The Rock

Writers Digest 2021 February Flash Fiction Challenge: Day 16 -For today’s prompt, I want you to think about something boring and make it interesting.

The Rock.

The presents were sent from all over the world. You never knew what you would get. It could be a golden locket or signed baseball from Macy’s in America. It might be a train set complete with landscaping or Playmobile space Station from Harrods in England. It might even be a Taketonbo from Hakuhinkan in Japan. Every child at Wingate’s Home for Homeless Children loved Christmas morning.

Everyone except Tommy. For the many years Tommy was at Wingate’s he always got a bummer toy. It wasn’t as if he had a choice. The toys were wrapped and random names were attached to each toy. Tommy just got the unexciting ones.

The first year it was a bamboo plane that you put together yourself. It flew three times before the nose bent on impact. Those three attempts were grand though.

The second year Tommy got a stuffed doll. The other boys laughed. Tommy quietly gave the doll to a little girl who was in her first year.

And so it went. Each year Tommy got something useless. It didn’t stop him from hoping though and he never complained to anyone about his disappointment. To Tommy, it was better to be disappointed by a boring toy than a failed adoption.

It was now the seventh year. Tommy just turned twelve. He thought he might be too old to get a toy, but the guardian insisted that he take the gift with his name on it.

He kindly said thank you and put the unopened toy in his pocket. As the day progressed, he noticed that his pocket was getting hot. He wondered that maybe he’d gotten hand warmers and they somehow opened. He pulled the gift out and gently touched the wrapping. It was warm to his touch.

“How odd.” Tommy thought.

He pulled off the wrapping which revealed a square, wooden box. The box was closed with a clasp. Tied to the clasp was a small, rolled up piece of paper. It was no bigger than the rook in his chess set. Tommy gently pulled the paper from the ribbon and unrolled it. The words were very tiny but he was able to read them. “You have turned twelve and have become an imago, keep special care of your sleeping Drago.”

Tommy excitedly slipped the clasp and opened the box. In it was a round rock. It was colored in many shades like a kaleidoscope of black. He pulled it out. It was not as hard as he thought it might be, but it kept its round shape in his hand.

It was warm.

Tommy thought briefly about bouncing it, but something held him back. He carefully brought the rock to his lips and whispered. “I don’t know what you are, but for now, you will be my friend.”

Each day began with Tommy lovingly taking the rock out of his sock drawer where he had made a nest for it. He kept the rock in his pocket, talking to it throughout the day.

The other children noticed that he seemed happier, but he wasn’t doing anything different. They asked him what he got for Christmas and he simply replied with, “A lucky rock.” They laughed and went on their way.

On New Year’s Day, Tommy lifted the rock from its nest. Something was different. The rock was turning yellow and orange. There were small cracks in it. Tommy worried that he had done something wrong. He held the rock, apologizing and saying he was sorry that he’d try harder.

“I won’t let anything hurt you, ever. I promise.” Were Tommy’s words when Drago, a tiny miniature dragon, popped his head out and said, “I knew you were the one.”