Shining Brightly

Chapter 6

The little dragon, Starlight, blinked. The soft, silvery light that had bloomed from her scales, a light she had always tried to hide, now seemed to pulse with a gentle rhythm, mirroring the soft glow of the moon above. Flicker, the firefly, hovered nearby, his own tiny lantern winking with delight. He had led her here, to this hushed clearing where the ancient trees parted like curtains to reveal a sky painted with a million diamond chips. He had seen her sparkle, a secret she had guarded for so long, and he hadn't flinched, hadn't pointed, hadn't made her feel like a strange, misplaced thing. Instead, he had been curious, his tiny voice a thread of wonder. “Why do you shine, Starlight?” he had buzzed, his light flickering with genuine intrigue.

And she, Starlight, had confessed, her voice a shy whisper, “I don’t know, Flicker. I just… do.” The words had felt small and inadequate, a pale reflection of the dazzling mystery that swirled within her. She had always felt it, this inner luminescence, a warmth that sometimes spilled out, painting the dark corners of her hidden world with fleeting, ethereal hues. Other dragons, she knew, did not do this. They breathed fire, they roared with mighty voices, they soared through the skies with powerful wings. But they did not glow. They did not have this quiet, internal radiance that sometimes made her feel like a dewdrop catching the first rays of dawn, too delicate, too different.