Hatched

[WP] You picked up a dozen eggs at the farmer's market but when it came time to cook breakfast in the morning you find your fridge contained zero eggs and a dozen tiny dragons.

*****

Sunshine.

The symphony of her morning was about to begin. The orchestra of her many cats awoke, one by one, each with it's own tune, each footstep a unique melody. She lie awake in her bed, blinking and wincing, willing her old bones to move as the conductor of the morning, the sun, shined through her yellowed lace curtains with a baton beam of sunlight that worked its way down the wall and into her eyes.

Then there was the dreaded crash of the breakfast plates from the cupboard. She whispered, "I'm coming, Sunshine," as she slowly slung her feet over the edge of the bed to the floor, and sat another moment, listening as the tin plates were knocked off the counter, clanging like big brass cymbals.

A giant furry Maine Coon did a figure-eight around her withered legs, getting up on his hind legs to rub his full body against her shins. She pet at his head to distract him as she placed her feet in her slippers and slowly creaked to her feet. The sun was shining bright now, and with it came the mews of a cat she had closed in her bathroom overnight. She opened the door and out flew a black and white cat, long and graceful, who stretched and made eye contact with the old woman, then noticed the Maine Coon sitting besides the bed. The black and white made a loud hiss and ran out into the hallway.

The old woman and the furry Coon followed, down the hallway towards the back of the home, where the floor was still cold, and the air held the last wisps of the frigid night. She opened the blinds, and the rich blue of the morning sky burst in and allowed her to survey the mess of empty plates scattered on the floor. The perpetrator, a bright orange cat with a clipped ear, toyed with the last plate as it teetered on the edge of the counter.

"Don't you do it, Sunshine.

Sunshine looked at her pensively, as if in deep thought, then with a single stroke knocked the plate to the ground, where it banged and flipped on one edge and spun around ringing until it came to a stop. Satisfied of a job well done, Sunshine jumped off the counter and mixed in with the half dozen or so other cats that were waiting at the old women's feet.

The cats scattered as she shuffled over to the refrigerator, then regrouped again as she pulled out their breakfast.

Sunshine swatted at the black and white cat and the old woman croaked hoarsely, "Sunshine! You stop that right now!"

Sunshine ignored her, and the black and white in turn hissed and ran to a corner of the room, where it sat and licked down at its stomach. The old woman called to the cat, "Here, Spotty! Come get your breakfast."

In her hands she held what looked like a dead lizard. It was a freshly hatched baby dragon. It was motionless in her hand, a big head with bulging round eyes that were closed. It had gossamer wings wrapped around its lifeless body, and a thin ratty tail that uncurled in the warmth of the old woman's gnarled hand. It blinked an eye up at her and from a curled lip came a voice, rich and deep.

The baby dragon spoke, "Who dares to disturb my slumber."

"Quiet, you," said the old woman, taking its head between her thumb and forefinger and pinching tightly until she heard a faint scream and a satisfying snap. "Spotty! Spotty, come get your breakfast!" She dropped the twitching body of the baby dragon into a bowl and the black and white came running over and dug in.

The old woman shooed away Sunshine with her foot, "You'll get yours last, you little alarm clock."

She reached in the fridge and grabbed two more dragons. The Coon went up to her leg and rubbed his big furry head up and down as she picked up an empty plate from the floor and set it on the counter. She dropped the two dragons onto the plate, and their cold, lifeless bodies fell in with two thuds. She shook the plate until the baby dragons opened their eyes, one by one. They looked at each other, then looked up at the old woman who was hovering over the plate, staring at them intently.

As each one asked, "Who dares disturb my slumber" she took an arthritic knuckle to each of their heads until their brief life was snuffed from them. She was careful to kill the one in front of the other, and only killed the other when she was certain it knew its fate, humming an old show tune all along. She placed the plate on the floor and smiled as the Coon dug in.

She fed the other cats until only Sunshine remained unfed, mewling and howling at her feet. She opened the fridge and realized she was out of baby dragons. Sunshine gave her a look.

"Well, we're out of dragons," she stated matter of fact. Sunshine scurried to and fro as the old woman made her way across the kitchen to the pantry, where she pulled out a yellow plastic cookie bag. She reached in and pulled out elf.

"What's the meaning of this?" the elf cried as she held it by the collar of his tiny green jacket. She grinned as she took his head in her fingers and took delight at its muffled screams as she squeezed and squeezed until his head popped.

She dropped the elf into the last empty plate and called over Sunshine, "Soups on." She scraped bits of elf brains off her fingers and scolded Sunshine as he sniffed at the elf and turned towards one of the other cats munching away at baby dragons.

"Oh, don't you go wasting a good elf," she said. She picked the plate up off the floor, looked about slyly, then ate the elf herself, rubbing her tummy and exclaiming, "Mmm. That's good elf!"

Her appetite whetted, she poured several elves into a deep bowl. They cried and exclaimed, "What's happening?" as they helplessly tried climbing out. She doused them with milk, then grabbed a spoon and dunked their tiny heads until they no longer complained. She closed her eyes, and listened to the sounds of cats cleaning themselves and birds chirping outside.

Fin.