The Boy Who Befriended a Dragon

Previously

…The tension in the room began to dissipate, replaced by a strange, almost giddy sense of disbelief. They didn’t scream. They didn’t faint. They just… stared. And then, slowly, tentatively, Mom reached out and gently petted Sparky’s head. He let out a happy rumble, and a tiny puff of smoke escaped his nostrils, smelling faintly of burnt toast and… acceptance. It was a start. A big, scaly, smoke-puffing start. And for the first time since I’d found him, I felt a surge of pure, unadulterated hope. Maybe, just maybe, keeping my dragon friend wouldn’t be so impossible after all.