Sandy

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My very first memories of this world are of sand. My egg cracked open, and I fell out upon a large expanse of sand. A beach, I later learned it was called.

I was all alone. There were no other dragons in sight, just sand and sand and sand. But then I turned around, and I saw one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. The ocean.

Water as far as the eye could see, glistening and shimmering in the late evening light. I was immediately enraptured by the sight of it. I stared at it for what felt like a very long time, until finally I realized that the sun had set.

The water stopped being the beautiful thing it had been during the day, and had instead become a dark abyss. I was frightened by it, but even more frightened to leave it. So, I went back into the remains of my egg, and eventually drifted off into sleep.

The next morning, the sea was beautiful once more. I walked to it, but when I reached it it was cold. And wet. And strange. I decided that the ocean was an adventure I wasn’t ready for yet. It felt too… dangerous.

I instead decided to explore my other surroundings. I walked down the beach for a long while, but I still saw no sign of other dragons. Until suddenly I noticed something on the horizon.

It was bright and yellow, laying out in the sand. It took me a moment to realize that it was a dragon. A strange dragon, all by itself. Just like me. It was doing something with the sand. Moving it. Molding it.

I nestled down into the sand, creeping closer and closer. I was afraid of the mysterious dragon, but I was curious too. What was it doing? Where did it come from?

It was making a funny little shape out of the sand. I later learned it was a sandcastle, but at the time I had no idea why anyone would want to make such a thing.

I watched her make sandcastles for a while, and she did make quite a few. Sandcastle after sandcastle all in a row. Each different. After a while though she saw me.

I was frightened when she first approached me, but then I realized she was trying to teach me how to make a sandcastle. I thought that I should be scared of the strange dragon, but I desperately wanted to make a sandcastle.

I clumped the sand into a little hill. I added little windows and shells. It looked like a lopsided little mountain, but I loved it. The yellow dragon loved it too, she told me so.

Then, she told me about her clan. About all the wonderful dragons she knew. She asked about my clan. I told her I didn’t have a clan, and she invited me to join hers. I told her I would like to meet her clan.

And that’s how I came to have my very first family. Since then, I’ve learned a lot of things, including how to make better sandcastles. I went to the beach to make them all the time as a hatchling, and they got better and better, till I could make some of the best sandcastles in Sornieth.

But despite all the things I’ve done, and all the sandcastles I’ve made, my first sandcastle is still the best one I’ve ever seen.