Eggs
Starving, the two men looked at the large egg sat out in the open on the rocks. It had a pale-yellow color and was the size of their heads. It sat there, bold as brass. There were no signs of damage on the egg. No crack or yoke leaking out.
It was just an egg out in the open.
“Maybe a condor, or another big bird,” the first man said.
“There’s no nest,” the second countered. His stomach gurgled. Since escaping prison the previous day, the men had not had anything to eat.
They were starving, but the large egg in the open puzzled them. They were wary, as though a large glowing sign told them that an inn had free food, a warm bed, and a prostitute too.
“It doesn’t need a nest,” said the first. “It could have dropped. It could have been laid out here by the mom who decided to just keep going. I don’t know.”
The second laid a hand on his fellow. They were hungry, terribly so, but something here was not right. “It could be lizard,” he offered. “Something big and mean like a crocodile. Momma is around here somewhere and will rip us apart.”
The first man snorted. “A crocodile? Here in the mountains? You’re imagining things.”
“Ok, fine. A snake then. A big one.”
“A big snake? That’s less likely than the crocodile. They need heat or something.”
The second man scoffed. “Oh, so now you’re an expert on all reptiles. It could be a snake. Snakes can live in mountains you know.”
The first man crossed his arms. “Listen, a big snake needs big prey. And there is nothing up here that can feed it.”
“Mountain goats…and us,” the man said.
The egg wobbled. A fragment fell off. Then men stopped arguing. Something was stirring in the egg. It knocked another segment free. There was something different from eating an egg to eating a newly hatched thing.
But they were starving, so the men crept forward, eager. They could hear the creature knocking against its egg, struggling to come forward. It squealed and the paused. Only for a moment. Hunger pushed them on.
Something slid out of the egg and curled up on the stones. It was blue. The men stood over it. Scales. Wings?
“A dragon?” said the first man.
“Yeah,” said the second.
A shadow fell over them.
Michael Frutig 