“Can he breathe fire?”

Lara shrugged. “How should I know?”

They were huddled below the blankets, whispering. Lara had insisted upon complete secrecy. Tim felt too old for these kind of games, but something in his sister’s eyes told him that this wasn’t a game. Not this time.  

“But he’s YOUR dragon!” Tim shook his head. How could you have a dragon but not know if it could make fire? What kind of person doesn’t know that?

“Its name is Lennart. And he is four, like me.”

“How do you know it’s actually a dragon? And not a big crocodile or something?”

Lara pinched him in his arm, real hard. “Lennart told me, silly. And I’ve never seen a crocodile walk on two legs. Have you?”

“No.”

“So?”

Tim wasn’t sure Lara wasn’t just pulling his leg. His little sister was a lot of things. Annoying, stubborn, undiplomatic. But he had never caught her lying. “Okay. I believe you. Where is this dragon of yours?”

Lara giggled. “You cannot see him, silly. He’s an imaginary friend.”

Tim threw back the blanket and got on his feet. He wanted to be angry at his sister, but all he felt was sadness. Growing up was stupid.

Flash short story written for @mctiller’s weekly
24hourshortstory contest on Steemit.

Read more short stories by @nobyeni at her website.
Support her philosophical fiction on Patreon or through Steady.