I close my eyes. Everything is now bright and warm.

I open my eyes.

The sun!

I stand beside a tree, and I look up. The sky is bluer than the crayon I use to color the pictures in my coloring book. There are big clouds floating in the blueness. The yellow sun looks down at me. I’m wearing a green outfit because green is my favorite color. It kind of matches the leaves on the tree I stand beside. My outfit is stretchy, has a black mask to go around my eyes, a black cape, and has “Mr. B” on my chest in big, black letters. Mr. B means Mr. Big. Everyone calls me Mr. Big in Safe Harbor because I’m only 7 years old, so I’m still kind of short. But I have big muscles so I can save people!

In Safe Harbor, many people need my help. A different family always calls for me to help them around the same time every day. Right after I eat my lunch. I like helping families. They are so nice to me. In fact, I think I hear someone calling for me now!

I run down the rest of this sidewalk I’m standing on and look out to the big cliff that sits at the end of Safe Harbor’s streets. From here, I see a green creature moving its long body from side to side, but I can’t see the whole thing. I get a running start across the street and my cape attached to me starts flapping behind me. Then, I’m flying! I love to fly. It makes me feel like not even the fastest runner in the entire city could EVER catch me!

Cars drive beneath me on the street I’m flying over, and from up here in the air, I can see the green menace.

A DRAGON!

I fly as fast as I can, and I can hear the family calling a second time for me: “Mr. Big! Come save us, please!”

And another voice: “Help us, Mr. Big! Please come help us!”

I am flying so so so fast now. The dragon sitting on the cliff is now starting to get mad. Smoke is coming out is big, holely nose. I can even see those sharp, razor-like teeth gleam in the sun as I fly towards it. The dragon roaring in a very mean voice to this family that is in danger.

The waves in the water behind the cliff are splashing very loudly against the sharp rocks that wait for someone to fall off the cliff. They’re kind of scary to me… (but don’t tell anyone I said that!)

I circle the cliff while I’m flying so I can see what’s going on:

A daddy and a mommy are sitting behind a rock in the cliff’s hidden cave, which is on the opposite side of the cliff from the road. They’re hugging each other, and it looks like they’re shaking. They’re probably both really scared. As I begin the land in front of the cave, I see a boy with blonde hair like mine, who is lying face down on the cliff’s ledge in front of the hidden cave opening. A little girl, wearing a very pretty light blue dress and loose white bows in her hair, is in the dragon’s hand. I have to stop this dragon!

I fly down to the landing by the cave opening, and tell the family that I am finally here!

“Mr. Big is here!” I say in my grown up voice.

“Help us! Help our little Mia, please! She is about to be eaten by that monstrous beast!” says the mommy.

“Okay! I’m on it!” I say back.

The dragon spots me quickly. He starts trying to breathe fire towards me! I run away from him, and I run to the boy who is lying on the ledge. I turn him over (he is so easy to turn over because of my strength) and look at his face. His eyes are closed, but he is breathing, which is good! There are many bloody cuts on him: above his left eyebrow, across both cheeks, on his chin. I wonder what the dragon did to him, but then I remember I have a little girl to save!

I use my hands and arms to pull the boy through the dirt and rocks on the landing and into the cave. While this is happening, the dragon keeps blowing his fiery air at me. But this is actually a good thing: the dragon is now distracted from trying to hurt the little girl and is only trying to hurt me. He won’t be able to hurt me, though. I’m the strongest and fastest person here!

As I finish dragging the boy into the cave, the daddy thanks me, then tells me to save his “baby girl.” I think in my head: but she’s not a baby… she’s my age. Does that mean I’m a baby? I have to continue to save this family, though! Don’t think about anything else! Just do what you are good at: being a superhero!

I turn around and take my first, long look at the “monstrous beast,” as the mommy said to me (even though I have no idea what that means). The dragon is green, as I saw when I was flying to the cliff, but as I look at his body, it sparkles and looks kind of bluish, too… Just like my coloring crayons! He has big, red pointy things on his back. His claws are so long and sharp! They look like they could really hurt someone. His eyes are red, like the pointy things on his back. The dragon is standing on his back two legs, and his tummy is white. Orange fire comes from his very large mouth. Mia is in his right hand, and her light blue dress is torn. Her white bows lie at the dragon’s feet, and long brown curly hair falls down from her head and in between the dragon’s fingers.

I begin thinking again. Okay, Mr. Big. Time to show what you can do. You’ll have to fly around the cliff a few times to confuse Mr. Dragon. He’ll spin around a few times while looking for me and stumble on the boulders that line the cliff’s edge. He’ll fall, and while he falls towards the sharp rocks in the ocean water, I will be able to fly down and save Mia just in time! I finish thinking about my plan. I’ve always been good at planning my family rescues.

I look up at Mr. Dragon. He still holds Mia, who looks like she’s sleeping in his hand. Mr. Dragon is looking around for the rest of the family members, but they’re all hiding behind big rocks in the cave. Mr. Dragon is too big to see them or to fit into the cave. They’re all safe from him.

I start running from where I stand on the cliff and I take off flying in the air. I look down at Mr. Dragon, who is now picking up rocks on the ledge with his free hand and looking under them for the family. I fly low, right in front of Mr. Dragon’s stinky face, so he can see me.

It works!

He roars at me and tries to blow fire at me, but I’m too fast. I circle around the cliff, and the dragon’s view follows me. He begins to spin in circles, probably becoming dizzy. I circle the cliff a second time, and he starts to trip over the rocks on the cliff ledge. I circle the cliff a third time, and his feet begin to walk towards the edge. Just as I finish the fourth circle around the cliff, I hear the dragon let out a big “ROAAAAAAR!!!” and I see him disappear from the cliff as he breathes fire one last time.

Mia’s mommy and daddy run over to the edge of the cliff, gasping. I swoop down past Mia’s family and soar through the air. The dragon has let go of Mia while he fell, and now it will be easier to catch Mia. However, from where I am flying, it looks like it will be hard to catch her without hurting either one of us. The dragon hits some sharp rocks sticking out of the water, and he growls in a low voice. Smoke comes out of his mouth, and his eyes flutter like my cape before taking off. Mia is heading towards the rocks, quickly. She’s still asleep though, and her curly hair flies all around her. She’s really very pretty to look at. Her hair is so long and curly, like her mommy’s, and her cheeks are so pink. I fly faster and faster to get underneath her. Her family stands at the tiptoe edge of the cliff, and I realize that I won’t have enough time to save both of us! I use all of my strength to catch her and throw her up to her family on the ledge. I see the dad and mom reach out with their arms, just as I’m hit hard —–

I look up from where I’m sitting on the wet grass. A dodgeball lies a few feet away from me in a puddle. Christopher comes running over to where I sit.

“Sorry, Ben! Didn’t realize you were over here. Come line up, Miss D wants us all inside,” he says. He picks up the dripping ball and skips over to where everyone is lining up.

I look up above the door that stands open where we’ll all walk in together and go get our baths together and brush our teeth together and go to bed together: a sign hangs and says SAFE HARBOR BOYS & GIRLS ORPHANAGE – BACK ENTRANCE. I sigh and then stand up and run over to where all of my friends are standing in a line. It starts to rain a little bit, and Miss Dames is now telling us to hurry inside. I go to flap my cape behind me so I can get inside quickly, but then I remember.