I hadn’t even noticed the sun had gone down when I left the farm. By the time I shove my way through the threshold of the forest the moon has risen. A waxing crescent shines on the world tonight, carving into the blackness like a curved thumbnail. The woods are quiet and peaceful; the air bears the scent of a faded car freshener of pine and crushed leaves. It enters my lungs, swirling through me as soothing as a lullaby.

Like the lullaby I hear in my dreams, haunting me, comforting me. I have never heard the tune aside from when I am sleeping. The lyrics sound Celtic and I don’t know what they mean, but I know they are calming. I begin humming the tune as I slow my pace through the trees, heading in a straight line so I don’t get lost.

I enter a clearing; even here the moonlight is faint yet casting a beautiful glow on the foliage at my feet. I don’t notice the light glistering from a large body until after I hear the sickly crunching and gnawing of a creature making a meal of its prey. I stop short, observing the massive figure, my breath catching in my throat. It is dark and shimmering, its body the size of a sedan, neck stretched three meters in one direction, tail twice the length of the body, writhing through the air like a paranoid anaconda. A curved ivory claw sits menacingly at the tip of the slithering tail. Impressive wings are tucked neatly at its sides as it crouches on all fours, digging into the corpse of a stag.

Now, normal people would run away screaming. Normal people wouldn’t stay long enough to even notice there are only three clawed toes and a thumb on the front legs of the creature. Most people wouldn’t have stayed long enough to notice that this thing is a dragon.

Holy crap, a dragon!

I hold my breath and pretend I am just one of the trees. Just a tree, little dragon thing, just a tree. No need to notice me. Dammit. It turns its head in my direction then assumes a stance as motionless as my own. I know my chances of outrunning this creature: zero. At least the razor sharp teeth in the strong jaw would snap my head clean off and I probably wouldn’t feel anything. The strange crests jutting from the area just behind its jaw twitch, scrunching up then fanning out as if those might be its ears.

The dragon licks the blood of the disemboweled stag from its jowls with a thick, black tongue; it never takes its eyes from the new flesh-creature that probably looks pretty tasty. It slowly turns its body to face me, carefully setting its clawed feet down, making no sudden movements. I am reminded of a cat wanting you to pet it but the feline just isn’t sure if it should come any closer.

So here I am with a dragon slowly slinking its way closer to where I stand. You would think by now something would have kicked in and told me to run. Even if it did I’m not sure my shock-paralyzed feet could register the command. Eye-to-eye with a mythical beast of deadly power is never a good place to be, yet I am not running back into the forest to find the safety of home. Instead I slowly reach out my hand, setting my palm gently on the snout, taking care to avoid the multitude of horns that shine bright white against the dark scales.

The dragon snuffles at me for a moment then makes a soft purring sound deep within its long neck. I’m shocked to find that this scary beast is soft and its scales are cool to the touch. What kind of insanity is this? I meet a dragon in the woods at night and I’m petting the damn thing! Good thing nobody talks to me because no one would believe this!

I remember my conversation with Dalen about dragons. What’s that word for something that you wouldn’t expect to happen and just the opposite occurs? Like a fire station burning down or an electrician who gets electrocuted. Whatever the word is, I think this would fall under that definition. There I was saying dragons were fake and to get hyped up about them was kind of dumb. Now I’m nose to nose with said creature and I’m petting it.

The dragon slowly steps away from me, turning around and pointing its nose toward the night sky. The light catches on the scales like a suit of chain-link armor. The wings spread wide--each one twice the size of the beast’s car sized body—nearly touching the trees on either side of the clearing. With a sturdy push from its legs and a sudden swoop with its wings the dragon takes flight. It curves away from me over the treetops, disappearing into the night. I finally let out the breath I’d been holding in and shake from the adrenalin coursing through my veins.

Holy crap, a dragon. I was petting a freaking dragon!