Brother to Dragons, Companion to Owls

Chapter One "Morning falls on the just and the unjust," i observe, and the nurse smiles politely and continues brushing my hair. Betwixt laughs from where I clutch him in my hands, the other head, Between, snores. He is not a morning dragon. "Turn us over, Sarah," Betwixt coaxes, and I do this carefully, balancing the four stubby legs on my pant leg just above the knee. Betwixt growls approvingly, "That's a good girl. Now, be a love and scratch in front of my left horn, right above the eye ridge." I do this, studying my friend as I do. Betwixt and Between are a two-headed dragon. They are small as dragons go, standing only seven inches at their full height and running only ten inches long from barrel chest to tail tip. They also have blue scales, red eyes, and smell faintly of strawberries. The nurse interrupts my thoughts and turns me to face the mirror, "There, now, don't we look pretty this morning?" I look, pleased as always by the effects of my weekly bath. Hair straight but thick, shaded the yellow-white of cream, falls shining to well past my shoulders. My skin is fair and touched with rose. My eyes are the pale green of milky jade. Smiling, I borrow Bacon's words, "There is not excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion." When I finish dressing, I "run along" as the nurse tells me, firmly holding Betwixt and Between. Breakfast for ambulatory residents is being served in the cafeteria. I get on line, place my dragon on my tray, and accept what is handed to me. "A day without orange juice is a day without sunshine," I say to Jerome, whose dark face parts with a bright smile. "You've got Polly well trained," another worker says. "Sarah," Jerome replies. "Her name is Sarah." "Polly'd be a better name," the other laughs. "The loony who never says what but anyone else teaches herjust like a pet parrot." Jerome gives some soft reply. He is a Witness and always turns the other cheek. I see something in his eyes, though, and whisper softly, "Beware the fury of a patient man." He nods once and I move on and find a seat at one of the tables. Between is awake by now and with Betwixt is eagerly awaiting his share of my breakfast. First, I dip my index finger in the juice and place a drop on each dragon's tongue. Then I take the plastic jelly packet, break the blister, and squeeze a tiny dab of jelly into each of the dragon's mouths. A shadow falls over the table and with a scraping of chairs two people join me. Both are men. Both are like me, insane. Ali is schizophrenic. Often he is drugged so heavily that he shuffles like a zombie. He must be throwing his pills away again, because his tiny eyes in his swollen, porcine face glitter with malice. Francis is manic-depressive. I do not need to see his bright, mismatched clothes or the nervous way that he flutters his long-boned hands to know that he is currently manic. The way he laughs as he takes his seat and nudges Ali, who "accidentally" shoves my tray, spilling my juice onto my toast and eggs, tells me. I suppress tears and hear my dragons hiss. Then I cut the ruined part from my toast and squeeze the remainder of the jelly onto it. The eggs are beyond saving, the juice mostly gone. Because of my grooming, I have missed the early service and already the food line is closing down. Ali and Francis don'tLindskold, Jane is the author of 'Brother to Dragons, Companion to Owls' with ISBN 9780765314819 and ISBN 0765314819.