Her hair was the color of corn silk and seemed to radiate light like the sun. She always smelled faintly like the salty ocean breeze. With her alabaster skin and her delicate features she resembled a statue. She made friends with every animal she met and her house was filled with the beautiful flowers she grew in her backyard. Everyone who saw her was captivated by her beauty and grace. They were not jealous of her in any way; it was as if they knew she was not of this world. All this might have satisfied some, but not her. She longed for something she could not describe.

This longing was curled in the pit of her stomach, like a sleeping dragon. It sometimes woke and would take over her body and mind. It would rage, filling her with an uncontrollable anger making her scream and throw things. After all the anger was used up, it would go back to sleep and leave her shaking. The dragon never woke when other people were around, although it had come close several times. Her greatest fear was that it would stay awake forever.

One day, when she was out at the market, she could feel her stomach rumbling and she knew that the dragon was waking. She started to run home, dropping her bags of peaches and mangos, hoping that it would not take over before she got into the house. She could see her front door; it’s blue and pink swirled color greeting her. It was getting closer, only a few hundred feet away, but the dragon was nearly awake. Any minute now it would open its golden eyes and begin to take over.

She was only three houses away now, but she tripped over a crack in the sidewalk and fell hard. This woke the dragon up completely and it began to roar. She started screaming an eerie wordless scream that chilled the hearts of all that heard it. She rocked back and forth on the cold concrete and felt her life slipping away. She was surrounded by a dark fog and it was cutting off her senses.

A voice calling her name floated through the fog and she blindly turned her head toward it. The dragon began thrashing harder, trying to drown out the voice. She shakily got up and slowly, hesitantly began walking toward it. Her bare feet were bruised and bloodied by the sharp rocks she was walking on and the dragon was fighting her every step. Many times she started to turn back, but something kept her moving forward. The farther she walked, the thinner the fog was. After an eternity of walking the fog was completely gone and she saw who the voice belonged to.

His small, elfin face was surrounded by hair that was so black it seemed blue. She wondered if ink ran out of his back eyes when he cried. His skin was as pale as hers and when he reached out and touched her hand, she couldn’t see where he ended and she began. His thumb was making soft circles on the palm of her hand and she felt the dragon start shrinking. She reached out and touched his hair, fingering the silky strands. They drank in each others appearance and the dragon continued to shrink.

She opened her mouth to speak, but shut it when she realized she had nothing to say. The dragon roared again, this time sounding more pitiful than menacing.

He reached into a bag beside him and pulled out a mango. He bit into it and sticky juice ran down his chin. He held it out to her and she took a bite. It tasted of cool summer days and warm summer rays and filled her with a calming peace. Together they finished the mango and when they were done he picked up he started to back away, still holding her hand.

His eyes pleaded with her to follow him and at first she was afraid and unsure. But her curiosity won out and she followed him, never looking back. The dragon gave a final roar that was as loud as a whisper, before shrinking away to nothing.