The Miracle of Water

Anzu stroked the shivering water dragon with one trembling hand. Her long, dark hair was dripping down her kimono from the dragon’s attack, but she didn’t care. The serpent partially uncurled and gazed up at her with trusting sapphire eyes. Anzu’s heart melted, and she gathered the small dragon into her lap.

“Oh, don’t keep that—thing--Anzu,” said a villager, watching.

Anzu raised her head and met his scornful eyes defiantly. “Don’t worry. You’ll never see me again.” She strode off into the hills without a backward glance.

Four years later . . . A tall, slim girl with waist-length black hair, striking tan skin, and a plain gray tunic sat astride an aqua-scaled water dragon. She touched down on a quiet barren plain. The girl stepped up to a small shack and knocked. The door swung open.

“I am Anzu of the Waterfall Steed,” said Anzu purposefully. “We’ve come because of the drought.”

The villagers inside, crouched around a tiny fire, fell to the dirt floor, sobbing with joy. They filed out to watch as Anzu mounted her dragon, then took off.

The dragon tested the dry air by diving twice, then began circling above the villagers, sweeping clouds into one huge, black mass. Then the dragon reared up. Anzu clutched its shoulders tightly, and it released a flame into the cloud. For a moment, nothing happened. Then suddenly, the cloud turned the color of liquid diamonds, and it rained cool, iridescent drops onto the muddy village people below.

Anzu alighted beside them. “Thank you, dragon,” she said softly, p