• Once upon a time - as most stories start out...there was a poor farm boy who lived on the outskirts of Srinagar. There, he was raised by his kindly old uncle, whom he helped crop weeds, raise animals for profit, and train horses.


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    The boy followed obediently alongside with his uncle, and obediently did he listen when he would say: "Boy, when the time comes that, that sun oar' there above the horizon," he points jerkily, "fails to rise; the rain no longer shares its tears; and my eyes can no longer drink the light, I want you to take yor' club or yor' hammer or what'sever ya' got on ya' and destroy my rock. And if he fails to do so, take m' rock and hide it. Boy hide it far beyond those mountains; throw it in the caves for all I care, but don't and I mean don't keep it with ya'." He said this with the upmost confidence, and scratched his thin beard at that.


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    The boy never did understand the words his uncle had been trying to say, but the time came for him, too soon.


    It was a beautiful sunny morning - rare for one who'd come across Srinagar, and it was a day that will surely be remembered. The boy had just come back from the fields, and from all the tobacco he had planted that day, he'd surely appreciate a good nap. He lay his shovel on a decrepit wooden table against the wall and kicked his boots off carelessly. Maybe uncle would'nt mind a nap himself , he thought. But just as soon as he opened the door, he found his uncle lying on the floor, dumbstruck.


    "Uncle!" he ran to the limp body and knelt by his side, "Uncle, what happened?"
    "Boy don't go treat'n me like I can'ta handle myself! Let go! an' let me die."
    "Oh uncle.."
    "Now uh, remember what I us'd t'tell you b'fore? 'Bout me rock?" The boy nodded, ignoring the hot swelling building in his eyes. "Don't you forget it." He nodded again, and the man groaned.
    "Uncle what can I do?"
    "Let me be boy, and take this," he rummaged through his large brown coat with a limp arm, groaning several times before finally releasing a scratched blue silvery stone. "Take this an' destroy it, understand?"


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    The boy took the strange stone and nodded once more. "Boy am I proud to have called you son. Now do me will and let me be." His breathing sharpened and his eyes worn lazy and tired. The boy hugged the stone against his stomach and squeezed it, afraid it would just simply vanish with his uncle. He knew that his uncle was dying, for he was indeed very old and weary. But he- only a boy- did not yet understand the importance of this moment knew very well what death was.


    He sank his head on his hands and wept. He wept until there were no more tears and his uncle was fast asleep.


    "I love you uncle," he whispered at last. Then he got up in numb legs, and with one last glance towards his uncle's corps, he turned away and left the house. He didn't know what to do now, where to go, whom to live with, and suddenly he remembered the stone in his hands.


    Interesting, he thought. It was indeed an interesting stone after all. The dark blue and purple blotches that reminded him of bruises seemed to prove that; and no other stone could be as large and as silvery as this. There was also a certain spark to it that he couldn't figure out. Like a faint glow in the center of the stone.

    'Destroy my rock boy, destroy it,'his uncle's voice echoed in his head and decided at last what he must do. He took a hammer, coincidentally next to him, and with one great huff, he banged the head of the hammer over the stone.


    "Ah!" He flinched, for the stone made an awful screeching noise as soon as the hammer hit the surface. He dared not do it again after that, and threw the hammer away, feeling exasperated.


    He leaned back, almost on the verge of tears again, and watched ahead beyond the mountains. Click. He heard something indistinct. Click Clack. His head jerked up swiftly and stared at the stone. It was...hatching. No it couldn't be. Rocks don't hatch, so he thought. Unless it was no rock at all. He crawled towards the stone at once and examined it. There was indeed a crack in the center; exactly where his hammer had hit. The cracks grew slowly and vaguely, becoming more audible each second.


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    And suddenly, just as swift as his heart was beating at the moment, a hole was punched through, and a piece of the stone flew towards him. He ducked at once of course, and slowly, afraid of what he might see, he took a peek at the stone. There was a black-ish knife gnawing at the hole. No- claws. Amazing! he thought. It must be some sort of reptile or lizard, according to the unusually distinct large scales that were now trailing with the claws.


    With one last reverbrating click, the egg burst into peices and flew in all directions. Something was crouching in the center of all the mess, and it was indeed no lizard.


    The boy marveled at the thing - shining blue scales that looked marvelous but indestructable, large black claws, cloud-white spikes that trailed against the spine, and a long fat tail that circled it's legs. The head on the other hand was lying on its side, and boy was it a sight. It's eyes were amazingly much like a deep blue opal.


    It blinked once, and the boy jumped simultaneously. Hearing the sound he made the creature jumped as well revealing small, bat-like wings and hovered in the air for several moments, locking eyes with the boy.


    "What are you?" the boy whispered, meaningly to himself.
    "What am I? What are you?" His voice was silky and gently and echoed brilliantly with the wind, but his tone on the other handed was slightly much like a mix of curiosity and annoyance.
    "Well I'm a boy of course."
    The dragon bowed his head slightly and cocked it to the side, "You don't look like a boy."
    "What does a boy supposed to look like?"
    "I don't know," the strange creature stared curiously and hovered towards the boy. "My name's Yuki, what's your name?"
    "Bo." Yuki cocked his head once again and made a shrilling noise. It took Bo several guesses to realize it was laughter.
    "That's a strange name Bo," he giggled again.
    "Yuki is a strange name," Bo pointed out, and they both smiled.
    As much as Bo was a well, self-controlled boy, he couldn't help himself and decided to reach out and touch the dragon.


    As soon as his hand touched the brilliant rough scales of the creature, a bright aurora blasted between him and the dragon. It shot an electric phase through from Bo's palm through his veins and up his skull.


    "I'm sorry! It was an accident, are you ok?" A big mistake was more like it, and Bo waited for his eyes to adjust from the light to see Yuki.


    Instead of seeing the small cute flapping dragon....there was a huge tail in place of the creature and the egg remains. His wide eyes followed it to an even bigger torso and head. It grew!!


    He couldn't believe his eyes..maybe for the fact that he had lost his uncle, hatched an egg, and met a dragon was too much for one day...because in front of him is Yuki - no - was Yuki. Very much the same but a completely bigger version, and this time- he looked much like a real dragon.


    ......to be continued....... 4laugh