© A Mixed Bag
Raul’s aged uncle found the dragon toy in an obscure curio shop in Venice. His nephew Raul loved dragons, so he sent it to him as a present.
Sasha, Raul’s sister, brought in the mail after school. Raul saw the return address and took it to his room. If Step-Father saw it, he’d throw it away.
Sasha grabbed a snack and then took off to her friend Carla’s house, where she spent most of her time. She was fourteen and he was only ten.
Raul hid the dragon in the back of his closet with his other treasures.
Step-Father came home late and drunk. Raul had his homework done but burned the frozen pizza they were having for dinner, which earned him another beating.
Later, in bed, Raul was sobbing. In the closet, the dragon’s eyes glowed green.
Next morning, Raul woke up in a soft nest in an enormous tree house, being caressed by a golden dragon.
“Rest easy, my child, she cooed. I felt your need. You will never be hurt or neglected again.”
In the people world, Sasha came home near midnight to find her house on fire. Only Step-Dad’s remains were found in the ashes.
I wrote this in response to the Sunday Photo Fiction -February 19th 2017 challenge. Based on the photo prompt above, authors are to write a piece of flash fiction no more than 200 words long. Mine is 199.
To read other stories based on the prompt, go to InLinkz.com.
poweredbyrobots.com 
An avenging dragon. Raul’s story could go on from here…
LikeLike
Actually, there’s a lot more to this story than I was able to put into 200 words. What if all abused and neglected children were collected by a “mother” dragon?
LikeLiked by 3 people
There’d be more house fires. 😦
LikeLiked by 1 person
Maybe.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A kid’s dreams come true. Sad but good story.
LikeLike
It would have been a sadder story if Raul hadn’t been redeemed.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I felt an ulterior motive in the Dragon…am I imagining things?
LikeLike
No, you’re not imagining things, but it’s no malevolent. However, the dragon’s world isn’t as peaceful as it may seem, and the abused, neglected, and abandoned children will have a special destiny when they grow up.
LikeLike
I like that bit about the dragon protecting abused and neglected children. Nice story.
LikeLike
Thanks, Neel. Gave me an idea for a much longer piece.
LikeLike
I wonder id Sasha and Raul will ever be reunited again. Good story James.
LikeLike
Thanks. Good question.
LikeLiked by 1 person