By: Ellie Zhang 1

Two soaked branches bounced beneath the dark gray sky as the heavy raindrops forced them down. The pebbly red berries hung ripe and ready at the tips of the strong leaves. A group of scarlet red dwarf dragons with farmer wear and philodendron umbrellas marched towards the young garnetberry tree. The sound of the rubber boots squeaked and farted when compressed with the over-wet mud. Three dwarf dragons placed collections of old, used buckets under the tree as they carefully plucked the fruit off and tossed them in. The tree only had a few berries. In the dragon village, where the berries were to be sold, lived the most ancient dragons: the dragon gods. The berries would be sold, the cost being their lives.

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Street markets filled the lively morning of Elliniká. This was the valley of Greek Creatures. Some stands were selling potions, lamps, food, artifacts, and other antiques.
The group of dwarf dragons came with the bucket of berries. They stopped at an empty stand covered in a polyurethane cloth. The garnetberries were thrown into a cauldron, filled with sparkly water. The berries made a reverberating ploink as they floated in a circular motion, all glossy after the rainwater and dirt residue fell off.

The fruit were scooped with a majestic ladle, into green patterned china bowls.
The short dragons worked continuously, with bowls being placed onto shelves and paws taking them off. Coins loaded the money jar as the sun set over the horizon.

As the stands emptied, the dwarf dragons prepared to travel another long distance.

Image Credit by Eva Bronzini