just a rock. It doesn’t sound like anything is in it, just a solid rock. Actually, it reminds me of a small bowling ball! Keep it if you want. Now let’s get home before your Dad gets there.”

The egg is too big to fit in any of my pockets, so I wrap my sweater around it and tuck it into my backpack. I follow Mom to the car. 

“And, don’t bother your Dad with this “egg” of yours. He’s too stressed to be bothered with something as trivial as this. He’s working on a really big project now and he’s really busy…so no “egg” talk. OK?”

“OK, Mom…no mention of the egg. Can I tell him it’s a rock?”

“No! Just put it away somewhere, and maybe later, after the project is approved, you can show it to him.” 

“Okay.”

The ride home is quiet as I try to figure out where I’m going to put the egg to keep it warm. Mom sings along with the radio, but she’s not belting it out like usual. She’s a little distracted and almost drives right by our street. She hits the brakes pretty hard when I ask her where we’re going.

“I’d better get dinner ready. Do you have homework to do? It’ll be about a half hour before we eat. Keep an eye open for your Dad. Let me know when he gets here. And, put that rock out sight in your room.”

I take the egg up to my room. It’s so pretty, with gold coloured lines running through it. I can’t help holding it and polishing it. I think the best place to hide it and keep it warm is in the bottom drawer of my dresser. I wrap my pink sweater around it, the pink sweater Grandma made for me with love stitched into it. I think that should help hatch the egg. I tuck it into the end of the drawer that sits over the heat register so it’ll stay nice and warm all day and all night. I hear Dad’s car drive up, shut the drawer, and run downstairs to tell Mom that Dad’s home.

Supper time is really quiet. Mom chitchats about her idea for a new recipe, but Dad is quietly munching his food without saying much, except an occasional uh, huh. I’m quietly lost in dragon land. It’s going to be a girl dragon and she’s going to be mostly white and glittery and I’m trying to think of the perfect name for her. So far, all my ideas are pretty lame. She’ll need a super spectacular name, nothing ordinary for my dragon.

“Oh, Sarah, you’re still here. I thought you were gone back to your room. Is your homework finished?”

“I’m just going upstairs to finish it, Mom. I’m almost done.” I run upstairs and grab the bundled up egg and tuck it on my lap while I sit at my desk to finish up my homework. All the answers seem to pop into my head and in no time at all, I’m just sitting there, running my hands over the egg.

“What’s a good name for a dragon?” I ask myself. It has to be something easy to call when I need her to come to me. Dragonia it is too clumsy and ugly. Can you imagine running down the street calling Dragonia, Dragonia! Nope, that’s definitely not a good name for MY dragon. I could call her Ella, or maybe Bella. I’m going to make a list and try calling them out loud to see how they sound. I tuck the egg back into the bottom drawer and pull out an empty notebook and start the list with Ella and Bella.

Dad walks into the room, “Sarah? Are you in here?”

“I’m right here, Dad.” 

“Oh, there you are! I didn’t see you there for a minute. Are you ready for bed?”

“I need to brush my teeth. How come you didn’t see me, Dad? I was sitting right here at my desk.”

“Well, I don’t know, Sarah. It’s almost like there was just a shadow there, not really a person. I must be overtired. Would you like me to brush your hair tonight?”

“Sure, Dad. You’re not as rough as Mom and we can chat.” As I hand him the brush, I ask “So, how was your day? Mom says you’re stressed over this big project. Is there anything I can do to help? Do you think I could maybe, someday, have a pet? Not right now, of course, but maybe someday?”

“Well, you’re quite chatty tonight. So, my day was long and tiring. My group is working on a big presentation for this Friday. We’re stuck right now on the issue of rezoning a residential area and how much resistance we’re going to run into. There’s also some geological issues that are being looked into. That’s the part that I’m working on. But, that’s not anything you can help with. I think the best way you can help me is to just keep on being yourself, keep making me smile. Make me take a break from work.”

“Um…what about the pet idea, Dad?”

“I’m not sure you’re ready for the responsibility of a pet just yet, but, soon. Soon we can discuss what kind of pet you should have. Did you have something specific in mind?”

“Well, maybe a puppy, or a bird, or a drag…, um, lizard. I think I’m ready to look after a pet, but I know it’s not the right time yet. We’re just settling into our new place here. I just wanted you to keep it in mind, because I’ll be asking again. Good night, Daddy. I love you”

Oh my goodness, I almost said dragon! He doesn’t need to worry about my egg just yet. I’ve got some more names for my list…Arabella, Mystique, and Persephone. 

……

It’s been three weeks of me taking the egg out of its hiding place as often as I could, just to hold it and whisper names to it. There’s no change at all! This week, I’m putting it in the sunshine during the day, then wrapping it up at night. Maybe it needs light to help it hatch. I’m hoping it hatches soon. I’m going to need a bed for my dragon, and some clothes…Do dragons wear clothes? She could wear a sweater maybe, even a hat or scarf, but not pants! How would her tail ever fit in a pair of pants! Ha! Ha! Ha! And, maybe a sweater wouldn’t fit either, those wings would be way too big. Ha! Ha! Ha!

“Sarah? What’s so funny? I could hear you laughing all the way downstairs.” Dad walks into my room and I’m sitting on the bed, holding the egg in my lap. 

“What do you have there, Sarah?”

“Umm…it’s my dragon egg. Isn’t it beautiful?” I hold the egg out for him to see.

Dad takes the egg and cradles it carefully in his hands, slowly turning it over and over.

“Sarah, this is the most beautiful dragon’s egg I’ve ever seen! It’s amazing! Where did you get this?”

“A man at the park gave it to me. So, you don’t think it’s just a rock?”

“Not just a rock, no, but it is a stone, a dragon’s egg stone, or as geologists call them, Septarian nodules. This one has been polished and is rounder than most but it’s spectacular for the colour and seaming. They’re supposed to have psychic or healing properties, enhancing the body’s ability to heal itself. Also, they can be used for invisibility. Hmmm, maybe that’s why I couldn’t see you sitting at your desk last week.”

“So, it’s not ever going to hatch into a dragon, is it?” I’m so sad. I think I might cry.

“Sarah, you know dragons are just imaginary, don’t you? This a dragon’s egg, but it’s a stone. It can never hatch.”

“But the man at the park, in the wizard robes, he told me it would hatch if I kept it warm, then I’d have a dragon for the rest of my life. I wanted a pet dragon so much, Daddy!” My tears start to fall and sobs wrack my body.

“Come here, Sarah,” Daddy wraps his arms around me and says, “ This can be your pet stone, your pet dragon stone. And, I think you’re ready for a real pet. How about you and I go to the pet store today?”

I sniffle, “Really, Daddy? Can I get a puppy, a girl puppy? And can I call her Ella-Bella? And can I dress her up in tiny doggy clothes? And can I teach her all kinds of tricks?”

Daddy laughs, “Yes, you can Sarah! All that and more. Now let’s go tell Mom!”