John laughed delightedly as tall buildings and sloping streets passed rapidly beneath them, and he carefully rubbed his hand along his horse’s ceramic mane, shaking his head in amazement. “No one will ever believe this!” he shouted above the wind to Bradley Wallace a short distance away.
Bradley Wallace’s head no longer throbbed, and his strength was gradually returning. He was still weak, and felt numb all over, but he was happy. Happier than he’d ever been in his life. Whilly was safe at last, because of him. “They won’t have to,” he shouted back to John with conviction, “as long as we do.”
For the first time in his memory, Bradley Wallace felt a moment of total peace, with himself and with the world. He didn’t care about being different from other boys; he didn’t care that his parents refused to accept him; and he didn’t even doubt the decisions he’d made this day. For once, he felt some self-confidence, and could accept himself just as he was. When he glanced over at the dragon flying off to his right, he suddenly realized that self-acceptance was what both Whilly and Mr. O’Conner had been trying to teach him all along. He’d just been too frightened, and maybe just too young, to see it.
You’ve at least learned that much, Bradley Wallace, he suddenly heard Mr. O’Conner’s voice echo through his mind, But you obviously didn’t listen to a word I said back in that zoo!
The voice was sharp and laced with worry, but unmistakably Mr. O’Conner’s. “Mr. O’Conner!” Bradley Wallace cried aloud, oblivious to the quizzical look directed at him by John. “Where are you?”
Instinctively, the boy looked around him in every direction, as though expecting to see the old man floating past on a loose cloud.
At the moment I’m inside your head, came the cross reply in his mind. And I haven’t spent the better part of fourteen years protecting you just to watch you kill yourself with stupidity! You don’t go around taking life from one thing and giving it to another!
“Why not?” the confused boy asked innocently. “It worked.”
Kids! the voice exclaimed with a heavy sigh, and Bradley Wallace could suddenly see the old man’s face in his mind’s eye, shaking his head in consternation. You’ll know why not when you get older, lad, the old man went on, and then paused a moment before adding, I hope.
“I don’t understand,” Bradley Wallace lamented, his momentary burst of self-contentment slipping away as fear crept in to replace it. And then he knew. “You’re going away, aren’t you?”
Yes came the reply, simple and tinged with regret.
“And you’re not coming back,” the boy finished, his own sorrow deepening with each final, painful word.
No, the old man confirmed sadly, Not for awhile. I’m afraid we’ve stirred up the proverbial hornet’s nest, my boy, and those hornets will be swarming for a time. There’s going to be too many questions asked by too many people, questions I don’t really want to answer, and which I don’t want you to have to lie about. It’s best for everyone, lad, if I just do a vanishing act. That always was my best trick, anyway.
Bradley Wallace saw the old man smile sadly. “But what about me?” the frightened boy asked hesitantly. “They’ll never leave me alone now.”
Not to worry, Mr. O’Conner assured him. Without your power, you are nothing the government should be interested in. And don’t worry about Whilly, either. He’ll be fine.
A deeper fear, coupled with more confusion, swept over Bradley
Wallace’s mind and touched coldly at his heart. “I don’t understand what you mean,” he practically whispered, his thoughts racing furiously with possibilities.
Just remember, my boy, that what Whilly chooses to do, he does for you, the old man’s hoarse voice answered cryptically, and Bradley Wallace could feel the presence in his mind beginning to fade. Goodbye, my young friend. Don’t forget me.
“No!” the boy shouted desperately, “Please don’t go! I still don’t understand. I still need you!”
And I’ll always try to be there when you do, the barely audible voice of his aged mentor told him. But you’re a strong person in your own right, Bradley Wallace. Just trust yourself, and you’ll do fine. Then the image dissipated, and Mr. O’Conner was gone.
Bradley Wallace felt a wave of depression engulf him at the loss of his friend, and realized with even deeper despair that he’d never told Mr. O’Conner he loved him. And now the old man was gone, maybe forever.
“Are you all right?” John asked cautiously, his winged stallion now right alongside its twin, his face twisted with confusion and uncertainty.
Bradley Wallace nodded, glancing over at Whilly with a deepening sense of foreboding. The dragon returned his gaze, and those shining scarlet eyes reflected a profound sadness that touched the boy directly to the heart.
Where are we going, Whilly? he asked carefully, as though dreading the answer.
To that building over there, Whilly answered in a subdued tone, and Bradley Wallace looked ahead to the gleaming black Bank of America tower that was Whilly’s goal. Your horses do not have enough life left to go much further, the dragon concluded.
And Bradley Wallace knew Whilly spoke truthfully.
He could already feel the winged stallion beneath him beginning to stiffen as death seeped its way inexorably back, and a wave of gloom overwhelmed him at the thought of such a fleeting lifespan.
Like the morning glories.
He looked over at John, and saw that his horse, too, was returning to lifelessness, and they pressed on faster toward the tallest, shiniest building in San Francisco. As they passed above a misty cloud, Bradley Wallace instinctively reached out a hand to touch it, recalling his first flight and the initial disappointment he’d experienced at the feel of clouds. That was a long time ago.
John, too, felt his elation turn to melancholy and, like Bradley Wallace, knew something was about to happen that he wouldn’t like.
The two boys wordlessly guided their twin Pegasus’s into formation behind the dragon as Whilly directed them in a wide arc around the enormous black tower, taking advantage of wind conditions for the safest possible landing. Bradley Wallace felt his horse stiffen more, and could see the erratic flapping of its magnificent white wings. But he feared landing even more than falling, and watched the approaching bank building with growing unease.
Whilly settled lightly to the smooth, flat rooftop with the gracefulness of a glider. The two winged horses landed more awkwardly because of their increasing rigidity, but they seemed determined to give the boys the smoothest ride possible before life left them entirely. John clambered from his saddle first, and felt a great sadness as he thanked his mount. Bradley Wallace slipped down beside his own and gazed deeply into the painted, yet strangely translucent, blue eyes. He felt certain he heard a faint, barely audible neigh of thanks. Then the translucence was gone, and the two horses were once again lifeless ceramic carousel toys.
John moved to Bradley Wallace’s side and squeezed his shoulder lightly. “Hey, B.W.,” he began, trying to shake off his depressing mood, “we just outsmarted the whole freakin’ U.S. Army! Why are you so bummed out?”
Bradley Wallace turned to look at Whilly, who stood with his back to them looking out over the glassy sea and the horizon beyond. And he knew the answer. “Because Whilly’s going to leave. Aren’t you?”
John looked at him sharply, and then turned in shock to the silent dragon.
Slowly, almost timidly, Whilly turned to face the two boys. A single tear dropped from one vermeil eye to the dirty rooftop.
Yes, Bradley Wallace Murphy, I am, Whilly replied, struggling against the strange, conflicting emotions he’d always feared.
“He’s crying,” John blurted uncertainly, even as tears sprang to Bradley Wallace’s eyes.
I think I’m becoming too human, Bradley Wallace, the dragon told him. I feel sad right now. I genuinely feared for you back in that zoo. And I almost got you killed that night at St. Raphael’s because I didn’t stop you from going. I didn’t want you to
think I didn’t trust you. These are human emotions, not dragon.
“But that’s not so bad,” the boy insisted through his tears. “Why do you have to leave? I thought we were friends, I thought you loved me. Tell me you love me!”
Whilly bowed his head in shame. “That’s a human emotion, Bradley Wallace.*
The boy stiffened, fighting back a mixture of fear, anger, and intense sadness. “I thought we were gonna be together always.”
I don’t want to leave, Bradley Wallace, but it’s necessary. As long as we’re together, your magic is alive. That puts you in too much danger. You will be safer without me.
“But I don’t want to be safe!” the boy exclaimed, running to stand before the sorrowful dragon. “I just want you, Whilly. I love you, don’t you understand that?”
He threw his arms as far around the dragon as they could reach, his tears dribbling down Whilly’s scarlet stomach and massive legs.
You must grow up yet, Bradley Wallace, even as I have grown. And you can’t do that if you’re always on the run, hiding from your own government.
“But I don’t have to grow up,” Bradley Wallace suggested hopefully, releasing the dragon and searching the creature’s eyes for reassurance. “We can stay kids forever!”
Whilly stroked the boy’s hair lovingly with one enormous forepaw. You have already grown up, more than you realize. You’ve become the real boy you always wanted to be: brave, truthful and unselfish.
“Please stay, Whilly,” the abject child pleaded, “there’s still so much we never got to do.”
Another tear worked its way down the dragon’s scaly face, and to John, standing tearfully to one side, it seemed as though Whilly smiled. Stay as a child, Bradley Wallace, even as you grow. Keep watching your sunsets. It seems a good way to be.
“You’re the only friend I have, Whilly,” the broken-hearted boy insisted, looking imploringly into the dragon’s sad eyes.
No, Bradley Wallace, Whilly assured him, You have another.
With a nod of his huge head, Whilly indicated John, watching the exchange in silent sorrow, teardrops dribbling unheeded down his cheeks. And then the dragon sent John a secret message, one not even Bradley Wallace could hear: Watch over him, John. He needs you.
John reacted with surprise, but nodded immediately. “I will, Whilly,” he whispered, actually uttering the dragon’s name for the first time. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he gently extracted Josette’s music box, holding it out to Whilly. “I saved this for you. Do you want it?”
The dragon’s eyes shifted from the music box to Bradley Wallace’s tortured face. May I, Bradley Wallace?
The boy took the music box from John and held it out to the dragon. “It’s yours, remember? I gave it to you for Christmas.”
Whilly reached out one taloned claw and gently plucked the gift from Bradley Wallace’s hand. I remember. And I’ll treasure it. Always.
“Please, Whilly, you can’t just fly off alone without me,” Bradley Wallace continued, trying a new, desperate line of reasoning. “Who’ll protect you from everything you don’t know about?”
You’ve taught me how to survive in your world, Bradley Wallace, Whilly told him sincerely, *and I thank you for that. Without your help I would certainly be dead. But there is a place I can go now, a safe place where I can learn more about myself, more about dragons. You
are my friend, you’re part of me, but you are not a dragon. Do you understand?*
Bradley Wallace nodded, remembering how he’d felt in the zebra tram toward John. Every living thing needed to have others of its own kind.
“Can we still talk to each other?” the boy asked anxiously, unable to feel anything but sadness and pain.
We’ll always be part of each other, Bradley Wallace, even when we’re far apart. Never forget that.
And then Bradley Wallace asked the question whose answer he feared the most. “Are you coming back?”
Whilly regarded the boy for a silent moment, stroking the child’s hair absently, as though savoring its touch. But his eyes refused to offer false hope. I don’t know. Goodbye, Bradley Wallace.
The dragon stuck out his thick tongue and gently wiped the tears from the boy’s soft cheeks, and then took a step back, his eyes drinking in the child’s entire being, locking the memory in his heart forever.
John stepped forward and gently pulled Bradley Wallace away, as the dragon took a last, final look at the two boys he’d always felt should be together. Then with a sweep of his massive wings he was aloft and high above their heads. Flapping with rejuvenated strength, his brilliantly red scales shimmering in the sunlight, Whilly winged out toward the beckoning ocean and its promise of freedom.
“Goodbye,” Bradley Wallace murmured, sniffling.
John put his arm around the boy’s shoulder, and its touch was comforting.
“He’ll be back,” John assured him with confidence, as the whirring sound of rotor blades drew his attention to the approaching army helicopters. He knew they were too late, and smiled joyfully.
Bradley Wallace didn’t even notice the copters. His eyes remained fixed on his friend as the dragon slowly receded into the shimmering horizon. When Whilly was but a mere speck in the distance, no larger than
the last glistening tear trickling down the boy’s cheek, Bradley Wallace finally heard the words he had so longed for. They were faint and far away, but unmistakable: I do love you, Bradley Wallace Murphy, and always will. The boy’s heart leapt. And then, like the last, lingering traces of summer dissolving into autumn, the dragon was gone.
THE END
About the Author:
Michael Bowler grew up in San Rafael, California and attended St. Raphael’s Catholic School up to the eighth grade. He was an avid fan of “Dark Shadows” despite parental disapproval and was, in fact, forced to miss the final episode of the series due to an unwanted golf game with his father. He majored in English and Theatre in college and got a master’s in film production. He partnered with two friends as producer, writer, and/or director on several films, most notably “Fatal Images,” “Dead Girls,” “Hell Spa” (later re-edited and titled “Club Dead”), “Things” and “Things II.” He has written a number of unproduced screenplays and another unpublished novel. He has been teaching high school in Southern California for over twenty years. ”A Boy and His Dragon” was originally written in the 1980’s before fantasy stories enjoyed a major renaissance, and has remained unpublished to this day. It is intended as the first of a trilogy.
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