by E. S. Hart … © by Barb Tarbox
CHAPTER 1
Sarra watched her fish swimming slowly around the plant in his bowl. The warm sunlight that came through the window over her bedroom desk made his green scales and red fins shine.
“You are the most beautiful betta in the world,” Sarra said. “I’ll bet Daddy will think you’re beautiful when he comes home.”
Soon, Sarra’s mother called her for lunch. Sarra’s brother, Jake, already had his mouth full of food when she sat down.
“You’re rude,” Sarra said.
Jake swallowed quickly. “I was hungry. You would have been here sooner if you didn’t spend so much time staring at a dumb little fishy.”
“He’s not a dumb little fishy! He’s a betta, a Siamese fighting fish!”
Jake laughed. “That little fishy? He couldn’t fight anything. Miguel has a big tank with fish that could eat him for breakfast.”
“Magic isn’t going to be anyone’s breakfast! Magic is special! Magic is my friend!”
“He’s even got a dumb name. Dumb fishy, dumb name.”
“All right, both of you,” their mother said. “Jake, being three years older than your sister doesn’t mean you can act like a big bully. What would your father say if he were here?”
Jake looked at the photograph of their father that Mom kept on the kitchen counter. Mom had a picture of him in nearly every room. In the kitchen photo, Dad was wearing his army uniform.
It was all brown and tan splotches so it would be hard to see in a dessert.
“Sorry, Mom,” Jake said. “But I still think it’s a dumb name. Miguel’s fish don’t even have names.”
“Maybe Miguel doesn’t love his fish as much as Sarra loves hers, and what she named him was her choice.” Mom sat down. “After lunch, I’m going to the grocery store. Mrs. Tippimul will watch Sarra while I’m gone. Jake, it’s all right if you go to Miguel’s or to the park, but tell Mrs. T. where you’re going.”
“Okay, Mom.” Jake took another big bite of sandwich.
Sarra wished she could go to the park by herself, but Mom said she couldn’t until she was older. Mrs. T. lived in the apartment upstairs with her cat. She was really nice and everything but… “I don’t need a babysitter, Mom. I’m almost nine.”
“Mrs. T. isn’t really babysitting you,” Mom said. “She’s just looking out for you. She probably won’t even come down unless you need her.”
Sarra finished her lunch and went back to her room. She couldn’t stop thinking about Miguel’s big hungry fish. She gave Magic’s bowl a hug. “No one’s going to have you for breakfast,” she said.
A whisper in her mind said, “Don’t worry. That won’t happen.”
Sarra was so surprised, she nearly dropped the bowl. “I didn’t really hear that,” she said.
“Yes, you did,” the whisper said. “You can hear me and I can hear you.”
“But fish can’t talk!”
“That’s right. But I’m not a fish.”
“Yes, you are.” Sarra wondered if she had fallen asleep and this was a dream.
“No, I’m not. I’m a dragon.”
This really had to be a dream. Sarra put the bowl down and pinched herself.
“Ow!”
“Don’t hurt yourself,” the whisper said. “You’re not dreaming. You’re a special girl. That’s why I picked you in the pet store.”
“You picked me?” Sarra remembered the day when she watched all the bettas in their little pet store bowls. They were all so pretty it was hard to choose, but one with green scales kept his nose pointed toward her and spread his red fins every time she looked in his direction. “You sure made sure I noticed you.”
“I whispered to you, too. But I was younger then, and I was too quiet for you to hear me very well.”
“I thought I picked you!”
Magic blew a big bubble at the top of his bowl. “Of course you did. You thought my whispers were your ideas. And I was the most handsome, wasn’t I?”
Sarra smiled. “Yes, you were. Were all those bettas dragons?”
“Just me. Only one in two, maybe three million is a dragon. The rest are just fish. No offense meant to fish, of course.”
“You’re a very small dragon.”
“You’re a small human.”
“I’m not grown up yet.”
“Neither am I. I’ll change—a little like a tadpole changes into a frog.”
Sarra saw pictures in her mind of a green and red dragon as big as Mom’s car.
“I’ll grow more after that,” Magic said. “That’s the size I’ll be right after I change.”
“Uh-oh,” Sarra said. “Your bowl only holds a gallon of water right up to the top. You won’t fit. You wouldn’t even fit in Miguel’s big fish tank!”
“That won’t be a problem after I turn into a dragon. I won’t need to live in water then, but I’ll need a lot more space while I’m changing.”
Sarra thought hard. “The bathtub?”
Magic laughed, a happy whisper in her mind. “Good idea, but still not big enough. Don’t worry, I have a plan.”
The next day, Sarra came home from school thinking about Magic’s plan. She ran to her room to ask him to tell her more, but he wasn’t there!
On her desk by the window, there was a note written in great big letters so she would be sure to see it.
Miguel’s fish were very happy. YUM YUM!
No! Not Magic! She heard her mother’s car in the driveway. She ran out to meet her. Sarra was so upset she didn’t know whether to scream or cry or both, so she just said “Mom!” over and over and gave her mother the note.
Mom looked very serious. “Where is your brother now?”
“I don’t know. He wasn’t here when I came home. Is Magic dead, Mom?”
Her mother gave her a hug. “I can’t believe Jake would do something so awful, but I’m going to find out right now!”
Mom took her phone out of her purse and called Miguel’s house. Sarra couldn’t hear everything her mother said, but she heard “glad to hear that” and “Please send him home right away.”
“All right,” her mother said. “I don’t think Magic was lunch for anyone today. When your brother gets home, we’ll hear what he has to say.”
Miguel didn’t live far away, so Jake was home soon, but he came through the door very slowly.
“All right, young man,” Mom said. “Where is Sarra’s fish?”
“In my closet. He’s okay.” Jake rubbed one of his sneakers against the other. “It was just a joke.”
“Not funny!” Sarra said.
“Not funny at all.” Mom said. “That was a very mean trick to play on your sister.”
Jake looked at the floor. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry only means something if you never do it again.” “I won’t. I promise.”
“Good. Now go put Magic back where he belongs, then do your homework. You’ll take Sarra’s turn to help with the dishes for two weeks. Understood?”
“Yes, Mom.”
“You get him out of your yucky closet,” Sarra said. “I’ll put him back in my room.”
When Magic was back on the desk by the window and her bedroom door was shut, Sarra whispered “Were you scared in the closet?”
“I’m a dragon,” Magic said. “There’s nothing in a closet that can frighten me.”
“I was afraid that Jake had really taken you to Miguel’s house.”
“He wouldn’t do that,” Magic said. “Jake isn’t really mean. He just made a mistake about what was funny.”
“BIG mistake,” Sarra said. “And when he gave you back to me, do you know what he said? He said you were getting fat!”
Magic laughed his whisper laugh. “I am getting fat. I’m starting to grow. I’ll grow very slowly at first, but it will be time for my plan soon. Will Mrs. Tippimul be watching you next Saturday?”
“Yes, she always does while Mom goes shopping.”
“Good. Let’s hope for a nice, sunny, cat-walking day.”
CHAPTER TWO
The next Saturday was sunglasses sunny, Jake was at a baseball game and Mom had gone shopping.
There was just one thing missing.
Sarra hoped really hard and called upstairs, “Mrs. Tippimul?”
Mrs. T. looked out her window. “Yes, Sarra? Is there anything wrong?”
“Everything’s okay. I was just wondering if you were going to take Koko for a walk in the park today.”
“I thought I might later, after your mother comes home.”
“Could you take me with you? We could go now. Jake won’t be home for hours.”
“Of course, if you’d like to go. It’s a beautiful day to go to the park. We’ll leave your mother a note.”
Yes! Magic’s plan was working. Now, the only problem was hiding Magic from Mrs. T.
Not many people walked cats in the park. Nobody walked fish.
Sarra found a ziplock plastic bag in the kitchen and put just enough water from Magic’s bowl in it. He swam into a paper cup and Sarra carefully let him out into the bag.
“Ready?” she said.
“Ready.”
Sarra put a sweatshirt over her arm to cover the bag and waited for Mrs. T. to come downstairs.
Mrs. T. noticed the sweatshirt right away. “Are you chilly, dear? There’s quite a breeze, but it’s a very warm day.”
Sarra thought fast. “It’s in case I start getting a sunburn.”
“Ah. A good idea. That’s why I brought a big hat.”
Down the street they went and crossed at the corner. Just a little bit farther and they were in the park. The pond, the big-enough-for-a-dragon pond, was just on the other side of some big pine trees. Just a little farther and Magic would be safe.
Mrs. Tippimul put Koko down on the grass. Koko purred and rubbed against Mrs. T.’s legs.
Sarra needed a way to politely leave Mrs. T. for a few minutes. “Mrs. T., would it be all right if…”
The nice, warm, kite-flying breeze flipped the hanging edge of Sarra’s sweatshirt and Koko pounced on it.
Down went the sweatshirt. “I…,” Sarra said, then she couldn’t think of anything else to say.
Magic spread his fins in the sunshine.
“That’s a very beautiful betta,” Mrs. T. said, leaning to take a closer look, “and very large.”
“I’m…uh….” Everything was ruined and Magic wasn’t helping at all. He was just showing off.
Koko wasn’t interested in the sweatshirt anymore. Mrs. T. picked it up and put it back over Magic. “There’s a nice bench over there. Why don’t we sit and talk?” Mrs. T. said.
Sarra nodded, but she didn’t really want to talk. Mrs. T. would tell her mother that she had taken Magic to the park. Her mother and Jake would think she was crazy. Mom might even call Dad and he would worry. And poor Magic would get so big, his bowl would break and…
Mrs. T. sat down and put Koko on her lap. “Let me see that handsome fish again,” she said.
Sarra gave her the bag. Magic turned so he was nose-to-nose with Mrs. T. and didn’t move for a whole minute.
Mrs. T. smiled and gave the bag back to Sarra. “Let me tell you a story,” she said, “about a little girl a long time ago, in a country very far away.”
Sarra sat down. Magic whispered, “Listen.”
“The little girl had a pet betta. He had short fins and wasn’t as beautiful as your Magic, but the little girl loved him. One day the girl heard a tiny voice inside her head. It was her betta, telling her a strange story about being a baby dragon.”
Sarra pulled the sweatshirt over Magic so the sun wouldn’t make the water too warm. “Did she believe him?”
Mrs. T. smiled. “Not at first, but then, he started to grow. The little girl’s grandparents had a farm with a pond. She put her little dragon there. She had to go back to the city with her parents, so she never found out if he really became a dragon. She never saw him again.”
“She must have been sad.”
“Yes, I was.” Mrs. T. put Koko back on the ground. “Let’s take a walk to the pond.”
At the edge of the water, Sarra held Magic close to her heart. “Are you sure?” she whispered.
“Yes, I can feel the changes starting.”
Sarra knelt on the grass, opened the bag, and let Magic float into the pond.
“The water is nice and warm,” Magic said, “and this pond is big enough. Come back in a week, Sarra.” He took a big breath of air and swam away.
Sarra stood and brushed bits of grass from her knees. “Will he be okay, Mrs. T.? He said to come back in a week. A week’s such a long time. Will you bring me back to the park again, please?”
“Of course I will,” Mrs. T. said. “I wouldn’t miss whatever is going to happen.” She picked her cat up. “But right now, we’re going to take Koko home, then we’re going to the pet store.”
The pet store was one of Sarra’s favorite places, but right now, she felt like going back to her room and worry about Magic. “Why are we going to the pet store?”
Mrs. T. laughed. “There’s no betta in your bowl at home. We have to find a fish that looks as much like Magic as possible, so no one will know that your baby dragon is now in the pond.”
CHAPTER THREE
They found a betta that looked so much like Magic that even Sarra had to look closely to see the difference, and she pretended that everything was normal every day.
She pretended on Sunday and Monday.
On Tuesday, it was hard to pay attention in school. It was even harder on Wednesday, but she tried.
On Thursday, she doodled bettas in her notebook.
On Friday, she doodled dragons.
On Saturday morning, she woke up very early and heard split, splat on her window.
“Rain! How could it rain on Magic’s special day?”
She was so worried she could hardly taste her breakfast. At least Jake was going to Miguel’s to play computer games, so Mrs. T. wouldn’t have to stay home to watch him.
But it was raining!
Mom’s phone rang. “Oh hello, Mrs. Tippimul.” Mom nodded at whatever Mrs. T. said.
“That’s very nice of you. If you’re sure you don’t mind. Sarra had a wonderful time in the park last Saturday.” Mom listened for a little longer and said goodbye.
“Mrs. Tippimul said she’d be happy to take you to the park again today, even if it’s raining.” Sarra could hardly keep from dancing around the kitchen, but Mom would think that was very weird.
“That would be fun,” she said. “Mrs. T. told me about the pet betta she had when she was a girl in Thailand.”
Mom put the milk in the refrigerator. “Did you know Thailand is where bettas originally came from? A long time ago, Thailand was called Siam. That’s why bettas are also called…”
She waited for Sarra to fill in the rest.
“Siamese fighting fish!” Sarra said. “I knew bettas don’t like to live with other bettas, but I didn’t know where the Siamese part came from. Are Siamese cats from Thailand, too?”
“Sounds like they probably are,” Mom said. “Why don’t you look it up later?”
“Okay,” Sarra said, but right now, she wasn’t thinking about cats at all.
Even before Mom left for the store, Mrs. Tippimul was outside holding a big umbrella. “I didn’t bring Koko today. He doesn’t like rain,” she said. “He probably doesn’t like dragons, either.”
Down the street they went, across to the park. Sarra was so excited. She had to walk backward sometimes so Mrs. T. could keep up.
By the time they reached the pond, the rain had almost stopped. A drop here and a drop there made little circles when they hit the water. The pond looked like a very big place to search for a friend.
“How will we find him?” Sarra said.
“I don’t think that will be a problem.” Mrs. T. pointed to the middle of the pond. “There’s a lot of splashing out there, and it looks like it’s coming this way.”
Sarra saw green, then red. A long tail flipped out of the water and slapped down again.
“It’s him! Did you see that, Mrs. T.?”
“All I can see is splashing water.”
“I saw him! I did!”
“I believe you, dear, I just can’t…”
“There!” A head rose out of the water, green and red and shiny-wet. “Magic!” Sarra was suddenly glad that it was a rainy day so there was no one else by the pond. She jumped up and down and waved her arms. “Magic! Magic! Magic!”
The shiny head rose higher on a long neck. The dragon’s mouth opened, showing big, white teeth. “HELLO SARRA! I’M GLAD YOU COULD COME TODAY.”
Sarra put her hands over her ears. “Your voice got very loud!”
“Sorry,” Magic said. “You’re the first person I’ve talked to since I changed into a dragon. Is this better?”
“Yes, thank you. Magic, this is Mrs. Tippimul. She helped put you in the pond.”
“I remember,” Magic said. “It’s nice to see you again.”
“Oh my! I heard that!” Mrs. T. said.
“Humans can only hear me when I want them to.”
Mrs. T. squinted hard. “Is there a dragon rule that keeps me from seeing you?”
Magic shook his head. “No. That’s because you’re a grown-up. Most grown-ups can’t see dragons.” He turned to Sarra. “It’s time for me to leave the water. I hope you won’t be frightened.”
“I don’t think I will.”
“Good. Please let Mrs. T. know where I am so I don’t bump into her. I haven’t tried my legs on land yet, so I might be a little clumsy.”
Splash! Plop!
One foot came out of the water. Another plop, and both front feet were holding on to the pond‘s edge with long claws. “Stand back,” Magic said. “I think that was the easy part.”
Sarra and Mrs. T. moved farther away. Magic rocked back and forth, forth and back.
“You can do it, Magic!” Sarra shouted.
Magic jumped. His legs wobbled.
Crash!
He fell over.
“Magic! Are you all right?” Sarra ran over to him.
“This is embarrassing,” Magic said.
“No, it’s not. You never walked before. Everyone has to learn how to do new things.”
Magic rolled onto his feet. This time his legs didn’t wobble. He took a few steps, then a few more.
“What’s happening?” Mrs. T. asked.
“Magic’s practicing walking over there. He’s getting faster and faster. He’s running! Go Magic!” Sarra pointed to the other side of the pond. “Dragons look funny running.”
Magic ran all the way around the pond and slid to a stop in the wet grass. His big teeth made a big smile. “This is more fun than swimming around in a bowl.” He shook, and water flew everywhere.
Mrs. T. wiped big drops from her face. “I’m really glad I didn’t bring Koko today.”
Sarra touched Magic’s shoulder. He really was as big as Mom’s car and he felt cool and slippery like a car, too.
“You’re beautiful,” she said.
“Thank you,” he said. “I don’t think many humans think dragons are beautiful.”
“Well, I do!”
Magic unfolded his wings. He stretched them out and folded them back up over and over.
“Falling down while walking for the first time was embarrassing,” he said. “Falling down while flying for the first time could be really dangerous.”
“Can you still swim?” Sarra asked.
Magic nodded.
“If you practice flying over the pond, you won’t hurt yourself if you fall.”
“Great, great, super great idea!” Magic spun around in a circle. Sarra had to jump out of the way when his tail swooshed past her. “Sorry,” Magic said, “still not used to how big I am.”
“Can I watch you practice flying?”
He flapped his wings and lifted off the ground for a second. “Of course. I have to leave as soon as I can fly, and I want to be able to say good-bye.”
“Leave?”
“Dragons can’t live in towns and cities, Sarra. We need lots of room where there aren’t many humans.”
Sarra felt tears in her eyes. She blinked fast so Magic wouldn’t see them. “I would like to see you fly.”
“Here goes!” Magic turned toward the pond and jumped into the air. His wings flapped hard. He tipped to the right. He tipped to the left. His tail dragged in the water, making a long ripple.
Sarra held her breath. Magic was working so hard. “You can do it,” she whispered. “You can fly all the way around the pond.”
Magic went higher in the air. His wings seemed to be moving more slowly, but he was flying faster.
“He’s doing it, Mrs. T.! He’s flying!”
Mrs. T folded her umbrella and stood next to Sarra. “I wish I could see him.”
“I could draw you a picture later.”
“I would like that.”
“We’d better move,” Sarra said. “I think he’s coming back.”
When Magic landed, he wasn’t wobbly at all. Sarra ran to him and hugged his neck.
“You were wonderful,” she said.
Magic bumped her with his nose. “You helped,” he said. “It helps when you know someone is cheering for you.” He tipped his head to one side. “You have water on your face, but it’s not raining anymore.”
Sarra wiped her hand across her eyes. “Those are tears. It’s called crying. People do that when they’re sad.”
“Why are you sad?”
“Because you’re going away.”
“I have to go where there are older dragons so I can learn everything I need to know.”
“Like a dragon school?”
“Like a school, but with a lot of flying.”
“I wish I could go with you.”
“Your mother and father need you here. Jake would miss you too.”
“So would I,” Mrs. T. said.
“Would you like me to come back to visit?” Magic asked.
“Yes! When? Next week? Next summer?”
“How about ten years?”
“Ten years!” Sarra couldn’t even imagine how long ten years would be. “I’ll be old!”
“No you won’t, dear,” Mrs. T. said. “That’s not long after you’ll finish high school.”
“I’ll finish dragon school and you’ll finish people school.”
“How about a visit for your birthday” Mrs. T. asked.
“You’re almost nine, so how about a visit for your nineteenth birthday?”
“How would Magic know when it’s my birthday? Do dragons have calendars?”
“Don’t need them,” Magic said. “If you think about me right before your birthday, I’ll know it’s time.”
“I’ll be so old I won’t be able to see you.”
“Sarra,” Magic carefully touched Sarra’s nose with his nose, “you’ll always be able to see me. I’m your dragon, you’re my human.”
“Always?”
“Always. But when you’re older, you might not care about dragons anymore. You might forget all about me.”
“I’ll never forget you! I told Mrs. T. I’d draw her a picture, but…Mrs. T., do you have your phone with you? Could you take a picture?”
“Dragons don’t show up in photographs,” Magic said. He scratched his chin with a long claw. “Thinking, thinking…I know! Stand back…way, way back.”
Magic stretched his neck out close to the ground and shook himself from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail. Something shiny flew through the air. Sarra picked it up.
“I can see that!” Mrs. T said. “It looks like a green dragon scale!”
“That’s right,” Magic said. “I’m growing so fast, I thought there might be a loose one.”
The sun was starting to shine through breaks in the clouds. The green scale sparkled in Sarra’s hand.
“That’s so pretty. You should wear it,” Mrs. T. said.
“How?”
“I have an idea,” Magic said. “Can you hold on very tight?”
Sarra held the scale and Magic bit a perfect hole in it.
“I can put a string through it,” Sarra said. “No, it’s too pretty for string. I have a chain Daddy gave me before he had to go away for the army.”
She held the scale in both hands. “I’ll never forget you, Magic. Never ever.”
“And I won’t forget to visit.” He stretched his wings out wide. “Thank you, Sarra, my human.”
“I love you, Magic, my dragon.”
Magic’s wings curved, and he made a windstorm around him as he lifted from the ground. He circled the pond once then soared into the sky.
Sarra waved until she couldn’t see him any more. “He’s gone.”
“He’ll be back,” Mrs. T. said. “He promised.”
The next day, Sarra sat watching her new betta, Magic the Second, swim around the plant in his bowl.
It would be a long time before Magic the Dragon came back to visit, and she would miss him every day; but it was nice having Magic the Second right here on her desk by the window.
“You’re not a dragon, are you?” she asked.
Magic the Second didn’t say a thing.
And that was just fine.
