Dragon in the Moon

and the Little Red Spoon

                   Dragon in the Moon and the Little Red Spoon

                   By ~ Reagana

                   

                   

                   

                   The clanging of pots and pans could be heard throughout the cottage. The sun had not even fully risen yet, and Mother was already searching for her missing spoon. Liam sighed and rolled himself out of bed. This rude awakening has happened every morning for the last two weeks. Liam knew what was causing the ruckus and also knew that he would be called upon to attempt the reclaiming of Mother's spoon, if he wanted breakfast.

                   

                   Walking into the kitchen, bleary-eyed and bedraggled, Liam observed the chaos surrounding him. The Cottage door was just swinging shut, as Father made his hasty escape. Would that he could find escape so easily. Mother stopped her pan tossing for one moment, as she noticed Liam standing there. With her light brown hair falling wispily from her bun, she angrily pointed toward the door.

                   

                   Without a word, Liam trudged outside to find Lucas, and hence, the missing spoon. Neither Liam nor Mother or Father, understood Lucas' fascination with the red wooden spoon. He made off with it every night, no matter how cunningly Mother tried to secrete it. The following morning ritual consisted of Mother tearing the kitchen apart, searching for the spoon that would not be found, Liam sent off to find it, and Father appearing busy elsewhere.

                   

                   Searching the immediate surroundings and finding no sign of Lucas, Liam headed toward the barn, knowing where his brother would be found. He stopped before Father, idly watching him mend a broken harness. Father looked up and tossed his head in the direction of the loft. Resigning himself to the task ahead, Liam swiftly climbed the ladder. Lucas was asleep in the hay, with the chickens squawking all around him. How he could sleep through that, Liam did not understand. Lying halfway underneath him was the spoon.

                   

                   Leaving Lucas to sleep, Liam delicately removed the spoon, shaking his head at the absurdity of this ritual. Having seen five summers, Lucas should be playing at sword fighting with the other children his age. He should be running and playing, going on great adventures as all little boys did. Yet, he would be found in some hidden nook, with the spoon close at hand. Once he finished his chores, attaining the spoon was his sole obsession.

                   

                   Climbing down from the loft, Liam walked past Father, saying, "Breakfast will be ready soon."

                   

                   Father grunted his assent, never once looking up.

                   

                   Taking the spoon back to its rightful owner, Liam asked Mother, "Why do you not do away with this spoon, so that Lucas will find other interests?

                   He is too old to be playing this game."

                   

                   Mother sighed, pushing hair from her eyes. "He is just a child, Liam. Let him be. He will soon grow out of it."

                   

                    *****

                   

                   

                   Lucas sat down at the table. Breakfast was over and Mother was cleaning the dishes. Smiling warmly at him, she sat a plate before him.

                   

                   "How did you sleep, dear?"

                   

                   Smiling wistfully up at her, Lucas replied, "I had the most wonderful time!"

                   

                   "You had the most wonderful dream?" Inquired Mother.

                   

                   "No, before my dream." Still smiling, Lucas picked up the plain wooden spoon before him and began to eat.

                   

                   Not wanting to lose him so quickly, as he rarely spoke, Mother asked, "What did you do before you slept?"

                   

                   Lucas shook his head back and forth vigorously, refusing to meet her eyes. Mother knew that she had lost him for the time being, and let him go. Maybe Liam was right and she should do away with the spoon; anything that might bring her little boy back to them.

                   

                   

                    *****

                   

                   During dinner, Lucas was agitated, following Mother's movements as she bustled about the kitchen. His eyes followed her every movement, but her favorite red spoon never appeared. Listlessly picking at his food, he excused himself from the table, after determining that it would not appear.

                   

                   Mother sought him out and found him dejectedly sitting in the loft, staring out the window. Sitting down next to him, she followed his teary-eyed gaze to the moon. "Lucas, you must tell Mother what is wrong. Why do you rarely speak to us? Does this involve the red spoon?"

                   

                   At these words, Lucas turned to his mother hopefully, expecting to see her with the spoon. His look of hope soon turned to dejection, when he saw her empty hands. He turned back to the moon, with a heavy sigh. Mother watched a tear trail its way down his dirty cheek.

                   

                   "Lucas, you must speak to me!" Mother pleaded. Eliciting no response, she pulled the little red spoon from her apron pocket. Upon seeing this, Lucas jumped up, throwing his arms around her neck in a fierce hug.

                   

                   Lucas quickly stood, hiding the spoon behind his back, lest she think of taking it away again. “Mother, you can go now. I want to be alone."

                   Sadly acquiescing, Mother patted him on the head, kissed his cheek, and left him to his solitude.

                   

                   

                    *****

                   

                   As Mother and Father lay in bed, they pondered what to do about Lucas. They sought to understand him, but he was such an odd child. “I fear that he will shut us out if we keep the spoon from him. It is like a security blanket for him. The only time he speaks to us is when he has the cursed thing!" Mother said.

                   

                   Father stated, "The boy will grow out of it, given time. Do you recall Liam at his age? He talked to the animals and insisted that they spoke back to him! It was another three summers before he found that talking to girls was much more enjoyable." This caused Mother to laugh, but it was short-lived.

                   

                   “But Liam was never as lost within himself as Lucas seems to be. I worry so, for him," Mother said. Father absently patted her arm, and just before falling asleep, said, "Give him time, he will grow into a fine lad, you will see."

                   

                    *****

                   

                   Liam could stand it no longer. He had to determine what Lucas' obsession was with the spoon. He decided that he would see what his brother did with it, and then determine a course of action to immediately end the silliness, for surely that is all it was.

                   

                   Climbing the ladder, he was disappointed to find the loft empty. Resigning himself to wait for his brother's return, he settled down into the soft hay. Listening to the night sounds while relaxing in the loft, Liam easily understood his brother's desire to spend so much time up here. He had created his own little haven, with a blanket, a lantern, and several well-worn books on knights and dragons, no less.

                   

                   Liam pondered his brother's lack of interest in playing sword fighting when it was now obvious that he shared a love of such magical tales as he, himself did. Thinking on all of this, his eyelids soon became heavy, gently pulling him into sleep.

                   

                   He awoke to the urgent whisper of his brother's voice. "You must go back now! I know you want to stay, but you cannot. Where would I hide you?"

                   

                   Liam opened his eyes to see Lucas hastily pulling the window shutter closed against the last of the night.

                   

                   "Lucas, who were you just speaking to?"

                   

                   Lucas spun to face his brother, both guilt and fear fighting for supremacy in his eyes.

                   

                   Liam quickly disentangled himself from the hay that was insisting on clothing him from head to foot. He gently pushed Lucas aside and threw open the shutters, determined on spying the culprit to his brother's games. Leaning precariously out the window, a large shadow swept across the yard, swiftly rising. Liam thought that he must be imagining things, for the shadow completely blotted out the moon's radiance.

                   

                   With a chill running down his spine, Liam latched the shutters and turned once more to Lucas, with the intent of finding out once and for all, just what he was up to.

                   

                   "What was that?" Liam demanded.

                   

                   "What was what? I did not see anything. Come, let us go to bed, “Lucas took hold of Liam's hand and proceeded to drag him halfway across the loft before Liam came to his senses and dug his feet into the floor.

                   

                   "No, you will not get away with whatever you are doing. I am here to find answers and am not leaving until you provide them."

                   

                   Lucas' eyes quickly darted to the window, but not quickly enough. Liam noticed this and demanded, “What is going on Lucas? Is there someone out there? Are we in danger?"

                   

                   Lucas began to tremble, while tears coursed down his cheeks. “You cannot kill him, you mustn't! Please, he is no danger!"

                   

                   "He...who is this he?" Liam asked.

                   

                   "He does not have a name. At least, he cannot remember what it is."

                   

                   Liam's fear began to abate, yet he was becoming ever more frustrated. Just as he was about to open his mouth and demand that Lucas stop prattling off nonsense, he noticed Lucas' hands behind his back. Knowing what his brother held, he quickly reached back and pried the spoon from his hands.

                   

                   Lucas wailed long and loud. Liam was so shocked at this sound coming from his brother, that he stood stupefied for a long moment, before remembering his task.

                   

                   "What is this to you? Why is it so important?"

                   

                   "You would never believe me!" Lucas said, looking longingly at the red spoon that was just out of reach.

                   

                   Liam stood his ground, impatiently tapping his foot. "I am waiting."

                   

                   "You must promise not to tell Mother and Father....not to tell anyone." Lucas begged.

                   

                   "Fine, your secret will be safe with me. Now, out with it."

                   

                   "You must also promise that you will not hurt him!"

                   

                   Liam decided to humor his brother's imagination. "Fine. I will not hurt him. Now speak!"

                   

                   “I must show you," Lucas said.

                   

                   He went to the shutters and threw them wide. The moonlight filled the chamber with a radiance the likes of which Liam had never seen. "It is so beautiful," he exclaimed.

                   

                   Lucas beckoned him forward, until they were both standing in the window's opening. Lucas stared at the moon, as though lost to the world again.

                   

                   "Now what?" Liam asked.

                   

                   "Look to the moon. What do you see?"

                   

                   Again, Liam humored him.

                   

                   Try though he might, Liam could see nothing except the same old moon that he saw most every night. "Nothing. I see nothing. What do you see?"

                   

                   "Look closer.” Lucas said.

                   

                   Liam peered intently at the moon and was shocked to realize that there was a dark form, covering its surface, slowly taking shape. He could not discern its shape, however.

                   

                   Lucas made one last plea, "Promise me you will not hurt him."

                   

                   "I promise," Liam said, ready to go find his nice warm blanket and forget this whole charade.

                   

                   As they stood there, with the moon as a beacon, Liam began to make sense of the shape that he saw forming on the moon's surface. It cannot be! Thought Liam. "It is a dragon," he said, with wonder and awe in his voice.

                   

                   Lucas smiled, and said, "I need the spoon."

                   

                   "Whatever for?"

                   

                   "I will show you. You will see who I have been talking to. "

                   

                   Liam reluctantly handed the spoon back to Lucas.

                   

                   "Never take your eyes from the moon, no matter what I do or say, or you may miss him."

                   

                   Lucas held the spoon out, as far as his arm would reach, and lined it up with the moon. Liam began to suspect that his brother was touched in the head, but kept watching anyway. When Lucas was satisfied with the alignment, he began to whisper, “Come to me! Come swiftly back. Please, I need you."

                   

                   To Liam's complete astonishment, the shape began to coalesce and grow smaller. Right before his eyes, which must be deceiving him, the dragon appeared to alight onto the spoon. As he watched, Lucas began slowly pulling the spoon back toward himself. The shape never left the spoon, becoming more substantial the closer that it came.

                   

                   Liam began to sweat with fear, eyes darting between the shape on the spoon, and his brother. His breathing became ragged and his voice broken. "Stop! What are you doing?" Liam was ready to take hold of Lucas and bolt from the loft, but Lucas stayed his hand.

                   

                   Liam began backing away from the window as Lucas brought the spoon into the confines of the loft. Lucas smiled fondly as the little green dragon lithely hopped from the spoon. Liam stood there, mouth agape, as the little dragon began to grow into the big green dragon.

                   

                   With a huff and a shake, the dragon rubbed his head against Lucas' chest, growling contentedly as it did so. Lucas laughed and scratched the dragon's head. Liam, silent throughout this encounter, finally stammered out a warning. "Look out, Lucas! Get behind me. I will save you!"

                   

                   Lucas laughed at Liam. "He won't hurt you. He is my friend."

                   

                   In case Lucas did not understand the gravity of the situation, Liam pointed out, "That is a dragon standing before us!"

                   

                   "I know. He is my dragon in the moon and comes here on the little red spoon!"

                   

                   With this, the dragon spun around, swishing hay every which way with the swipe of its tail. It set its sight on Liam, causing him to stumble and fall. The moment he was down and defenseless, the dragon charged. Letting out a scream of terror, Liam found himself trapped between the dragon's two powerful legs, being licked near to death.

                   

                   Lucas could not stop himself from laughing hysterically. The dragon stopped at the sound of his laughter, pounced over to him, and gave him a much needed bath as well. Liam, sitting in a puddle of dragon drool, could only stare in wonderment at the magical beast that had just befriended him, as Lucas and the dragon frolicked in the hay.

                   

                   

                   Word Count: 2,342