Acrid

For years she was told that a dragon lived in the hills and guarded a massive hoard of treasure. She liked the idea of such a thing, but it was just a myth–something you told to children as you tucked them into bed at night. 

She figured the rumors would disperse as she grew, but the rumors only intensified. Grown adults talked in feverish whispers about the dragon and the amazing riches it guarded. People wanted to go claim their share, but they had no idea how to go about it. 

She laughed it off. But the seed of curiosity took root in her brain and refused to let go. 

She had no urge for the gold, but to see a dragon in the flesh was an entirely different matter. Dragons were the stuff of legends. She wanted to see it with her own eyes. 

She decided she would take a walk into the hills to see if this dragon actually existed. 

She laughed as she told her sister what she was planning to do, and packed for a hike not knowing what she would find at the end of the trail. It was an area she knew well, because her family used picnic there often. 

They even called it The Dragon’s Den. Of course this was all in jest, but she would soon discover the truth. 

The sun warmed her skin as she walked up the easy slope. She was chiding herself for her foolish notions. 

But then the path grew steeper and steeper. 

Hints of ash and brimstone wafted down to her as she climbed. It could have been her imagination, but it spurred her onward. 

She came to the mouth of a large cave with smoke billowing from the depths. She hesitated for a moment, but she had come this far, so she wasn’t going to turn back now. 

She took rapid steps into the cave and followed the growing smell of fire and brimstone through the winding tunnels. 

Soon, she glimpsed gleaming scales and the luster of gold as she rounded the corner. The dragon was real! It wasn’t a myth. She had seen it with her own eyes. 

She squealed with delight and immediately regretted it. 

The dragon turned and regarded her with cold, emotionless eyes. It opened its mouth preparing to breathe fire. 

She tried to run, but she wasn’t fast enough. She managed to scream once before her body was engulfed in flames and dropped into ash. 

She saw the dragon with her own eyes, but now she would become a myth as well.