The Dragon's Pearl Chapter 3
“Are these yours?”
Akihito looked wide-eyed at the round white marbles glowing prettily in the palm of his rescuer’s hand. He reached out and gently touched them with the tip of his fingers. At his caress they seemed to subtly change color and Akihito thought they were the most beautiful things he had ever seen.
“No.” He shook his head. “Mine are blue and green and purple and not so big.”
“Why don’t you keep them for now?”
Handing him the pretty marbles, his rescuer again vanished under water, reappearing moments later with a fistful of something.
“Here they are.”
Akihito gasped at the large, colorful rocks in the man’s hand. One was blue, another green, and the third purple, but they were twice the size of his lost marbles and they sparkled dazzlingly in the late afternoon light. Unable to take his eyes off them, he again shook his head.
“No, they aren’t mine. Mine are...are not so pretty but...but....”
Chuckling softly, the man handed him the trio of sparkling rocks for safekeeping, then plunged back into the water. This time he was gone much longer and when he resurfaced bearing three smooth little marbles, Akihito let out a cry of joy.
“Yes!” Handing back the beautiful rocks the man had earlier found, he told him, “These are mine.”
“Why don’t you keep those too?” The man said, reaching down to smooth the thick mop of hair still wet from his fall into the river. Akihito looked up and received a reassuring smile.
“Here, put them in your top, like this, so you won’t lose them.”
Akihito let him put the pretty rocks in his kimono top but refused to let go of his freshly recovered treasures.
“Those must be very special marbles,” said the man. Akihito nodded vigorously.
”They are for the dragon.”
“For the dragon?”
”Yes. So he can play with them when he’s lonely.”
“Oh.”
“He lost his bride and he doesn’t have any friends. People made a doll for him, but dolls are for girls!”
“You’re right.”
“I gave him my marble and he came and picked it up in a boat...”
“You’re going to give him these, too?”
Akihito nodded and received another smile in return.
“Let’s go to his house then.”
Akihito excitedly jumped down from the boulder he had been sitting on. It was then that he realized he had lost his sandals in the water, but even that didn’t stop him from running and skipping alongside the tall figure in the gray-trimmed blue kimono. As they made their way through the trees, squirrels stuck their heads out of their holes as if in greetings, birds began to sing and swarms of butterflies fluttered around them, showing off their colorful, delicate wings. Akihito’s laugh rang through the air as he ran up and down the narrow path, exhilarated by all the beauty around him. When he at last slowed down, the man bent down and picked him up.
“Are you tired? You must be hungry.”
Receiving a shy nod in reply, the man reached up and plucked a ripe peach from a low-hanging branch and gave it to him. Akihito took a small bite and the fragrant sweetness of the juicy flesh made his face light up. Impulsively, he offered the fruit to his benefactor. Golden eyes smiled down at him and the man took a bite. They took turns enjoying the peach which to Akihito’s wonderment didn’t seem to diminish much in size even after he had had his fill.
“Here we are.”
Staring silently at the beautiful house fronted by a garden, very much larger than the home he shared with his grandparents, Akihito began to feel unsure that his new offerings would please the dragon after all.
“Come, let’s go inside.”
Seeing his hesitation, the man squatted down and gently touched his face.
“What’s wrong? Are you afraid?”
Akihito shook his head firmly. He was not afraid. Not of the dragon. Everybody knew that the dragon didn’t like bad boys, but he was a good boy and the dragon had liked the gift he had offered...
“Come, then.”
Akihito grabbed his new friend’s proffered hand with his free one and together they crossed the threshold of the dragon’s domain...