Dragon Bones – A Flash Fiction From an Image Writing Prompt

Today I have a short piece to share called “Dragon Bones.” It was inspired by an image as a prompt, and full credit for the image goes to Stefan Koidl.

This piece is in the perspective of a boy named Dan and also features a little sister named Lilly. No relation to any Dans or Lillys I know. They were just the first two names that came to mind as I was writing. 😉

Without further ado, the story is below. I had a lot of fun writing it, and I hope you enjoy it too. =) Let me know if you like dragons in the comment, and who your favorite fictional dragon is!

Dragon Bones

“Stop splashing me!” Lilly, my 7-year-old sister, said with a giggle.

“Only if you stop rocking the boat,” I replied, a smile spreading across my face. “This rowing stuff is going to take some practice, though!”

I heaved one paddle through the lake several times while holding onto the other so it wouldn’t float off. Water flew upward, and the boat whirled in a circle. I was rewarded with another giggle. 

This vacation had proved to be a fun one so far, but a trip over the lagoon in Grandpa’s rowboat might just be the highlight of the whole week. The crisp summer air, the cool, turquoise water, the sun on my skin, and the breeze in my face… it was wonderful. Nothing like our dull flat in the city.

I rowed in a few more circles just for kicks, but eventually Lilly must have gotten bored, because I heard no more laughter coming from her direction.

“Dan…” Lilly said softly. 

I peered over in her direction, and my grin disappeared when I saw the mysterious shape sticking out of the surface of the water. I gripped the paddles tight but stopped rowing, and soon the ripples blurring the water came to a standstill. The water cleared, and I could now see what lay in its depth.

I would have thought it was a rock, or a piece of driftwood, if it were not so white and finely shaped. It was bigger than our boat, and it had horns sticking out from it, and holes for its nostrils and eyes. 

“Is that a dinosaur skull?” Lilly asked softly.

My muscles were tense as I pulled the paddles out of the water and carefully rested them across the rowboat. It tottered from the waves and my movement as I leaned close to the edge and looked down.

“I don’t think so, Lilly.”

The horned head was connected to a ridged spine, a ribcage, and a long, curled tail. It didn’t have any arms that I could see, unless they were tucked beneath it, but emerging from its shoulder blades was the bony outline of what looked to me like…

Wings.

I shivered. The skeleton was like none I’d ever seen before. Sure, the body was dinosaur-like, but so much bigger… I felt like I’d never seen anything bigger in my life, or even on Google, than the massive thing stretched out underneath me. 

The wing bones reminded me of a bat’s, but this creature seemed like so much more than a giant dinosaur with bat wings. 

There was something unearthly about it. 

An elegance. 

A mystical beauty beneath the blue ripples.

A grace that went on, even after death. 

I was mesmerized. I didn’t dare to look up from the waves, fearing it would disappear. It felt like a mirage, or a dream. Strangely real and unreal at the same time. 

“This is much more than a dinosaur,” I whispered, finally breaking my eye contact with the bones, and sitting up. I scooted back to my seat. “Look.”

Lily hesitantly peered over the edge of the boat as I shifted my weight to balance it. 

Then she looked back at me, wide-eyed.

“It’s a dragon,” she gasped.