Din the Dragonfly Part 1

And now a two-part flash-fiction event...

Din was the runt but he didn’t act like it. He fought with greater spirit than the other dragonflies. But they were always bigger. He struggled more for food. None of the others thought he’d make it past his larval stage. But they were wrong. Din, grew up as much as was able and set out. The pond by the yard held nothing for him. He wanted rivers and great plains his brethren could only dream of. They would tell stories of Din the Magnificent taking on the different birds and lizards, breaking out of spider webs and conquering the clouds.

Away from the pond however, was very different than Din thought. Life seemed colder, unpredictable. Birds were everywhere he flew. He couldn’t hide inside a bush because the lizards found him. And the spiders were the worst of all. They built the most expansive webs to catch him. He narrowly escaped and wondered if he made the right decision, going out into the world. Even the other dragonflies he met were of a different breed. Some ignored him, others eyed him hungrily. But Din was his own dragonfly. If the world wasn’t his he at least belonged to the world and that was something.

The world was a cruel parent, thought Din as smoke filled the air. He had the first day of flying he could remember without predators. They all went off somewhere but he didn’t think where. It was too good to be true, skimming the grass, eating gnats and mosquitos. His wings brushed by the leaves. It was surreal until the smoke began pluming.

Din ran smack into a tree, unable to see. What was going on? He flew as high as he could. That’s when he saw it in the distance; a real dragon. Din couldn’t believe his glassy eyes. They were supposed to be myth. And here one was. It was headed straight for… Din gulped. That’s the way he had flown. The others were in danger.