Last Words
This is loosely based on the opening scene in Final Fantasy Legend II, which I have recently seemed to take a shine to. On a comical point, how in the world is the offspring of two human-seeming people ever going to be a baby dragon, a smile, an imp, or a... uh, robot? That last one, perhaps they built him. But the other three... kinda makes you wonder, doesn't it? But on a more serious point, what if that child expected a real answer to that question at the outset of his journey? Let's join Teru, the baby dragon monster, on the outset of his adventure to retrieve the seventy-seven pieces of MAGI.
"Mom," Teru began. He looked as if he had been pondering something very deep all night, his eyes full of worry and tiredness. "I... um..."
"What?" she asked him, noticing these things. She slid him a bowl of cereal. With undersized serpentine-dragon claws, he began to feed himself mouthfuls of it. "You can tell me, Teru,"
The food seemed to make him less hesitant. "I want to go and look for Dad," he replied in between bites.
Now, it was his mother's turn to be a bit hesitant in her reply. "Oh... Teru, I knew that you would bring this up some day. You seem to have inherited your father's taste for adventure,"
Despite the agreement with his choice to search for his father, Teru protested, "But I'm worried about you, Mom. You'll be here by yourself. Wouldn't you get lonely?"
"Don't worry about me, Teru," his mother assured. "I'll be fine. You have something much more important to the both of us on your mind... your heavy eyelids tell me that," Teru was silent. In a feeble attempt to cheer him up and try to take his mind off of the gravity of his insinuations, she began again, "Tell Daddy that I'm all right, okay?"
He pushed an empty bowl back toward his mother. "... I will," he said at last. "Mom... I..."
"What is it, Teru?"
"It's... well... ever since I was small, you've always treated me as if I were a human, just like you. But... I'm not, am I?" he asked her.
"... You knew, didn't you?" his mother asked, having hoped that he would never bring this up.
"It wasn't that difficult to figure out. I looked at you and Dad and then I would look at myself in a mirror... and I'm not a human like you. But you still treat me like it? How can you do that? Isn't it difficult to treat a... whatever I am... like something just like you?"
"It might seem a little strange, Teru. And I thought that it was, too, when you were born a Dragon. But then I just told myself that I would give it no more thought and your father and I promised each other that we would think of you as just another human like us. It's not... strange, is it?"
"I... guess it isn't that difficult for you, Mom... but... how is it possible? You told me about how Izanami and Izagami created the world, and Mr. S at school gave us that lecture, so...?"
"It just... happened. There's not much more to tell, Teru. You know the analogies, don't you? Now, why don't you go and tell your teacher that you'll be gone for a while looking for your father?"
"I have a feeling that you're trying to avoid telling me something, Mom... but I don't mind. There's just one more thing..."
"What is that, Teru?"
"Well... you and Dad have treated me like I was a normal human... all this time... and... and... I never told you how much I... loved you for that..." He wiped away a tear with his tail. "Thank you... for that... Mom, I promise that I'll return with Dad!" She couldn't help but to notice that, no matter how small of a dragon he had been all his life that he had grown up... perhaps not in external terms, but certainly in his spirit. It was always going to be a mystery to the both of them, as toward how she and his father had conceived a dragon. But it seemed that Teru didn't mind that, and she was beginning to wonder if she minded it that much herself.
This is loosely based on the opening scene in Final Fantasy Legend II, which I have recently seemed to take a shine to. On a comical point, how in the world is the offspring of two human-seeming people ever going to be a baby dragon, a smile, an imp, or a... uh, robot? That last one, perhaps they built him. But the other three... kinda makes you wonder, doesn't it? But on a more serious point, what if that child expected a real answer to that question at the outset of his journey? Let's join Teru, the baby dragon monster, on the outset of his adventure to retrieve the seventy-seven pieces of MAGI.
"Mom," Teru began. He looked as if he had been pondering something very deep all night, his eyes full of worry and tiredness. "I... um..."
"What?" she asked him, noticing these things. She slid him a bowl of cereal. With undersized serpentine-dragon claws, he began to feed himself mouthfuls of it. "You can tell me, Teru,"
The food seemed to make him less hesitant. "I want to go and look for Dad," he replied in between bites.
Now, it was his mother's turn to be a bit hesitant in her reply. "Oh... Teru, I knew that you would bring this up some day. You seem to have inherited your father's taste for adventure,"
Despite the agreement with his choice to search for his father, Teru protested, "But I'm worried about you, Mom. You'll be here by yourself. Wouldn't you get lonely?"
"Don't worry about me, Teru," his mother assured. "I'll be fine. You have something much more important to the both of us on your mind... your heavy eyelids tell me that," Teru was silent. In a feeble attempt to cheer him up and try to take his mind off of the gravity of his insinuations, she began again, "Tell Daddy that I'm all right, okay?"
He pushed an empty bowl back toward his mother. "... I will," he said at last. "Mom... I..."
"What is it, Teru?"
"It's... well... ever since I was small, you've always treated me as if I were a human, just like you. But... I'm not, am I?" he asked her.
"... You knew, didn't you?" his mother asked, having hoped that he would never bring this up.
"It wasn't that difficult to figure out. I looked at you and Dad and then I would look at myself in a mirror... and I'm not a human like you. But you still treat me like it? How can you do that? Isn't it difficult to treat a... whatever I am... like something just like you?"
"It might seem a little strange, Teru. And I thought that it was, too, when you were born a Dragon. But then I just told myself that I would give it no more thought and your father and I promised each other that we would think of you as just another human like us. It's not... strange, is it?"
"I... guess it isn't that difficult for you, Mom... but... how is it possible? You told me about how Izanami and Izagami created the world, and Mr. S at school gave us that lecture, so...?"
"It just... happened. There's not much more to tell, Teru. You know the analogies, don't you? Now, why don't you go and tell your teacher that you'll be gone for a while looking for your father?"
"I have a feeling that you're trying to avoid telling me something, Mom... but I don't mind. There's just one more thing..."
"What is that, Teru?"
"Well... you and Dad have treated me like I was a normal human... all this time... and... and... I never told you how much I... loved you for that..." He wiped away a tear with his tail. "Thank you... for that... Mom, I promise that I'll return with Dad!" She couldn't help but to notice that, no matter how small of a dragon he had been all his life that he had grown up... perhaps not in external terms, but certainly in his spirit. It was always going to be a mystery to the both of them, as toward how she and his father had conceived a dragon. But it seemed that Teru didn't mind that, and she was beginning to wonder if she minded it that much herself.