I thought it was a snake that had been skewered in the trap I crouched over.
When I saw it had legs that scratched and scraped at the dirt around it, I backed up in fear of the creature before me.
I had only been out for a few minutes to collect twigs to kindle a fire at home. Living alone and surrounded by trees, seeing a snake wasn't surprising.
Only, it wasn't a snake.
The bending body thrashed and hissed in its desperate struggle to escape. Blood flung across the dirt and along my own clothes when I circled around to the back of the small beast to try and pry the wire noose pinning its looping body to the ground.
Pressing a firm knee onto the spine of the creature, I was able to crush it and keep it steady.
My fingers followed the razor wire cutting the creatures throat, before hooking beneath it and finding the latch that loosened it.
By the way its head moved, I thought it had been sawn clean off. It dangled as the creature eyed me warily, straightening to try and bite me when I grabbed its middle and placed it into my shirt I held like a blanket.
It didn't fight me. It was far too weak and trying to drag in shallow breaths through its open jaw.
The creature had scales like a snake that covered its whole body. They gleamed white, making the deep red blood from its neck only more gruesome.
It also had sky-blue fur sprouting from its head and down its spine to the tip of its tail like a fluffy mohawk. There were even a few leaves and twigs knotted along it.
I smiled when I saw two slender ears flip up from its head to take in the snapping of twigs under my feet while I carried it back towards my little wooden home.
Its eyes, rippling deep blue, reminded me of the stagnant pond nestled near my home. It had the same colour when it was basking in the glow of the moonlight.
This tiny little thing had to be a dragon.
I had only seen a few of them in thier twisting travels through the sky. They were magnificent beasts and nothing like this scrawny thing I held.
To send it back to the skies would be an incredible feat. There wouldn't be many people who could say they had seen, let alone nursed, a dragon back to its full potential.
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The creature spat when I shoved open my door and crossed the livingroom to the fireplace. Beside it was a cane basket I used to hold small bits of wood not large enough to fill the wall behind me.
Dumping out the wood, I rushed for the cupboard to the right of the fireplace that stood opposite my bedroom door.
An old blue towel made a nice bed for the dragon who still hissed and spat as it was laid onto the softness and snuggled its head under the towel briefly.
I smirked at how much it reminded me of a feral kitten. Even it's scales were slightly lifted to make it look bigger.
Sitting the basket before the fire, I wondered about how I would be able to tend to the gouge on the little dragon's neck with it so irritated and afraid.
It wasn't going to take its eyes off me either. And I didn't exactly have a kit to properly tend to creatures.
Darting over to snatch up another towel, I decided to yank down a face cloth to throw at the dragon.
It turned to it, snapping at the edge of the cloth. It seized a corner and thrashed its head side to side in an attempt to beat the cloth to death.
With it distracted, I dumped the towel over the dragon and tied its body up within it.
Now that I had it, I rushed to the sink to hold the neck of the dragon beneath the water squealling from the tap.
It must have looked like I was trying to waterboard the poor creature. I just needed the wound to be cleaned without giving the dragon a chance to escape the towel.
The dragon yowled at the water soaking through the towel I still held around it. It's claws raked at everything around it to try and free itself.
With the blood diluted and the dragon soaked in its restraints, I hurried to the bathroom door beside my bedroom so I could peel back the heavy towel before dumping it on the ground and slamming the door shut.
I had to figure out how to care for this thing without hurting myself in the process.
The dragon would slice my arms to ribbons if it had a chance.
Heaving up the basket by the fire, my fingers slipped on something within the towel.
I lifted it to see a shining orb that looked like it was made from ice. The insides swirled like clouding glittered silver water when I shook it.
This had to be from the dragon. But, what was it?
I could take it to the jeweler in town and find out. It looked like some sort of precious gem.
Dragons hoarded treasure, didn't they? Maybe it was a gemstone. It could be worth enough to buy dinner at least.
Darting to my bedroom, I threw on my thickest red jacket and tied up the fabric belt looped through it. The gem went into my pocket while I rushed for the door I hesitated at.
Would the dragon be ok while I was gone?
I wouldn't be long. I'd be back with food for us both to share.
Locking the door behind me, I pulled up my old bike from the side of the house and started my bumpy journey through the woods back towards civilization.
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The bell on the door rang out when I pushed it open and smiled at the desk opposite me at the far wall.
The jeweler here was small but run by a wonderful man.
His bench he sat behind had his most prized possessions for sale beneath the thick glass.
Two other desks ran the length of the wall leading to him with pillows and cases of other wondrous things made from the stones.
"Fifer!" the man beemed on my arrival "what a nice surprise to see you here!"
"It's been a while" I admitted and approached slowly while digging for the gem "I have another treasure for you to assess."
The jeweler, Sawyer, was more than happy to accept the orb I placed into his hand.
He didnt even flick down his mounted magnifyer on his head strap he used to closely inspect rare gems for clarity, he just swished the liquid and handed it back with a chuckle.
"I found it in the forest" I spoke before he could make assumptions "what is it? Is it worth anything?"
"One this size?" Sawyer leant back, his big belly bulging under his cloth apron "nothing. That's a Wish. Worthless at that size."
A Wish?
"What do I do with it?" I frowned to the swirling liquid.
"I wouldn't do anything!" Sawyer laughed, straightening so he could point to it "Dragon Wishes are amazing things, but little ones like that are unpredictable and wild. You've got to wait until it's fully formed from a grown beast before its even worth cracking open. Bring me one of those big ones and you'll make me a happy man."
So, they must have been rare then. Grown dragons were known to be territorial and extremely defensive. I had never seen the ones in the sky descend anywhere near my home. There would be no chance of finding a big Wish for myself.
My heart sank at the little orb.
"Tell you what" Sawyer spoke up as he saw my disappointment "you give me that one and I'll give you ten dollers for it. I could use a nice shell like that to decorate my other pieces."
It was better than nothing. I could get some meat on clearance from the supermarket.
I agreed and handed over the Wish.
"Must have little babies running around somewhere in those woods to be finding Wishes like these" Sawyer inspected it, turning it in his large hand "if you can catch one, you'd be sitting on a goldmine. Those things spit them up like crazy."
"But they aren't worth anything" I tilted my head in confusion.
"But they are if you can raise the thing as your own and name it" Sawyer smiled then laughed "but what are the chances in that?"
I smiled weakly back, deciding it was time to leave.
"What are the chances?" I humoured him "thanks for the money, Sawyer."
He waved my gratiosness aside so he could place the Wish down and dig for his carving tools.
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"Little One!" I called out.
I dug out the hunk of meat wrapped in plastic and paper from under my arm to set it on the bench in the kitchen.
It was still cold from the fridge at the supermarket, and plastered with a large expiratory date for tommorow.
I cracked open the bathroom door to peek inside and see the dragon was snuggled around the side of the tub.
Its head lifted at my noise before it hissed and flared up again.
"I've got food" I told it "I'm going to make it if you want to come out of there."
It spat, retreating behind the tub but leaving its tail exposed.
Such a silly thing.
I left the door open and firmly closed all the others to make sure the little dragon couldn't find another exit.
I had to think of a name for it and make a bond so I could get it back in the sky without so much trouble.
It looked so similar to a snake. Maybe a cute name referencing the fact?
I took my place at the kitchen and snapped on the old radio perched on the wooden shelf above. The music danced out while I washed and prepared the meat for a nice casserole.
Herbs grew in thick messes in my window to my right. It looked out into the forest right beside my front door.
It was quickly growing dark. Hopefully nothing was out there searching for the little dragon.
"How about Rosemary?" I called out to it while plucking the herb "or Basil?"
I didnt even know what gender it was. Did dragons even have genders?
Dumping the meat into a pot, I scrubbed at the board so I could chop vegetables.
I smiled at the carrot I cut, thinking what an odd name that would be for a creature meant to be so fierce.
It was long and loopy, just like the greenary on top of the carrot. Or the leftovers I had pressed into a container in my fridge.
"I could call you Zucchini!" I joked.
I laughed to myself until I heard a little exhale behind me.
Turning, I saw the little dragon perched on my fabric couch, watching me.
How long had it been there while I was still yelling out, thinking it was hiding in the bathroom?
"What about it, Zucchini?"
The dragon just laid its head on the couch and let out another soft sigh.
Something else then...
I pushed the carrot into the water and dug out some potatoes from the fridge.
Holding one up, I shook it to the dragon who almost looked like I was tired of my foolery.
"I'll settle on one and you'll be stuck with it" I warned the little beast who stretched its looping body along the couch.
The blood from its neck was still staining its white scales and green strip of fur. It was all I could see.
It hit me at once.
"Spaghetti."
It yawned, narrowing it's eyes.
"Don't fight me on this one" I told it sternly "that's what I'm calling you. You're a white noodle with sauce and garnish; youre spaghetti."
A bit morbid, but cute.
Spaghetti suited the tangled little beast.
Now with names out of the way, I could focus on a meal for my new companion.
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Spaghetti was a greedy thing.
It snapped up the casserole and even tried to eat the side of the ceramic bowl I put down for it.
While I was having to wait for mine to cool down, Spaghetti was submerged face-deep in the food to devour it.
Only when i shooed it from the bowl did it return to drop in another small Wish from its mouth and scamper over to the fire.
This one was just like the first. I scooped it up and washed off the mess so I could inspect it.
Now, how did I make it work?
"Spaghetti?" I turned to it.
It just watched me blankly, too tempted by the warmth of the fire.
Right. Why had I expected it to help me?
It looked like ice, so maybe I had to crack it open? I could melt it by the fire.
"Move over" I told the dragon as I sat down with the Wish in a bowl.
It was already scampering out of the way and choosing to hide beside the fireplace in the most obvious way possible.
The Wish slowly swirled in the bowl as the shell melted away. We both watched it with anticipation while the glittering liquid oozed around it.
Now what? Did I drink it?
It looked delicious. Almost too good to be true.
"Hopefully it tastes good too" I wrinkled my nose up as I lifted the bowl to smell it, getting nothing "bottoms up, Spag."
My lips weren't even near the bowl when I heard Spaghetti let out a little screech. I paused, smiling at the cute noise, before continuing.
Spaghetti scuttled forward when I had the cold bowl to my lips, screeching again.
This time it spat at me and tried to slash at my crossed legs.
"What is wrong with you?" I snapped back and set the bowl down so I could push myself away from the dragon snarling and guarding the bowl "what? You don't want me to get a wish to myself either?"
I hadn't even thought of what I wanted, but the fact I had been robbed of the chance really irritated me.
Spaghetti snapped before looking down at the bowl and slipping into the contents to roll around in them.
The Wish splashed all over the wooden floor before it pulled itself out and shook.
Great. Now neither of us was getting it.
Spaghetti peered up at me and tilted its head to the bowl again. It coiled itself into the bowl and the tiny puddle left in it, before getting out and looking at me.
My heart thudded as I saw what it was doing.
"I have to swim in it?" I breathed "take a bath?"
Spaghetti ran a little circle around the bowl it looped itself into. I wrapped my hands into my shirt I used to pick it up with and took it to the bathroom.
My heart raced with how close my fingers were to the mouth of the little dragon who eyed them beneath thier flimsy shield the whole trip.
As soon as I entered the bathroom, I saw another Wish laying on the tiles near the toilet. A second was left discarded by the bath where the dragon had been hiding earlier.
I placed the bowl on the bench beside the sink so I could run a hot bath and drop one of the orbs in. The other I left on the side.
Spaghetti watched from the bowl as I stripped off my clothes and let the water fill up around me.
When it was full, I twisted the tap off and let out a grateful sigh as the warmth swallowed me up.
The Wish made the water sparkle under the light. It was slightly oily too, clinging to my fingers when it ran down them.
"I'm in" I told the dragon "now what?"
It rolled again, almost tipping its little bowl over.
I was confused.
I had to roll in the water?
Spaghetti saw me staring blankly at it but didn't move. It gnawed on the ceramic instead.
Maybe I had to make my wish now that it was floating around me?
It had to be something small. I didn't want to go crazy if I had already been warned that Wishes this small were unpredictable.
"I wish that Spaghetti's neck was healed" I spoke to the water.
It did nothing. It just laid there like, well, water.
But Spaghetti was the one who flopped itself out of its little bowl and gripped the side of the bench, rocking as it tried to decide to jump or not.
I pressed myself to the other side of the bath so it could gain the courage to make the leap.
Spaghetti sailed through the air, twisting as it fell onto the side of the bath and slipped into the water while trying to catch itself.
I snorted at it and could feel it's little body turning under the surface as it tried to move upwards.
I didnt see Spaghetti return. Plunging my hands into the water, I yanked the dragon up by its middle and broke through the water so it could pant, shaking its head.
Couldn't baby dragons swim?
It hung there like a limp noodle. I heard a tiny sneeze escape Spaghetti who started twisting to try and get some ground under its dangling feet.
Without thinking, I moved my hand under to support it. Letting go of its middle, I became it's only firm holding amongst the water.
"That wasn't so bad" I smiled to the dragon looking down at my fingers and palms beneath it "I saved you."
Spaghetti looked up at me before snapping its teeth into one of my fingers sharply.
I yelled out and hung the dragon over the edge of the bath so I could swat it off. Spaghetti tumbled to the ground, shaking itself off, and glaring up at me.
Now I was the one bleeding.
"That's what you get" I pointed my finger to it "you can't j...."
I paused, seeing the blood around Spaghetti's neck had stopped. The wound itself was still gouged into its body, but looked like it had been covered in a film of scarring.
Did... Did my wish work?
I still had another one sitting beside my head.
"Don't you dare come in here" I warned Spaghetti who paced the ground, wanting to get back to where it's bowl was.
I heard it's little claws scrabbling on the tiles when I dropped in the second Wish and waited for it to crack open.
I don't know what Sawyer was so worried about. Things had gone amazingly so far. Spaghetti was healed and I knew that these tiny Wishes worked after all. Plus, they made my skin feel incredible.
The water speckled red when I soaked in it.
I pulled myself upwards, reaching upwards to feel the water dripping red on my hands.
With the water biting into my own neck, I hesitantly reached up to find my own wound cut into it. The skin there had been torn off, just like Spaghetti's had, but hadn't healed over.
I leant over to yank down the towel hanging at the end of the bath so I could press it to my neck to try and stop the flow.
What kind of sick swap was this?!
"Unpredictable" I sighed in realization, wiping the wound I packed the towel into "I get it now."
I wasn't going to mess with these Wishes. Who knew what else would happen if I tried again.
I pulled myself out of the bath, dripping bloodied water onto the tiles around Spaghetti, before draining out the rest of the water.
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True to my word, I left Spaghetti's Wishes alone.
I couldn't sell them to Sawyer since they appeared so often. Every now and then I would return with a ten doller note, but that was at least once every two months.
The mass of cursed Wishes were cracked open and used to water my plants or poured into a bowl for Spaghetti to roll in.
Soon, that bowl became a bucket, and that bucket became the bath itself.
Spaghetti was growing far too quickly. With that came an increased appetite to feed the demanding beast too reliant to fend for itself yet.
It was the height of a husky now, and just as mischievous. My lovely fabric couch was patched with tape along where Spaghetti had decided to test its new claws growing in.
The Wishes it slipped out of its mouth were bigger but a lot less frequent. Rather than being a swirling silver, these ones were a darker blue.
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Spaghetti was coiled in all sorted of directions by the fireplace when I returned home with my small haul of meat from town.
Casseroles weren't cutting it anymore. I couldn't keep the dragon fed as well as myself. It could quite easily take the few kilos under my arm and barely be a scratch.
Spaghetti's head rose from the floor when it noticed the clearance sticker on the paper. It checked me, then the meat it was glued to.
I needed to eat. The gnawing in my stomach was becoming a noose strangling itself from how much I had been robbed of food.
"Be patient, Spaghetti" I warned the dragon untwisting itself to slink towards me.
It didn't listen. It stalked me like a predator locked onto prey. I froze up, clutching the meat to my chest.
"Please" I begged the dragon "I'm hungry too."
But it didn't listen. Spaghetti struck, seizing the hem of my shirt to tear at it.
I dropped the meat when I went to pull it back, hearing the rip grow larger with every tug the dragon threw into its attack.
Spaghetti snatched up the meat, running loops around the living room I chased it through. It looped over the couch, looking for a place to hide so it could enjoy its meal.
My heart dropped when I saw the front door was still open.
"Spaghetti" I reached an arm out, frozen in place "don't."
It turned to me, dug its teeth further into the meat, then bolted out the door.
"SPAGHETTI!" I yelled after it.
The dragon was just outside the door where it was tearing off the plastic and paper to strip the beef inside.
It didbt care for the dark forestry surrounding it, or the clear sky above it. It just wanted the meat.
I whined at the sight of the dirt stuck to what would have been my dinner, sliding down the doorframe in defeat.
I had to do something. This damn creature was going to starve me.
My fridge was bare, the vegetables long used up. Even the herbs had been plucked clean from when I had nibbled on them, crying over the temptation of real food being devoured before me yet again.
I couldn't do this. Spaghetti was going to be the death of me.
I needed to take the risk. It had been a year; it should be fine now.
Heaving myself up, I hunted the house for a Wish.
I knew Spaghetti liked to have preferred places to keep them now. One of them was near the couch by the fire.
I checked there, finding the shell of a crushed one.
The other place was in the bath itself. That was a favourite hoarding area for the dragon.
I entered with high hopes, plunging my hand into the stale water I kept in the tub for Spaghetti. I fished around blindly, snagging the chain to the plug before my fingers ran over the smoothness I was looking for.
I bit down on my excitement when I pulled up the blue orb and saw it was still whole.
I didnt have much time.
Closing the door, I stripped and cracked the orb on the side of the bath, tipping it into the cold water.
I wouldn't be able to run a proper bath without Spaghetti noticing the noise. I'd have to make do with this filth.
Sliding in, the water burned at my body. The film of filth from Spaghetti's baths clung to my skin and marked it. There were even dead bugs plastered there.
"I wish I was never hungry" I whispered to the water, tears rolling down my cheeks "I'm so hungry. Please."
I sobbed into the water freezing me. The pains in my stomach churned and twisted tighter, making me grip the tub and bite my hand to muffle my agony.
I could feel it up my spine. The pain tore into my ribs and shuddered down my legs that desperately pulled me up from the water.
Then, as suddenly as it started, it was gone.
I didnt feel anything. The hunger was gone. The pain had vanished. My body felt the best it had in years.
What was the curse to the wish?
Towelling myself off, nothing felt out of place.
The scar I had developed after my first wish was still sealed. I had figured that the Wish itself had traded our pain for Spaggetti's to be gone. The dragon needed to have the skin to be healed so instantly from somewhere else, after all.
My heart dropped and I tore out the bathroom with only the towel around me when I raced for Spaghetti.
Did I swap out hunger too? Was my companion the one in pain from hunger now?
Standing at the front door, I saw this wasn't the case. Spaghetti was too busy walking around with the plastic bag over its face as it tried to lick the juices from inside.
Maybe, it was better now that the Wish was bigger?
I smiled, giggling at the dragon's antics.
Maybe I had a huge pot-belly? I wasnt hungry because I had been filled with food?
I turned and moved the towel so I could peer down at my middle that concaved inwards. All I could see was my ribs and then nothing else before my genitals.
Rushing for the bedroom, the mirror on the back of my door revealed a massive canyon where my middle should have been.
Still covered perfectly in skin, my whole stomach had dissappeared. I looked like I had been deflated and squashed inwards.
"Really?" I moaned to the roof "really?!"
No hunger. I had to shake my head at how stupid I had been.
I couldn't be hungry if I had no stomach.
"Great" I threw my hands up and let them flop down "I'm doomed."
How long did a person survive with no food? It wouldn't be long enough to see Spaghetti take to the skies as an adult.
In being desperate for relief, I had cut my life short.
I shouldn't have turned to the Wish to help me. I could have rummaged bins, stolen scraps, ANYTHING, before relying on something so horrible.
I pulled on a new shirt and pair of longs, sighing when I covered my body with a hooded jacket too.
I'd have to make the use of things for now.
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Spaghetti came to flop itself across the end of my bed I curled up in, facing the wall.
I couldn't sleep feeling so content. I had wished for this but now I knew it was all I would feel before I died.
Four days. That's all I had.
When I realised I also didn't feel thirst, I knew that the Wish had worked its curse on me.
Without food and water, I could go for four days as my body ate itself to survive.
"I did something horrible, Spaghetti" I droned to the wall, wiping my blinded eyes "I made a Wish."
Its head lifted and I looked down to see Spaghetti staring at me while upside down.
Such a stupid creature. I smiled and tried to savour the humour.
"I wished I wasn't hungry. Now, I won't see you go home. I just wish I could do that."
I choked, knowing reality was grim.
I'd die here in this house. Maybe even in this bed.
Spaghetti nudged my feet with its nose. Again, I looked down to see it was offering me another Wish.
"No" I turned from it "what if it gets worse?"
Spaghetti shoved, even placing its jaws around my foot under the covers but not biting.
"There's no use" I whined and kept my eyes to the wall "I can't see you go, no matter how much you want me to."
Wishes couldn't cancel each other out could they?
Even if I wished for that, there would be a cruel twist.
But, it wouldn't be worse than death.
I did take in this dragon to release it back to its fate in the sky. At least I'd see that through.
Spaghetti nudged my feet again before picking up the orb and dropping it by my head.
I eyed it, letting my fingers run over the surface.
"I wish I could be alive to see you leave" I forced a smile at it.
Jaws seized the orb to crack it and spill it over me. The blankets were soaked, but I didn't move.
I wasn't expecting anything to work.
"It was worth a shot" I sighed to the dragon nipping at the blankets by my shoulder, before forcing myself into asleep.
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Hunger stabbed through me when i woke to Spaghetti coiled around me the next morning.
I gasped at the pain, patting down my middle to feel it had returned to me, hunger and all.
I felt fine! I wasn't going to die!
"Spaghetti!" I cried out "it worked!"
It snorted at me and writhed when I seized its head to kiss the wet snout.
"I'll be here!" I whooped, dragging myself from underneath the body "I'm going to live!"
In terrible hunger maybe, but I was going to live!
"I've got some bins to pick!" I cried out in joy "maybe a few things to steal! You are a lifesaver, you lazy bugger!"
Spaghetti yawned and stretched in its twisted path on the bed it didn't move from.
I couldn't be more happy! I chuckled at the sleeping creature and rushed for my bike outside so I could speed towards town.
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Hunger was fleeting, but my uncertainty for the curse of my Wish was always niggling.
It didn't scar or scare me. It didn't even show.
I continued with life and found that teaching Spaghetti to hunt for itself in the woods left both of us with full bellies and better attitudes.
I couldn't get rid of the traps either. It wasn't my land to have a say over them. We just had to be careful.
I thought it how to avoid the traps it had been caught in so long ago, and Spaghetti even dragged me back a few dead deer to clean and cut for myself.
The day of departure loomed closer.
With Spaghetti no longer needing to rely on me, it was ready to leave and live with its own kind.
The day it sat there staring up at the sky, I knew it was time.
Spaghetti had been with me for four years now. It had matured into a young dragon, ready to grow into an adult away from humans.
It hadn't passed a Wish since that night it had offered one to me. It kept them stored within it, growing them steadily into the prized possessions humans valued most.
Spaghetti turned to me when we both stood there to stare at the sky together. There were no words between us. Spaghetti already knew everything I had done for it had led to this moment.
It lifted itself up, twisting and wrapping upwards.
I felt my breath catch in my throat when it sailed higher towards freedom.
When Spaghetti looped above me, I couldn't breathe. I tried gasping in the air that had been snatched from me.
The curse had shown itself.
I would be alive to see my companion go, but only until then.
What a wicked thing it was.
Spaghetti flitted down from the sky back towards me. I felt my breath return the closer it got, taking deep lungfuls only to cough out.
We were destined for this life together. Just a dragon called Spaghetti and I.
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