ARTHYR AURELIO AND THE SANGHA — The next times

Gradually, she began to miss their gatherings. There was always a reason: a chore, a family visit, a day when she did not feel like crossing the forest. She missed Aurora but told herself she would see her next time. But next time kept slipping farther away.

One day, she stopped going altogether.

The grown-ups found less to complain about. Skyblue had become quite a normal dragon by her neighbors’ standards. Her name was now the strangest thing about her.

Time passed. She reached the age when she had to leave her parents’ tree and find a home of her own. She believed the move would put many things right: away from the watching eyes of the village, she could live as she pleased, without having to explain herself at every turn.