The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

I Got My Eye On You 
by Rie Sheridan Rose 

Daniella strolled through the outdoor market, taking in the sights and smells of the goods on display. She’d never even seen many of the fruits and vegetables laid out on the stall tables. The stall owners called to her in a musical language she didn’t understand. Smiling apology and shaking her head, she wove her way deeper into the market.

Her friend Tony had promised her an experience unlike any she’d ever come across. He insisted the environment was a must-see event. So far, she found it intriguing, but she wasn’t sure if it lived up to Tony’s hype.

“Psst. Hey! You there…”

Daniella stopped in her tracks, glancing around her to see if anyone else stood nearby. She pointed to herself. “Are you talking to me?” She craned her neck to find the speaker.

“Yeah. You in the polka-dot dress.”

She looked down at the green and white print of her dress. How interesting.

“Where are you? What do you want?”

“Over here. On the table right in front of you. What, you blind?”

Daniella peered at the stall in front of her. “What the—” she gasped, staring in disbelief.

Sitting on the rough board in front of her was a scattering of dragon fruit. In the center of the group rested one that…blinked at her.

“Yeah, lady—you. What, you’ve never seen an eye before?”

“Not in a fruit.”

“Well, now you have. Dragons gotta start somewhere, ya know.”

“I thought dragons hatched from eggs.”

The…creature snorted at her. “Shows what you know. Dragons grow from seeds. Of course, most of them get eaten before they can talk to people. It’s a travesty.”

Daniella scratched her head. “Why aren’t there more dragons, then? They don’t all get eaten, do they?”

“Not all, but most, like I said. The ones who aren’t eaten are fantastic at hiding.”

“Wow.”

“I’ve been watching you. I think you’ve got what it takes to be a dragon master.”

“Me? I don’t even believe in dragons.”

“You’re standing there talking to one, aren’t you?”

“Maybe I ate a bad mushroom at lunch.”

The eye rolled inside its spiky shell. “I thought you were smarter than that. Don’t you aspire to be special?”

“I’m special,” she protested.

The eye scowled. “You are turning down a chance to mother a dragon. That ain’t special.”

Daniella bit her lip. The creature offered her a unique chance…but how on earth could she hide a dragon?

The eye glanced over her shoulder. “Look. The stall owner is coming back. Last chance. I really need you to do this. Think of all the advantages having a dragon in your pocket can give you.”

Daniella looked behind her. A man was hurrying her way, pasting a smile on his face as he came. Must be the stall owner. He had an oily smarm to him.

“All right. I’ll do it,” she said. “But I’d better not regret it.”

The man hurried up to the stall. “Pretty lady,” he said in broken English, “what may I do for your excellent self?”

Daniella scooped up the eye and a half-dozen more of the dragon fruit. “I’d like to buy these.”

The man nodded. “Two pence.”

She handed over two coins, and he handed her a small bag. She spilled the fruit and the dragon into the bag. Wait until Tony got a load of her new pet.

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Fiction © Copyright Rie Sheridan Rose
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

More from Author Rie Sheridan Rose:

Overheard in Hell:
Dark Poetry

Poems exploring hell and damnation. Tales of sorrow, vengeance, betrayal, and redemption. Ghosts, ghouls, and demons stalk these pages. Don’t read in a lonely house…in a darkened room by a single candle…

…unless you like the touch of an icy finger up your spine.

Available on Amazon!