Special Ones

There weren't always dragons in the valley. In fact, only about ten of the villagers could see them. Anna was one. Her viewing of them, had automatically raised her ranking in the community. She could not figure out what they were doing there, and why only a few of the residents could see them.

Anna had never approached them and they seemed to ignore her. Suzanne another girl around Anna's age could see them as well. The two used to chat about the creatures. The elder men said the vision was a gift. Something was going to happen and the dragons and their viewers were the key. They had reviewed all the religious tellings, and predictions, but this event had not been foreseen.

The dragons flew in the sky and slept. They did not breathe fire or eat livestock. They were nothing like the creatures, in the stories, told by the elders.

Anna could not figure out what they ate or drank. She figured they did that while the village slept.

The village did not have much water, not enough to fill these dragons. The elders were daily reciting verses in the hope of getting more. They as a group had melted all the water from the season's snow into large barrels. There usually was a dry season, but not like this.

The elders and the visionaries were allowed larger rations, but Anna gave her extra share to her baby, sometimes to drink, and sometimes in the form of a bath. She did not want her child to get rashes, She saw other peoples baby's crying from these rashes.

She wondered if her baby had brought the visions. The dragons appeared weeks after the infant's birth. Anna had been breastfeeding her, looked out the window, and had seen them flying overhead. She had stared in wonder barely feeling the baby's occasional biting. After that day they were pretty much always there.

Life continued in a somewhat boring routine. She got so she was not so absorbed with the dragons. Her main concern was the drought. She would dream of walking in the rain, swimming in the lake, and most of all taking a scented bath. The women in the village usually all smelt like lilac but the smell of them lately was not a sweet fragrance, The men seemed not to notice, but the women became less confident in their sexuality. Their hair lost its shiny glow. Anna had her long hair on top of her head, she did not want to show it.

The day seemed normal when she awoke. Her baby was still sleeping. The village was quiet. She made her usual glance for the dragons but did not see them. She left her hut and went to explore the center of town. There were no live dragons, but in the center of the square one had been turned into a statue of stone, Anna approached it slowly, half expecting it to come to life, She placed her hand on its skin. Yes, it was now stone, As she place her hand on the stone she felt a raindrop. She pressed her hand against the stone and more rain fell. She removed her hand and the rain ceased. She ran and got Suzanne. When Suzanne placed her hand on the statue the rain began again. When both girls placed their hands on the statue the scope and density of the rain increased. Hearing the dropping of the rain the other villagers began to appear. They were all startled by the sight of the statue, but the elders all ran to get barrels to collect the water. People quickly ran and got their own barrels. Anna ran and got a barrel for her and Suzanne. The town would be quiet tonight everybody would be taking a bath. Tomorrow laundry and huts would be cleaned, The other 8 viewers cane and assisted the two girls. The rain increased, and villagers returned to their huts, but the 10 viewers knew their role.

The darkness came. Anna and the other nine were exhausted, but all the barrels were full and there was some water in the lakes. They did not know if the statue would work its magic tomorrow, or if this was a one-time thing. Anne did not know if she wanted to sleep or bathe. But minutes later she smiled at the lilac permeating her body. She danced with the feeling of clean hair. She brushed it with a newly cleaned hairbrush. She then gave the baby a bath. She knew she should have waited till the house and laundry had been cleaned. But her heart was singing. She melted into the smell of lilac as she fell asleep,

The next day, the statue was gone. The village was silent there were no noises of children playing. The sun had risen. Anna was surprised, people should have been awake, She went to check in with her toddler. There was a big wad of cloth, but no baby. Anna froze.

Anna was too upset to cry. She wondered if her baby had been the price, for their water. The gods, nobody knew their rules or actions.

Her baby awoke and reached for his mother, and then it was silent. The smell of his lodging was wrong. He was in a straw nest, but all he knew or sensed was that he was in a strange place. He smelt his hand, which still smelt like lavender from last night's bath. He didn't know it but he was in the haven of a dragon. The dragon had lit a fire. The baby had been chosen by the high wizard. The dragon's job was to feed the toddler the appropriate food. Nothing elaborate. Or so he assumed. The wizard had prepared the meals. The dragon had been warned about bonding with the child, but he did not want the toddler to be scared. The Dragon heated the meal. He poured the broth down the baby's throat. It was difficult for the dragon to maneuver his wings that way. But he felt a sense of satisfaction once the feeding was completed. The baby cued, and a light was shining out of the tips of his fingers. A warmth just slowly put the child back to sleep. The dragon silently observed. One more meal and then the little boy would be returned to his mother

Anna ran to Suzanne's hut. Everybody in the village was in a sound sleep. The air was wet against her skin. The sky had a strange purple tint, there was no one awake to help her find her baby. It was if everyone but her had been drugged. Or maybe she was tripping on some weird substance. She just prayed that this was not her real reality. The air seemed to clog her throat, she rushed back to her hut and slept.

The village slept through the second feeding of the child. If they had been awake they would have seen vibrant fireworks coming from the child after digesting the second meal. The dragon was almost afraid to pick up the child to return it home. He held out his wing, and the toddler crawled up it. The child seemed to sense, what the dragon was doing and wanted.

The baby awoke to the smell of Lavender. He cued silently and reached for his mother. Who assumed that last night had just been a bad dream went through their usual morning routine