A Boy and His Dragon

by Michael J. Bowler

  By the time the boys had landed at the zoo, Bradley Wallace’s absence from the hospital had been detected, or rather, reported. Sarah had remained on the roof for she knew not how long, just gazing up into the cerulean sky even after John and Bradley Wallace had long since disappeared. A sense of renewal had crept over her, an ever-deepening feeling that she’d been reborn this day into a new world, a world much better than the old. All because of that boy.

  When she finally descended the stairwell and re-entered the

  hospital proper, she told the story Bradley Wallace had given her, that he and John had ditched her on their way to the therapy room. She feigned panic, rousing the policeman by Bradley Wallace’s door and frantically telling her tale, rather convincingly, too, she thought. In what seemed like minutes, the hospital was overrun with police, searching every room and all around outside for the runaway boy.

  Dr. Rosenbloom, who could always be counted on for a few cheap insults, accused her of stupidity for allowing the boy to get away, and the sleazy police lieutenant in the baseball cap wasn’t much better, suggesting that she might have deliberately let him go. But Sarah didn’t care what any of them said. Her heart was filled with serenity and peace, and she didn’t even care if they fired her. None of that mattered. All that mattered was Bradley Wallace, and Whilly.

  Marge and Jack arrived at the hospital bickering viciously about which of them was more to blame for their son’s problems. Marge accused Jack of insensitivity toward Bradley Wallace’s feelings, and he insisted that she smothered the boy too much and it’s no wonder he ran away.

  The rumpled lieutenant questioned them at length about possible places Bradley Wallace might have gone. The only place they could even think of was Mr. O’Conner’s house, and the lieutenant sent one of his men out there to check. Of course, not even Sarah knew where the boy had gone, and wouldn’t have told anyway. Bradley Wallace had gone to save Whilly. That’s all she knew. But it was enough. And though the police searched every inch of the hospital and surrounding area, they found no trace of the missing boys.

  CHAPTER 18

  “Trust Your Heart”

  Mr. O’Conner smiled in amusement at Bradley Wallace’s open-mouthed expression, and gestured for both boys to take the two chairs beside his own. “I’ve been expecting you, Bradley Wallace,” the old man commented casually, flicking a curious glance toward John. “I suspected you’d be along, too,” he added, frowning slightly. “Sit down, both of you.”

  Still too shocked to reply, Bradley Wallace moved zombie-like to the nearest chair and sat down, just barely aware that John eased into the other chair at his side.

  The door behind them snapped shut with a sharp click and the key turned definitively in the lock. The numbness Bradley Wallace felt stemmed from the realization, now completely without doubt, that all his boyhood conceptions about the kindly old ice cream man had been profoundly incorrect. He would now learn the real truth, a truth that would change the boy’s life forever. And he was scared.

  Mr. O’Conner regarded John carefully, almost disregarding Bradley Wallace entirely. And the old man’s frown deepened. “I’m still not sure where you fit into the scheme of things, John,” he admitted, a trifle sheepishly. He looked from John to the pensive Bradley Wallace and back again, nodding slightly. “But it does seem Whilly knew something both of you didn’t.”

  “What was that?” John asked uncertainly, fidgeting under the old man’s penetrating gaze.

  “That you and Bradley Wallace needed each other’s friendship more than each other’s enmity.”

  John’s eyes dropped to the floor in embarrassment. “How do you know who I am? I never seen you before.”

  “I think perhaps the time has come for explanations, eh, lad?” Mr. O’Conner sighed, turning his attention to Bradley Wallace. “And we don’t have long before they return.”

  “You’re not really plain old Mr. O’Conner the Good Humor Man, are you?” Bradley Wallace stammered, already knowing at least that much for certain. “You’re someone much more important.”

  The old man laughed heartily. “I don’t know about the important part, but you’re right about the rest. I haven’t always been just an ice cream man, though I have enjoyed that profession. Go on, lad, ask your questions.”

  “Who are you really?” Bradley Wallace suddenly blurted out, the questions tumbling from his lips like rocks during a slide, “What am I? What’s been happening to me? Who’s Josette? Why do you have those pictures of me in your secret room . . . ?”

  The old man held up a hand to stop him, his wrinkled features creased with amusement. “Whoa, lad, slow down. One question at a time. I am what you kids would probably call a wizard, but I, myself, prefer the term ‘sorcerer.’ I’m basically an anachronism, a leftover from a long ago time, a time when people believed and trusted in magic, a time long since vanished.” His voice took on a distinct note of sadness at the remembrance. “Basically, I can manipulate the laws of nature, and in some cases circumvent them, by what ordinary humans used to call magic. But essentially, this magic is simply the calling up of earth-power.”

  “Earth power?” Bradley Wallace had never heard that term before.

  “Every object contains a certain amount of energy, Bradley Wallace,” the old man explained. “The earth being the largest single object we’re in contact with, it naturally contains the most such energy. We use this power in matter to create our magic.” He paused a moment to determine whether or not the boy understood.

  Bradley Wallace held his breath as he asked the next, most frightening question of all. “Am I a sorcerer, too?”

  Mr. O’Conner nodded. “Of course. That’s what you call that

  ‘thing in your head,’ although it’s as much in your heart as your head. You’re the first new sorcerer to be born in centuries, Bradley Wallace, but I knew it would happen eventually. Everyone else thought magic was dead ages ago, when people became ‘civilized’ and decided they didn’t need to believe in us anymore.” He sighed thoughtfully. “But I knew that science and technology could only go so far. People need more than that. They need to believe in things, in each other. You and Whilly are proof that magic isn’t dead, or confined to grizzled old geezers like me. People will start believing again, Bradley Wallace, believing in something more than just technology, all because of you.”

  Bradley Wallace tried to sort out the hundreds of questions running circles through his mind. He glanced over nervously at John, who was eyeing him in wonderment.

  “I’m so confused,” he began falteringly. “Why could I never remember all those things I did, not till the Golden Gate Bridge? Why did I always feel so terrible and weak after using, you know . . . it.”

  “As for not remembering, that was essentially my doing,” the old man admitted. “Just a bit of mental suggestion in the name of sanity. Once I determined you were definitely like me, that you had this ability, I feared you wouldn’t understand. After all, sorcerers aren’t terribly commonplace anymore. But I knew you’d have to learn the truth eventually, so I chose that moment at the bridge. Of course, Whilly knew about you, but I swore him to secrecy.”

  Bradley Wallace opened his mouth to pounce on that statement, suddenly realizing where the dragon had been all those times he’d said he needed to be alone.

  But Mr. O’Conner held up another hand. “I told you, boy, one question at a time. As for your headaches and weakness, that was simply because you were doing it all wrong. Remember what you learned in Mr. Baldie’s class - for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. That precept holds just as true for magic as it does for science. It may be the only thing the two have in common anymore.”

  “How did you know about the dragon?” John suddenly interjected, before Bradley Wallace could pose that very question himself. “Did you

  have dreams, too?”

  The old man smiled. “No, John. Magic attracts magic, and I would know any new magic born into the world. I can feel i
t, sense its presence, you might say. I can’t really explain it any better than that.”

  “Did you know about me when I was born?” Bradley Wallace asked, recalling his mother’s story about meeting the old man in the park.

  Mr. O’Conner frowned. “I had a feeling, a faint tingle in my mind, that perhaps you might be the one. But I didn’t know you needed Whilly to complete yourself. Or that he would need you. Times have changed, I guess. I don’t really understand the connection, but you two obviously require each other to survive.” He shook his head and smiled wryly. “I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised, knowing you. You always have done everything differently. You have noticed, haven’t you, lad, that your powers can only be called up in Whilly’s presence?”

  Bradley Wallace’s eyes went wide with realization. Of course! That’s why he couldn’t do anything in the hospital!

  “I see you have,” the ancient sorcerer went on quickly. “That’s because for some strange reason, he is the catalyst without whom you are just an ordinary human. Not the way it used to work and definitely unprecedented.”

  The old man smiled. “But whatever is behind your symbiosis, Whilly owes his survival in this world to you. It’s only because of your strength and courage that he wasn’t found and killed long ago. Even I wasn’t much help.”

  Bradley Wallace looked shamefaced down at the floor. “Yeah, I did great. That’s why he got shot.”

  Mr. O’Conner’s serene eyes flashed momentarily with anger. “You are a far better person than you give yourself credit for, Bradley Wallace. Did you by chance notice the transformation of the gardens around my house from your first visit to your second?”

  Bradley Wallace nodded, not certain what the old man was leading up to. “I also remember the flowers outside the hospital coming to life practically overnight.”

  “Exactly,” the old man confirmed with a stiff nod of his head. “Now near as I’ve been able to figure, those things happened because of what you are inside, because of your natural talent.”

  “Natural talent?”

  “Everyone has some kind of natural talent, Bradley Wallace,” Mr. O’Conner explained patiently, “something that stems from their very essence. It might be athletics, or writing, or even natural leadership ability.” He flicked a glance over at the attentively listening John, who unconsciously blushed. Not cool at all. Did the old man mean he was a natural born leader, John wondered as Mr. O’Conner’s probing eyes left his and returned to Bradley Wallace? Would he be important some day, too, like Bradley Wallace was now? He sure hoped so.

  “You never thought you had any kind of talent, lad, anything to offer the world,” Mr. O’Conner said to Bradley Wallace, “but I think you do. I think you have the ability to bring newness to everything you touch, hope almost. I’m not really sure how to describe it, but you’re like a constant breath of pure, untainted air, and the magic has nothing to do with it. That’s simply you. But since you are also a sorcerer, your essence is enhanced that much more. Hence, you renew everything and everyone around you.”

  Bradley Wallace felt himself smiling, and squirmed slightly from embarrassment. He still wasn’t sure he understood all that, but felt a surge of love for this old man who always made him feel special. Then the faces of his parents flashed before his eyes, and the smile became a frown. “I sure don’t renew my parents,” he muttered unhappily. “They think I’m nuts.”

  “Give them time, lad,” the old man advised wisely. “It’s hard for people when they’ve lost hope.”

  Bradley Wallace nodded silently. Mr. O’Conner’s piercing blue eyes reflected such sincerity that the boy could almost believe there was hope for him and his parents after all. He suddenly realized they were running out of time, and he desperately needed to know the answer to another question. “What about Josette?” he practically whispered. “In one of my dreams she was like another part of Janet, this girl I know from school. But most of the time she seemed a lot different. Is she real?”

  Mr. O’Conner paused as he considered his answer, rubbing his chin absently as he thought. Bradley Wallace held his breath expectantly. “Let’s just say I felt you might need assistance on certain occasions when I couldn’t be there myself, and Josette very kindly provided that assistance.”

  He pulled a chain out from underneath his loose fitting tunic. Dangling from its end was a familiar, beautifully sparkling shard of crystal. “You recognize this?”

  “That’s Josette’s crystal!” the excited boy exclaimed, reaching impulsively for it.

  But the old man quickly snatched it from the boy’s reach.

  “You’re far too energized at the moment to touch this without causing a major cataclysm. Even on your own, you’ve demonstrated powers I’ve never seen nor even imagined. Whatever made you think you could command the wind?”

  Bradley Wallace shrugged restlessly. “I didn’t think. The wind was just bothering me and I told it to stop.” He continued to stare at the crystal. “And I know that’s Josette’s!” he reiterated, as though implying the old man had stolen it.

  Mr. O’Conner couldn’t help but laugh at the boy’s insinuation. “This one’s mine, lad,” he said, indicating the dangling shard, “the very same one you used to wish on every day.”

  “But it looks exactly the same,” the boy persisted, suddenly feeling stupid for not recognizing the similarity before.

  “Don’t chastise yourself for not recognizing it before,” the old man said, again reading his mind with undetectable ease. “Sometimes people don’t want to remember things when they’re afraid, and that’s perfectly normal. Besides, I didn’t want you to recognize it, anyway. If you had, you would have asked me a lot of questions I didn’t want to answer till now. This crystal is part of a larger stone, a stone taken from the very center of the earth ages ago, a stone alive with earth power.”

  “Why did you have me touch it every day, and then stop?” the

  confused Bradley Wallace asked, trying to make sense out of all this seeming gibberish.

  “It was a test,” Mr. O’Conner explained, “a test to find out if you had the magic I suspected you had. But as I said, I didn’t realize you needed the dragon to complete yourself, and thus you displayed no signs of

  magic until well after his birth. Once I knew for certain, I didn’t want you to get hurt playing with the crystal. After all, you almost destroyed the island of Hawaii when you innocently touched Josette’s.”

  He shrugged, slipping the shard back beneath his tunic and regarding both boys thoughtfully. John listened to all of this in amazement. But Bradley Wallace only felt sadness.

  “So that means Josette was just someone you dreamed up to help me, doesn’t it?” he finally asked gloomily. “She isn’t real after all, is she?” He felt all hope slipping away along with the mysterious girl. He really had liked her, in a strange sort of way.

  The old man leaned forward and forced Bradley Wallace’s eyes to meet his own. “Josette is as real as you want her to be, my boy, and she’ll always live on in your memory. Just don’t write her off completely, because with magic, almost anything is possible.”

  Bradley Wallace nodded silently, feeling a faint twinge of hope return. Maybe he would see her again someday after all.

  “What about the monster?” John’s voice suddenly pierced the moment of silence, his face going deathly pale.

  Both Bradley Wallace and Mr. O’Conner turned to the white-faced boy in surprise. “With a horned head, fangs, and huge claws?” Bradley Wallace asked fearfully.

  John nodded, shuddering at the memory.

  “The same one that attacked me,” Bradley Wallace muttered, the terrifying remembrances filling his mind with horror. “How did you know?”

  “I saw them in my dreams,” John answered stiffly, glancing nervously from the old man to Bradley Wallace. “They . . . they killed me

  when I jumped in to save you.”

  Bradley Wallace gasped. “You saved me?”

  Joh
n nodded.

  Mr. O’Conner regarded John thoughtfully.

  “Interesting,” he muttered, almost to himself. “Whilly seems to have brought you two closer together than I realized.”

  There was an awkward moment of silence during which John squirmed with acute and unaccustomed discomfort, and then Bradley Wallace began shaking his head.

  “I still don’t understand most of this stuff,” he said, trying to get the old man’s attention. “What are those monsters, anyway, some kind of radiation mutants?”

  “I’m not sure,” Mr. O’Conner answered evasively. “It might just have been another magical creature drawn to you and Whilly. There is still some old magic in the world, Bradley Wallace, and not all of it is good.” He cocked his head slightly to one side, as though listening. “The soldier is returning.”

  Bradley Wallace threw up his hands in exasperation. “But there’s so much more I wanna ask. Are you sure Josette isn’t real?” He couldn’t get the girl out of his mind.

  Mr. O’Conner cracked an adult’s smile of amusement at the boy. “You seem overly interested in the young lady,” he commented drily, causing Bradley Wallace to turn red around the ears. “Just keep hoping, lad, and some day, who knows?”

  Bradley Wallace’s heart beat wildly with excitement at the possibility, though for what reason he couldn’t be sure. She was pretty obnoxious, after all.

  “Before that soldier gets here,” the old man continued hastily. “I owe you an apology.” Bradley Wallace’s attention snapped back sharply. “I’ve tried to watch over you all your life, to protect you from the power I suspected you had, and to help you adjust once you finally learned of its existence. Because I knew it wouldn’t be easy for you.”

  And then the boy knew something else. “Those pictures!”

  “Aye, lad, those pictures. Unfortunately, I’m an old fool sometimes. Though I suspected you might eventually get into trouble as Captain Courageous --”