A Boy and His Dragon

by Michael J. Bowler

  “Hey, son,” he called suddenly, “come over here for a minute.”

  Hands full of silverware (direct from Thrifty Drug Store), the boy hurried around the table into the adjacent family room, knowing better than to argue or dilly-dally with his father.

  Jack was lounging in one of the cushiony chairs, the open newspaper spread out on his lap. Bradley Wallace noted with curiosity that it was open to the movie section. His father never read the movie section.

  “I just noticed there’s a movie playing here called “House of Dark Shadows.” That have anything to do with the TV show you used to watch?”

  Immediately suspicious, Bradley Wallace answered cautiously, “Yeah. I read they were making a movie out of it.” What was his father up to? Was he trying to bait the boy into admitting he still watched the show? Or worse, did he suspect his son had snuck out to see the flick last week? Bradley Wallace’s heart pounded with fear, and he clutched the silverware tightly in one fist.

  “I was just wondering if maybe you’d like to go see it this weekend,” his father continued, a trifle falteringly, obviously uneasy but trying to hide that discomfort.

  Bradley Wallace’s lower jaw dropped like a rock, and he was momentarily speechless.

  “With you?” he finally stammered.

  “Sure,” his father continued, with an attempt at easy assurance. “I thought this might be an opportunity for us to do something together, something you’d like. You would like that, wouldn’t you?” There was an uncertain, almost childlike quality to his voice.

  “Sure!” Bradley Wallace blurted out, not so much because of the movie, which, of course, he’d already seen, but because his father actually wanted to do something with him.

  “Okay,” his father smiled. “We’ll go this Friday night.” And that was that. He began to flip awkwardly through the newspaper and Bradley Wallace, almost numb with shock, returned to finish setting the table. Wait till I tell Whilly about this, he thought, shaking his head in amazement.

  Can I go, too? the dragon asked that night after Bradley Wallace told him the news. I’d like to see the movie again.

  “Sure, I guess it’s okay,” the boy replied with a shrug. “But we’ll have to be extra super careful not to talk or anything so my father won’t get suspicious.”

  I think it’s very nice of your father to do this, Whilly commented innocently.

  Bradley Wallace considered the dragon’s thought a moment before agreeing. “Yeah, I guess it is.”

  And so, one week after risking a possible jail term (kids had been hauled in for less than illegally entering a movie theater, he’d heard), Bradley Wallace once again sat at the 101 Drive-In watching “House of Dark Shadows,” this time in a car like everybody else. He had to admit that the car was more comfortable, but the first viewing was more exciting because of the risk involved. Whilly, invisible, of course, sat on his haunches beside the passenger door, and Bradley Wallace cracked the window open slightly so the dragon could hear the speaker, which hung suspended from his father’s window.

  For what it was worth, Jack actually got “a kick out of the movie.” It reminded him of the old horror movies he’d seen as a boy. But more importantly, he was doing something with his son that both of them enjoyed. The only near mishap occurred before the film began. When his father asked if he wanted some popcorn, Bradley Wallace immediately said yes and tried to open his door, not realizing how close Whilly was sitting to the car. He managed to get the door open about three inches before hitting an invisible barrier with a tiny thump. Realizing the situation at once, and afraid to ask Whilly to move, even with their silent mind link, Bradley Wallace hurriedly shut the door and turned sheepishly to his father, who was eyeing him curiously, and said he’d changed his mind about the popcorn. Jack Murphy shook his head, but said nothing. Kids!

  Of course, once the film was under way, and his father offered to go get drinks and popcorn, Bradley Wallace was more than willing to accept - eager, in fact. But then, his father could get out of the car, which helped.

  During the drive home, Bradley Wallace excitedly filled his father in on the history of the Collins family, enthusiastically describing each of the movie characters and how they fit into the various time periods depicted on the TV show, ever mindful not to give away the fact that he still watched it.

  His father actually listened to his spiel, and even asked a few questions. It was probably the least awkward time Bradley Wallace could recall spending with his father in years, and he rather enjoyed it. Whilly had left as soon as the film ended, but glided high above the moving car keeping a sharp eye on his friend below. His presence gave the boy a warm sense of security, which put him more at ease than he probably would have been otherwise. Still, he and his father were talking, and that was something.

  It was the next morning at breakfast when Jack dropped the bombshell that the family would go to Hawaii in July. An excited Katie immediately exclaimed how she’d hoped they’d go again this year. Bradley Wallace nearly spilt his orange juice, the announcement shocking him into speechlessness. His mother went on to explain how the arrangements were made months ago, that they would stay two weeks, and wouldn’t it be nice to be among friends again, etc. Bradley Wallace tuned everyone out. Hawaii! How could he have been so stupid to forget the family’s annual summer vacation, which, for the past few years had been to the Halekulani Hotel on Waikiki Beach? Ordinarily, the boy loved seeing the bevy of “regulars,” as well as the never-changing staff, not to mention the swimming, surfing, playing Paddle tennis (a smaller version of court tennis), reading the latest “Dark Shadows” books, or just wandering the streets exploring junky tourist shops and perusing bookstore shelves. But how could he go this year? There was no way. What would happen to Whilly? He certainly couldn’t come along, and Bradley Wallace couldn’t and wouldn’t leave him behind for two weeks.

  Somehow, he had to figure out a way to get out of going. On the other hand, he always had so much fun . . . Oh, why did he always keep having these problems? Why were so many impossible decisions thrown his way? It seemed that his problems, like weeds in a flower garden, kept multiplying faster than he could eliminate them. He was just a kid, after all. Grown ups were the ones who were supposed to have the problems because they knew how to handle them. He suddenly realized, with a start, that his mother was addressing him, and that he’d frozen in place, orange juice glass still in his upraised hand, like some department store dummy.

  “Bradey, are you all right?” she was asking anxiously.

  “What?” he replied stupidly, snapping instantly back to reality under the bewildered gazes of his family. “Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Just woolgathering.” He grinned sheepishly and set his glass down. He caught the questioning flash in Katie’s eyes - she obviously didn’t know what “woolgathering” meant and that made her angry. He felt a fiendish sense of pleasure at her prideful ire.

  “I said,” his mother continued, “that you’ll have to get some new Bermuda shorts and swim trunks before we go.”

  “Sure, Mom,” he acquiesced with a light smile, hoping his easiness would get him out from under her careful scrutiny. It apparently worked, because she promptly turned her attentions toward Katie, detailing what the girl would need in the way of clothes.

  This was a usual ritual, so even Katie didn’t argue at this point. The fighting would come later. Bradley Wallace was off the hook, for now, at least. But what about Hawaii?

  Why can’t I just go with you? Whilly replied when the boy explained his predicament later that night.

  “We’re going to Waikiki Beach, Whilly!” Bradley Wallace exclaimed heatedly. “That’s like a big city. Millions of people. There’s no way you’d not be seen by somebody!”

  The dragon cocked his head to one side thoughtfully and calmly regarded the excited child. There must be a more remote area where I can hide, he postulated carefully. Picture in your-mind all you can remember of this island.

  Reluctantly, Bradley Wallace
complied. He recalled the hotel strip along Waikiki beach and the traffic-congested main street, Kalakaua Ave, which extended the length of Waikiki and perhaps beyond - he had only been as far as the Ala Moana Shopping Center, famous for its huge, multi-tiered koi pond. He pictured the famous, dormant volcano Diamond Head, which he’d climbed just last year with a group from the hotel, and the Pali.

  The Pali was a towering promontory overlooking much of the island and from which, it was rumored, someone attempted suicide centuries ago but was pushed back up to safety by the powerful, gusting winds that dominated this landmark (the Hawaiian people believe the gods forbade the taking of one’s life on such a sacred spot). He envisioned such tourist attractions as Sea Life Park, the Zoo and the Aquarium, and the Polynesian Cultural Center. But he could recall little of the other side of Oahu, except that it took hours to drive there and it wasn’t very interesting once you arrived.

  Whilly assimilated all this data, the concentration needed to provide it having given Bradley Wallace an intense headache (no wonder Whilly hates staying invisible if this is the end result, the boy thought, rubbing his temples soothingly). As Whilly cogitated on possible options, Bradley Wallace stewed with worry.

  No matter what plan Whilly came up with, Waikiki was just too big a place to effectively hide a dragon. Too big and too busy. But the hard reality of the matter was that his parents would never go without him. So, a stalemate, it seemed. Whilly interrupted these thoughts with one of his own.

  Why can’t I just hide inside Diamond Head? he asked in that maddeningly casual tone.

  “Inside a volcano?” Bradley Wallace riposted incredulously.

  Your mind told me it no longer erupts, the dragon persisted, obviously intent upon convincing the boy of the viability of his plan.

  But Bradley Wallace could not be sold so easily on something so risky. “Yeah, but the thing’s a tourist trap. People are always hanging out there.”

  Not at night, the determined dragon pointed out. And I can become invisible any time people are around.

  The boy shook his head emphatically. “No, it’s too risky.”

  Please, Bradley Wallace. I must go.

  The boy hesitated. He’d never seen or felt such determination in his companion before. “Why?”

  You know why, the dragon responded, refusing to elaborate. But he didn’t have too. Bradley Wallace knew why. Whilly had been virtually a prisoner of this water tower these past few months, and needed desperately some freedom, a change of environment. In that sense, dragons were very like humans - both couldn’t live without freedom. But the risks . . .

  “I don’t know, Whilly,” he hesitated, torn between what he thought he should do and what he felt he should do. “I have to think about this, okay?”

  The dragon agreed, but Bradley Wallace could feel a certain degree of annoyance emanating from the creature. Whilly was maturing faster than the child, and therefore could see more clearly the changes accompanying the boy’s growth, and his difficulty in grappling with adult dilemmas.

  The fact of humans having such unpredictable, conflicting emotions didn’t help matters, either. Being a dragon, without such encumbrances, did have its advantages, even in this unfamiliar and hostile world.

  Mr. O’Conner seemed delighted that Bradley Wallace was going on vacation again this year. “Nothing like a real vacation, I always say. Somewhere good and far from home.” But Bradley Wallace sensed that the old man’s enthusiasm was manufactured, not genuine, and couldn’t fathom a reason for such a reaction. Perhaps Mr. O’Conner was merely reflecting the boy’s somber mood, which, naturally, the old man noticed and addressed directly.

  “I just have this big decision to make, and I can’t decide what to do,” Bradley Wallace fumblingly explained. How many times he’d wanted to just spill his guts and tell his aged mentor everything, just get it all out in the open for someone more competent to deal with; this same feeling resurrected itself again now, but the boy fought it down. He had to protect Whilly, no matter what happened.

  The old man’s marvelous assortment of wrinkles creased into their familiar thoughtful positions, and his voice took on that quiet, yet amazingly strong, tone of voice the boy so greatly admired. “Sounds to me like your mind is telling ya one thing and yer heart’s tellin’ you another. Am I right?”

  Bradley Wallace glanced up quickly, staring in wonder at his friend and advisor, who had, as usual, known exactly what was troubling him. Until that moment, even he, himself, hadn’t been able to verbalize what he was feeling. “Yeah,” he admitted, the admiration he felt plainly evident in his voice. “How’d you know?”

  The old man winked. “Sometimes I get lucky,” he offered with a toothy grin.

  “Well?” Bradley Wallace finally asked, after the old man fell into a deep silence. “Which should I choose, my mind or my heart?”

  “I can’t decide that fer ya, lad,” Mr. O’Conner replied, and the boy’s hope for a grown up solution to his dilemma was dashed. “But,” and

  the boy’s drooping head popped back up, “for me, I usually go with the heart. It generally speaks truer than the mind.”

  Bradley Wallace smiled and nodded, realizing he’d already decided what he would do and merely sought the old man’s confirmation. “Thanks, Mr. O’Conner.” His heart told him to let Whilly come to Hawaii. And right or wrong, that’s what he’d do.

  “Well, I can’t have a sourpuss assistant, now can I?” the old man concluded cheerfully, giving the boy a good-natured slap on the thigh. As always, Bradley Wallace felt better for having spoken to Mr. O’Conner. Sometimes he felt sure the old man could work magic. Sometimes.

  Naturally, Whilly was ecstatic at hearing Bradley Wallace’s decision, and, despite his lingering doubts, the boy shared that excitement. They’d have a blast over there. It would be their first big adventure together, and both eagerly awaited it. But then another thought struck the boy, and his eyebrows furrowed with worry.

  “Wait a minute,” he interrupted Whilly’s excited mewling. “How will you get there? Can you fly that far? It’s a long way.”

  I can fly for as long as necessary, the dragon answered quickly.

  “But can you keep up with a jet plane?” the boy persisted. “They go real fast.”

  The dragon hunkered down in a thoughtful pose as he considered the matter.

  I don’t know, he finally admitted.

  “But what if you get lost?” the boy fretted. “How will you find me?”

  Whilly seemed undisturbed by this, and sought to instill his own sense of ease within the troubled boy. I can always find you. We are permanently connected, almost as one, remember?

  The boy nodded. He did remember. But then a question that’d been nagging at the back of his mind for a long time manifested itself again; only this time he asked it. “If that’s true, how come you always

  know what I’m thinking and where I am, but I don’t always know those things about you?”

  Because you haven’t yet learned how to use your mind in this way. But we are still together, even if you’re not consciously aware of me.

  The dragon’s reply satisfied Bradley Wallace, for the moment, anyway. It sure seemed like an awful lot was connected to growing up, he thought, and growing up was the one thing he didn’t really want to do. Another dilemma.

  Of course, the next couple of weeks were spent preparing for the big trip. His mother always worked herself into a dither over what everyone should bring, even though she’d gone through this several times before. For Bradley Wallace, packing seemed so simple - throw in enough underwear and socks, some swim trunks, a few pairs of pants, a few shirts, and that’s that. What was the big deal?

  Still and all, he avoided unnecessary trouble by allowing his mother her way in the preparations, patiently standing by while she instructed him “exactly” what to bring along.

  He was even forced to get a hair cut. Mothers!

  His father, as always, was calm and unruffled by t
he whole business. However, he, too, received the same attention from Marge, only he wasn’t as patient as his son. Her constant, irritating demands and “suggestions” nearly drove him to distraction, and Bradley Wallace could see he was just barely containing his volatile temper.

  Katie, naturally, had “absolutely nothing to wear” and had to buy, from what Bradley Wallace could see, an entire new wardrobe. He’d always been amazed at girls’ fascination for clothes, which really weren’t very interesting unto themselves, and loathed with every fiber of his being any and all shopping excursions with his mother and sister.

  Nightmare was not a sufficiently strong word to describe these episodes. Thus, he always managed to be “elsewhere,” or “otherwise occupied” whenever such trips were being organized.

  The most excited of everyone was Whilly, and Bradley Wallace fought down his apprehension so as not to dampen the dragon’s exuberance. He felt sorry for his friend, being trapped in a world that couldn’t and wouldn’t accept his existence anymore, and which had no place for him save a cage in some zoo.

  He shuddered at the thought, but felt deep in his heart that that was what would happen should the dragon ever be discovered. Or even worse, Whilly might be killed. Bradley Wallace quickly crushed such thoughts, hoping and praying this trip would not be their undoing.

  One curious note was Mr. O’Conner’s behavior the day before Bradley Wallace was to depart. He was strangely apprehensive and thoughtful, almost moody, and it fell to Bradley Wallace to do most of the ice cream sales.

  The old man merely sat chewing his lower lip and watching the boy with a keen eye and incomprehensible expression. Bradley Wallace hoped his employer wasn’t coming down with something.

  Just before dropping the boy at home, Mr. O’Conner issued a very cryptic warning. “Be careful over there, lad. Things are different this year, and everything may not be what it seems.” His sincerity and concern were touching, but Bradley Wallace couldn’t fathom the reason behind them.