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“I think my dad’s the best ‘cause he always plays catch with me, even when he’s busy. What about you Billy?”
“Hmm… I think my dad’s the best cause he’s really funny. He always tells the funniest jokes.”
“What about you, Bella? Why do you think your dad’s the best?”
“Hmm…” The wind blew gently past the group of children as the little girl thought. “I think he’s the best cause he’s big and strong, so he can keep me safe. Like, if a big tree was gonna fall on me, he could just catch it and I’d be okay.”
There was a moment of awkward silence and glances before the muttering started.
“Yeah, right. Catching a tree.”
“There she goes again…”
“I knew this was coming…”
“Come on, guys, don’t be mean to her…”
And then came a more direct response.
“Bella, why do you always have to lie about your dad?”
“Hey! I’m not lying!”
“Are too! You do it all the time! Every time you say something about your dad you have to make up a lie. Everyone knows that.”
“Nuh-uh!” she denied. “You’re just jealous, Eric!”
“Ooooo,” the crowd of kids murmured. Eric stepped closer to the girl.
“I am not jealous of your stupid dad!” the little boy declared.
“Are. Too.” she countered smugly, crossing her arms.
“Am. Not!” Eric gave a good shove, knocking the unsuspecting girl to the dirt.
There was a round of gasps and hushed exclamations, and then rising up over it all, a loud cry.
“Waaaaaaaaa!” little Bella howled, tears welling up in her eyes.
“Serves you right,” he responded coldly.
Bella only howled louder as she picked herself up off the ground and ran.
There was a short moment of silence as everyone watched her go, nearly tripping over her soiled dress in the process.
“Nice going, Eric.”
“What a meanie.”
“That wasn’t nice!”
“You’re a jerkface.”
“I mean, what did she expect?”
“She didn’t deserve that!”
As with before, eventually a more direct response came from one of the kids.
“You have to go after her!”
“What!? Why!?” Eric replied.
“‘Cause that’s the way to the woods!”
“So?”
“She could get lost!” one of the other kids chimed in.
“Oh no!”
“Poor Bella!”
“But why should I go!?” Eric insisted.
“Because you pushed her, dummy!”
“Yeah!”
“Duh!”
Eric grumbled and frowned, but eventually gave in to the peer pressure.
“Ugh, fine! I’ll go get the stupid girl.” He turned and stormed off after Bella to the mixed response of the other kids.
“Hurry!”
“Don’t get lost, genius!”
“Don’t make us wait here all day.”
“Be nice this time!”
“Be careful!”
…
“Stupid friends. Making me chase after a stupid girl in the stupid woods. Don’t know why I listen to their stupid faces.”
Eric continued to grumble to himself as he walked down the beaten path, scanning the trees for- He heard something that made him stop, an abrupt little noise from somewhere nearby that sounded like…
*sob* *sob* *sniffle*
“Ha! There you are!” Eric yelled, jumping through a bush toward the sound.
“Eeeeep!” Bella screamed, starting to run again as soon as she recognized him.
“Hey! Get back here!” he yelled, starting after her.
“No! Leave me alone Eric!”
“I’m just trying to bring you back to the park!” He grabbed her wrist.
“I don’t wanna go back! Just go away!!” She gave him a heavy shove, stronger than he was expecting, and this time he was the one on the ground.
He growled and gritted his teeth as she turned and ran off into the trees. But he quickly decided he wasn’t about to let her get away that easily. What would his friends say if they found out he couldn’t even catch a little girl!? He jumped back to his feet and dashed after her.
“Ugh! You don’t even know where you’re going!”
“Yes I do!” came her response, further ahead and out of sight. “I’m going to my dad!”
“We’re in the middle of the woods!” He caught sight of her climbing over a tall root and sprinted to catch up. “Just stop running and let me show you the way back, stupid!”
She looked back and gasped when she saw how close he was getting. She tried to rush, but only ended up tripping and falling over again.
“See?” Eric said, panting lightly as he finally reached her. “Now come on.” He reached down and grabbed her wrist.
“No!! Daddy!!”
“Ugh!! Will you stop talking about your-!”
*grrrrrrr*
Eric froze, feeling a jolt of fear. He dropped her arm and looked around.
“Wh-” He cleared his voice to cover the break. “What was that?”
Bella only continued to sob on the forest floor.
The sound grew louder. It seemed like it was coming from that weird… wait… was that a big bush? Or a funny colored boulder? Or-
Eric felt a big lump form in his belly as the whole thing moved. It rose slowly and turned, and then finally the little boy realized what he was looking at. It was so big he hadn’t even imagined it could be something alive, but it was.
The boy’s jaw quivered as he came to recognize the face of a big, brown dragon.
It looked at them dead on as it lifted its huge, scaly body off the ground. And then it opened its jaws and roared.
Eric stood frozen in terror, too petrified to even cover his ears as he stared into the red, roaring abyss, gaping many times his own size.
When it finished its angry cry. It stared them dead on once more, and took a single, thundering step forward.
“Ah! I’m- I’m sorry! We didn’t mean to wake you!” Eric blurted out, his terror the only think keeping him from breaking down into tears like little Bella.
He reached down and hauled the girl to her feet.
“It’s all her fault! Just take her and leave me alone!”
He shoved her forward as hard as he could and immediately turned and ran. But he never even heard her hit the ground, because what immediately followed were the thundering footsteps of the huge beast, followed by a dark shadow, a flash of red, and then a sudden, suffocating darkness.
…There was a moment of tense silence…
Sobbing on the ground, Bella felt a warmth at her side, a gentle puff of humid air. She turned her little face up, and there, just inches away, was the massive face of the brown dragon. He watched her weep there for a moment, and then gave a low, sympathetic rumble, before pushing his muzzle gently against her body.
Bella spread her arms and wrapped them around the dragon’s scaly nose, taking in the warmth and comfort. They held each other there for a moment, as the sobs gradually left her chest. The dragon lifted his head slightly, ever so tenderly lifting the little girl off the ground so she could get back to her feet.
The brown dragon gave another sympathetic warble, softer now, and also a bit inquisitive.
Bella took a deeper breath, steadying herself.
“He’s a big meanie,” she said, her voice still breaking. “He pushed me, and yelled at me and- *sob*- and chased me all the way here.”
The dragon rumbled again, a rich, comforting sound from deep in his chest, and nuzzled the girl supportingly.
They embraced for another few moments before the dragon withdrew. She watched him raise his mighty head, so much higher than she could reach, and tilt it back just slightly. And then from his throat, there came a wet, meaty *gulp*.
She watched the tiny little lump trickle down his throat as he lowered his head back to her level again, crooning softly. They looked each other in the eyes and a little smile broke through the little girl’s tear-streaked face.
Silently, the big brown dragon parted his jaws innocuously before her; a little rush of hot air escaping from within, eddies of humid breeze wafting around her.
With a few more sobs, Bella stepped forward and reached out a hand. She wrapped her little fingers carefully around the edge of a tooth and used it for support as she climbed over his bottom lip and up into the red maw beyond. When she felt the soft, spongy warmth soaking in between her toes she let herself relax. She dropped to her knees and then down onto her side, letting herself sink unreservedly into the welcoming cushion, giving the full weight of her little body to the dragon’s tongue.
The shadows closed in as the dragon let his jaws come together, enveloping the girl completely within his muzzle. She closed her eyes for a moment and listened to the thudding as he began to walk. Before she’d even realized it, her breathing had returned to its usual, steady rhythm. She relaxed, sinking even deeper into the spongy tongue.
A few moments later and she felt the rush of outside air, so much cooler than the cozy confines of the dragon’s maw. She opened her eyes to see the tongue beneath her rising, ferrying her back out past the pointy teeth and slipping her off gently to the ground below.
Around her now on all sides were brown scales, the massive dragon encircled around her, and directly next to the little girl was his large, soft, warm belly. She wiggled over to it and pressed herself into it, letting it hold her and conform around her as she let her eyelids droop again.
A muffled little *gurgle* crept out from within as something deep inside shifted. She smiled. That was the sound of her daddy, keeping her safe.