Dragons in a Bag

The best part of Vik’s story is that I’ve never heard it before—which means he knows how to keep a secret!

“So,” Vik says, “what’s your unbelievable story?”

I make sure Kavita is still engrossed in her book. Then I step closer to Vik and say, “My friend’s missing and… she’s a witch.”

Vik doesn’t blink, so I go on.

“She received an important package from Madagascar and instructions to take good care of what was inside.”

“And what was inside?” Vik asks.

“Three dragons.” This time Vik’s eyes grow wide. “Actual dragons?”

I nod but then confess, “Well, I haven’t seen them but that’s what Ma said.”

“She saw them?”

“Uh, not exactly. Ma kept them in the dark because there’s this thing called imprinting. . . .”

Vik nods like he doesn’t need an explanation. “And your friend didn’t want the dragons to get attached to a human. Smart move. So where are the dragons now?”

I point at Ma’s bag over on the bench. Then my heart skips a beat. The first thing I notice is that Kavita is no longer reading her book. The second thing I notice is that the familiar red mint tin is on her lap—and it’s open!

“NO!” I cry, but it’s too late. Not only are three tiny dragons peering out of the tin—Kavita is feeding them.

“Kavi, what are you doing?” Vik asks.

“Sharing my snack,” she replies without even looking at her brother.

Vik and I draw closer to get a better look at the dragons. They’re so tiny that they must have had plenty of room inside Ma’s mint tin. Two have wings, and one has a long body with plates along its curved spine. All of them have purply scales that shimmer like the feathers that circle the necks of the strutting pigeons. The dragons look harmless, and they purr happily as they eat the crumbs Kavita is sharing with them.

I point at the plastic sandwich bag on Kavita’s lap. Inside are two round ivory-colored cakes. One is whole, and the other has been broken into pieces by Kavita so that she can feed the hungry dragons.

I remember what Ma said about not giving the dragons marshmallows. “What’s in the bag?” I ask anxiously.

“That’s peda,” Vik explains. “My aunty brought us some from her shop in Queens.”

I’ve never heard of peda, but the dragons can’t get enough of it. Kavita laughs as they nip at her fingers and jostle for more.

“Ma said newborn dragons love sticky, sweet things,” I tell Vik.

Then they’ll love peda,” he says. “It’s made from milk, sugar, and cardamom.”

Vik reaches into his sister’s bag and takes out the cake that’s still whole. A sliced green pistachio nut has been pressed into its center. Vik breaks the cake and hands half to me. “Try it.”

Vik pops his half of the peda into his mouth. I take a small bite at first but quickly cram the rest in my mouth, too. It’s so good! For a moment, none of us say a word as we savor the sweet, creamy cake. But as the sugary treat dissolves, I realize we have an even bigger problem now. The dragons are gazing up at Kavita with adoration. And I could be wrong, but it looks like they’re a little bit bigger than they were just five minutes ago.

I don’t want to go off on a little girl, so I start with a simple question. “Hey, Kavi—how did you find the dragons?” I ask.

“I needed a napkin, so I looked in your purse—”

“It’s not my purse,” I tell her. “It belongs to Ma.”

Kavi rolls her eyes and says, “Whatever. I was looking in your mom’s purse when I heard something crying so I —”

“Dragons don’t cry,’ Vik says irritably.

“How do you know?” Kavita asks in a voice that sounds just as annoyed.

“They sounded sad, so I opened the tin and gave them some of my snack.”

I look at Vik, and he looks at me before sighing heavily. I’m guessing this isn’t the first time his little sister has caused so much trouble.

She might be faking it, but Kavita gives us an innocent look and asks, “What’s the big deal?”

“You had no right to poke around in Jaxon’s purse!” Vik says angrily.

“It’s not my purse, I remind him.”

“That’s right—it belongs to a witch!” Vik hisses that last word, and Kavita’s eyes grow wide. “But you meddled with her dragons, and now they think you are their mother,” Vik tells her.

“I don’t mind,” Kavita says while stroking the wingless dragon under its chin. The two winged dragons get Jealous and clamor for her attention, rubbing against her arm like cats.

“I mind!” I exclaim. Then I look around at the people going in and out of the park and realize I need to keep it down. “Those dragons aren’t supposed to be here,” I tell Kavi. “They were supposed to be delivered to someone else, but now you’ve ruined everything!”

If Kavita feels bad about what she’s done, she sure doesn’t show it. Vik picks up the red tin and holds it in his palm. “Put them back in, Kavi—now,” he demands.

Kavita frowns. “They don’t want to stay inside that horrible little tin.”

“It doesn’t matter what they want!” I cry. “They need to stay hidden until we can find Ma and deliver them to the right dimension.”

“Just put them back, Kavi, or I’ll tell Mummy you were going through a stranger’s bag.”

That works. Kavi puts all three dragons in her palm and lifts them to her mouth to give each one a kiss. Then she sets them in the tin one by one. But when Vik tries to close the lid, the dragons screech and howl like they’re in pain.

I snatch the tin from Vik and try to force it shut.

“Stop—you’re hurting them!” Kavita cries.

Vik sighs and says to me, “I think you’re going to need a bigger tin, Jax.”

He’s right. Just a few crumbs of peda have led to a dragon growth spurt. We’re going to need a larger container.

“What about the plastic bag?” I ask. “Let’s put them in there for now and zip it up.”

Vik grabs the bag with the leftover peda from his sister’s lap. He takes out the crumbling cake and offers it to me. I shove the peda in my mouth and then dump all three dragons from the tin into the little bag. But as soon as they start eating the crumbs sticking to the bottom of the bag, their scaly, writhing bodies start to grow some more.

“Ouch!” Vik cries before dropping the bag on the ground.

I snatch it up from the ground and see that one corner of the plastic bag has melted.

“Uh-oh,” I say. “I think these are fire-breathing dragons!”

I unzip the bag and a wisp of smoke rises from the mouth of the wingless dragon. “We need something fireproof,” Vik suggests. “I might have something at home… .”

I shake my head and watch the dragons as they flick their forked pink tongues over the few peda crumbs left in the plastic bag. “I don’t have time. Trouble’s on his way.”

Vik gives me a funny look. “Trouble?”

“That’s Ma’s replacement,” I tell him. “You and your sister don’t have to stay, Vik. I honestly don’t know what’s going to happen next.”

Vik puts a reassuring hand on my shoulder and says, “Well, we’ll wait with you and find out.”

“What will you do with the dragons?” Kavita asks as she gets up from the bench.

“That’s up to Jaxon, not you,” Vik snaps at his sister. “You need to learn to mind your own business, Kavi.”

Kavi turns away in a huff and unzips her own bag to place her book inside. I take up Ma’s purse and search inside for another container. When I can’t find a suitable replacement for the mint tin, I unzip a side pocket and put the sandwich bag inside. Then I close the side pocket and click the latch that holds Ma’s purse closed.

“Sorry about my sister,” Vik says. “I should have kept a closer eye on her.”

I turn around and shrug wearily. “Don’t worry about it, Vik. It’s been a crazy kind of day,” I tell him. I look up the block and see a tall man with a bushy gray beard and furry gray eyebrows coming our way. “And it’s not over yet.”

The tall man holds out his hand before he reaches us. But with three long strides, he’s standing right in front of me.

“You must be Jax,’ he says with a big smile that reveals a gold tooth. “I’m Charlie Randall, but my friends call me Trub.”