WCE ~ Candles and Clay: A Short Story

Instructions

Candles & Clay: A Short Story by: @OrcasAreMyLife6767 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ August's hands ran smoothly along the clay on the pottery wheel, sculpting a medium sized mug. The texture of the clay felt familiar as it slowly took shape. It was a foggy, chilly early morning; indifferent to the countless winter mornings spent sculpting clay and drinking warm tea. August finished up the mug, refining the smaller details like the handle and the rim. "All done," she thought as she set the mug onto the kiln tray and pushed it into the kiln, lighting a gentle fire. She turned around and looked at the leftover clay in the container, it seemed different; like it was begging to be sculpted. "Why not?" she thought to herself as she began to sculpt it. The clay began to slowly take shape, with fully extended wings and a barbed tail. It was clear what it was. A dragon. Ever since August was young, she was always deeply intrigued by dragons, and all other mystical creatures and cryptids. It felt nice to sculpt another one, it felt familiar. She touched up the horns and refined the sharp jaw. "All done!" she thought to herself, admiring her new creation. The moment felt frozen, and fragile in the great scheme of things. Until it wasn't. The dragon began to break away from its stuck position, revealing its strikingly blue scales and green eyes. It was alive! The dragon let out a whimper, as if it was waking up from a nap filled with dreams. "Woah!" August exclaimed as she reached to pet the creature. It was smaller than she ever thought a dragon would be, but that doesn't matter. The dragon enjoyed the pets, purring and rolling over. It was almost like a dog! "It's so friendly!" August thought to herself, cuddling it happily. "What should I name you?" she said aloud, when all of a sudden its barbed tail began to glow, and a flame lit from it. "Candle!" she said, and the dragon instantly nodded at the word, and the flame on its tail turned green, then blue, then purple, until it was following the patterns of the rainbow like it was as natural as breathing. Finally, August's dreams began to come true. Hidden away in the depths of her heart, she never thought her childhood dreams would come alive, but here she was. If only she could tell young August that one day she would sculpt a dragon and it would come alive. Finally, all the days spent sculpting away added up to something, they didn't just seem like a waste of time anymore. All her regrets melting away: choosing pottery instead of the family business, taking the secluded cottage in the mountains versus the busy studio in the city. It was all worth it. Candle looked at August gently, and he began to fly around the cottage, knocking over various pots and mugs. August normally would have been mad, but instead she laughed, she laughed and enjoyed this small moment in which this dragon was literally flying around and breaking her prized creations. Who would've thought that a dragon would change so much? August got to work, sculpting dozens of mythical creatures, a jackalope, a unicorn, a fairy, even a leprechaun. The cottage came alive with creatures never proven before, and the walls warmed with magic. The cottage became a cryptid sanctuary, dotted with magic creatures everywhere. August finally felt fulfilled, and the world came alive right before her eyes. The End. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~