
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.
Wow. That is so well written! Great job!! =)
P.S- Dragons are so cool!
Thank you, Bria! =D
This is so beautiful. I love it! Great job Eliana=)
Thank you, Tabby!! =)
I love this!! Great job!
Thanks, Kristianne! =D
Nicely done! The way you describe the bones is very compelling, and I love how you end it.
I quite liked dragons in my younger years as a kid, though I don’t know that I had a favorite. Maybe the one in the picture book ‘Everybody Knows What a Dragon Looks Like,’ though that is an Asian dragon. I also really like the dragons in the Earthsea books by Ursula LeGuin.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! =) Thank you!
Ooh, from what I can see of that picture book on Google, it looks cool!
this is amazing! =) a while ago i had to do a creative writing with the prompt, “and you thought dragons didn’t exist…” it was so fun; dragons are cool. i liked how you ended abruptly and left the ending to the reader’s imagination.
P.S. I’m going to start a blog in August; do you have any tips/pointers/suggestions?
Thanks, Anna! =D That sounds like such a fun prompt!
That’s so exciting! If I were a beginner blogger all over again, I would use WordPress.com. It’s free (unlike WordPress.org, which I’m using now) but cleaner than Blogger.
Also, having a topic is great, but write what you feel like writing and like writing, especially at the beginning. If I had decided to have a strictly fiction blog, I wouldn’t have discovered how much I like writing about Christian living!
I recommend picking a certain day of the week to have a blog post up consistently. You could do it every other week or every month if you want, but the key is having a schedule and sticking to it. This helps keep your blog from dying off and also helps you get the most out of it. The practice will help your writing a bunch. =)
But most of all, have fun!!
thanks Eliana! I will keep those things in mind. I was thinking a music/writing blog, since I love both of those things.
it was fun! creative writing is definitely one of my favorite subjects.
You’re welcome! Ooh, a music/writing blog sounds fun! I hope it goes well!
Are you sure it isn’t a Leviathan?
Oooh, that would be a fun possibility!
Ooo, fun! I want to stumble upon dragon bones!
Yes! 😀 I want to stumble on a live baby dragon too, but bones might be a less dangerous alternative. ?