The Library Card That Chose a Dragon

How it begins

The library card chose the dragon.

Mrs. Finch had been saving it for a new reader, but the card slipped from her drawer and attached itself to his nose.

Ash sneezed.

A map fell from the nearest shelf.

"That is not how borrowing works," Mrs. Finch said.

The card disagreed.

It stamped the map with a neat blue date.

Ash looked at the picture.

Then at the door.

"Perhaps I don't need a card."

"Everyone needs a card."

"Even dragons?"

"Especially dragons. Your pockets are unreliable."

He glanced at the small pile of teaspoons that had fallen from his coat.

The map showed a mountain.

At its foot stood a row of little houses.

Ash folded it before Mrs. Finch could read the name.

The card stamped again.

A second map slid across the desk.

Same mountain.

Different road.

Mrs. Finch sat down.

She had spent forty years helping people find the books they wanted.

She was learning that a book could also be rude about finding the person it wanted.

"Do you know this place?"

"No."

The card made a sharp clicking sound.

Ash sighed.

"Not anymore."

Outside the library window, a train passed without stopping.

Ash watched it until the last carriage disappeared.

Mrs. Finch took the date stamp away from the card.

It wriggled in protest.

"We ask first."

The dragon looked at her.

"The map?"

"You."

For a long moment, he said nothing.

Then he unfolded the paper.

One house had a tiny green door.

He touched it with a claw careful enough to turn a page.

"There used to be someone here."

"Would you like to tell me?"

The card became still.

Mrs. Finch opened a fresh borrowing slip.

For once, she left the destination blank.

Ash sat beside the desk.

The teaspoons stopped falling from his coat.

It seemed a promising place to begin.