There are no such things as dragons, which is why it was so puzzling when one suddenly appeared and landed on the Statue of Liberty. It let out a long burst of flame, making the great copper lady droop a bit on her left side. Then it flew away and disappeared, leaving the world quite distraught.
Flabbergasted even.
It wasn’t the damage, it was the sudden, dragon-shaped hole in our understanding of the world. There wasn’t enough coffee in the world for the late nights it would take to fit a dragon into modern scientific theory.
“What if it comes back?” the news networks screamed. Their fingers were on the panic button, eyes on the ratings chart.
“What if it doesn’t?” the scientists inquired. Biologists warmed up their DNA sequencers, physicists tried out new formulas (E=mc2+Dr?).
And then the world waited.
Hollywood made movies. Fantasy enthusiasts wrote slashfic of Draco and the Statue of Liberty. Survivalists bought even larger caliber weapons and nodded to each other smugly (“I knew it was dragons all along”). Conspiracy theorists quickly shoehorned a dragon into their schematics, somewhere between the Illuminati and the Reptilian Elite.
It never came back.
Eventually, the world collectively gave a cough of embarrassment, repaired the Statue, and got on with life. People shrugged.
“It must have been a fluke.”
The Green-Walled Tower 
April 20th, 2015 at 11:05 pm
I like there isn’t enough coffee in the world – that’s a great line. Well done, David.
April 25th, 2015 at 1:24 pm
🙂 As someone who relies on coffee, it came from the heart.
April 21st, 2015 at 12:11 am
Just loved it!!!
April 22nd, 2015 at 5:03 am
Couldn’t be a fluke, flukes are flatworms…dadumdum :rimshot:.
April 25th, 2015 at 1:22 pm
Yes, a fluke that big would be worrisome. 🙂
April 22nd, 2015 at 8:38 pm
David, your fluke reminded me of an unanswered thought of my own, “would you rather be afraid of the dark because of imagined creatures, nightmares without substance or proof that you saw with your own eyes?”
April 25th, 2015 at 1:21 pm
That’s a good question. The unknown is pretty scary but only because what might be there could be worse than we can imagine. 🙂 So, as to your question, I’m not sure. I think I’d rather see with my own eyes.
April 23rd, 2015 at 3:38 pm
That figures! Just sweep it under the rug! Great story! I enjoyed reading it.
April 25th, 2015 at 1:20 pm
Thanks! Sometimes it’s easier to ignore things than try to find an explanation.
April 25th, 2015 at 1:24 pm
And it will end up being like Edgar Allen Poe’s beating heart.
April 24th, 2015 at 1:45 am
where are you? were not you about to write more and more this month?
April 25th, 2015 at 1:19 pm
I have still been writing, even when I haven’t posted, but honestly, I’ve been too exhausted sometimes. Work is very busy at the moment.
April 26th, 2015 at 9:36 am
Wonderfully well written – enjoyed the many “viewpoints”/perspectives as they flowed through the story. XD
April 26th, 2015 at 3:00 pm
Thanks. It was interesting to think what different groups would think of a dragon appearing.