Dragon Wishes

by Andrew M. Colley

Two boys in 18th Century Wales help a Dragon, both receive a 15th birthday wish, one wishes to become a girl.
Two young brothers from an 18th-century farming community in Wales, are out on a walk in the nearby forest when they see a dragon drop from the sky. The older brother Owen is recognised by the family as having a strange character and the reader may initially identify him as autistic. His younger brother Garratt is tasked with looking after him because he has such a soft nature, finds it difficult to socialise with others, is often reckless and acts without thought. Owen runs to find her and approaches the fallen dragon without fear, despite the pleading of his brother. The dragon, Shelesh, has been feasting on plumbs and they have fermented in her stomach causing her to be drunk which is why she fell. She landed badly, and her neck has become caught in the trees.
The brothers dash home and fetch their father's axe and free her, which she finds both amusing and charming. As a reward, she gives both boys a wish that can be taken on their 15th birthday. She also explains that during the years in between, they will dream of wishes and learn of the impact they could have. Both brothers have dreams where they make a wish. Some are intended, others are just flippant comments but in their dreams, the wish comes true, sometimes with dire consequences. To end the wish, they need only wake up and often when they do, they are relieved.
One dreams of being rich, but he is taken away from his family. In another wish, Owen wishes everyone would go away and leave him alone. Only the animals on the farm are left. Garratt wishes his brother could be taken seriously by others so that he wouldn't be bullied. It happens and he becomes so popular, he has less time for his younger brother. Fortunately, all of these wishes were only dreams, designed to teach the brothers the potential consequences of their wishes.
Owen is the first to reach 15 and he completely shocks everyone when he admits that for his whole life, he has felt like a girl trapped inside a boy's body. He describes the anguish it has caused him, and he is certain he will wish to become a girl. His parents are shocked at first, but they love him and don't want him to continue in an unhappy life, so they support him. His only concern is that he has only one wish and feels selfish because it will not bring wealth to the family or his friends as he wanted. However, as a girl, he becomes Gwen and is so popular as a singer she is asked to perform for royalty, so the wealth does follow.
Garratt misses his brother so much, although he supported the change, and he loves Gwen. Now that Gwen has become famous and is away from home all the time singing, he feels sad and lonely. On his 15th birthday Gwen promised to come home and go with him to make his wish before the dragon but she is delayed and cannot be there. Garratt goes to meet the dragon to make his wish, hoping until the last moment that Gwen would arrive but only a messenger comes, and he is too late to deliver the message to him. Garratt begs the dragon for more time to decide but the dragon refuses as he has already had so many years. His anxiety levels reach a peak, and he is so upset that he accidentally says he wishes they could go back to life when things were simpler before they met the dragon. The reader is transported back to the first chapter where the dragon falls from the sky, but this time Garratt knows what will happen, he was there before.