‘The Squashbuckler Diaries’ are the daily tales of Joy Shelley’s Life in the Dream. The ‘Lost in Dreams’ books will tell the story of what happens to her at ages 6, 9, 12, 15, and so on. The diaries tell us what happens before, after, and between the books.

#398: The News, Part 2: Red’s History

“Where’s the dragon home planet?” Dragon Little asked. 

Dragon Father and Dragon Little stood at the wheel of Bonny’s Revenge as Dragon Father piloted the ship. Bonny’s Revenge began to rise out of earth’s ocean water. 

“Oh, far far far away. So far away that we’d never been. That’s why we’ve never been there.” 

That ist interesting, I thought. Dragon Father of course knew nothing of a dragon home planet and knew nothing about where I had come from. This conversation taught me that Dragon Father indeed believed, in his subconscious, that I was part of his dream. 

“Did you know,” Dragon Father told Dragon Little as they headed into space. “That Red is an only child?” 

I frowned. That, actually, was not true. I assumed that almost anything he would say about me would be equally untrue. 

“Yeah?” Dragon Little said. 

I felt bad that Dragon Little would believe things about me that were not true. I would have to correct those false impressions at some point. 

“Yeah,” Dragon Father said. “But her parents are still alive.” 

Sadness filled me. My parents were long dead and I have never met them or seen them. I do not even know what they looked like..

“Do you think we can see them, Dad?” 

“Oooh! That’s a great idea!” 

“How long till we get there?” 

“I told you. It’s going to take a while. Like fifteen more minutes. Want me to tell you more about Red’s childhood?” 

I was saddened again, for my childhood had been stolen by my enslavers. But I was also excited to see what fabrication Dragon Father would think of and then try to make appear in the Dream. 

Tomorrow I will tell you more of Dragon Father’s and Dragon Little’s journey to my ‘home planet’. 

—Told by The Red Dragon

#399: The News, Part 3: Red’s Secret Childhood

#397: The News, Part 1: The Pirate Holiday