[ WP ] You were born with a large birthmark in the shape of a dragon . However , this is just a coincidence ; there is absolutely nothing magical about it , and you 're getting really tired of explaining this .

`` Is, is that a dragon?'' The question came from nowhere. I felt a tug on my pants and looked down to see a girl, no older than ten, looking at the dragon-shaped mark that spiraled up my arm. 
 
 I'd heard the question more times than I could count, and I knew what the follow up would be. 
 
 `` So does that mean...?'' 
 
 `` No.'' Maybe a little more callous than was fair. `` I ca n't breathe fire. I ca n't fly.'' 
 
 `` But can you turn into a --'' 
 
 `` No.'' 
 
 I turned and walked away. I've come to expect that this will happen when I go out in public, especially when I do n't cover the mark, but I thought I could make it to the corner café for a quick coffee without being hassled. Especially not by a little girl. I started heading back to my apartment, no longer craving caffeine. 
 
 I heard the sound of footsteps and then another tug. 
 
 `` But are you sure?'' It was the girl. Where the hell were her parents? 
 
 `` Yes. Yes I'm sure. It does n't mean anything. It's just a birthmark,'' I said, lowering myself down to her level. `` I've had it as long as I can remember, and even though it seems cool, like I could be a dragon, I'm just a normal person.'' 
 
 `` Oh,'' her gaze lowered. I actually felt kind of bad. Like I'd killed this girls dreams of seeing a real dragon. She did n't look up. 
 
 I followed her eyes to see what she was looking at. Her own arm, completely uncovered just like mine. On it, a mark, much like my own. Serpentine and twirling from her wrist to her elbow. Winged and horned. I felt even worse. 
 
 `` Hey, it's alright,'' I tried to reassure her. `` It's a great conversation starter. It just stinks that fantasy stuff is n't real or else you and I would be --'' 
 
 `` Maybe for you.'' She did n't look up. 
 
 `` For me? What do you mean?'' 
 
 She stepped back from me, never looking up. Slowly, her mark began to glow. Her pale, smooth complexion turned coarse and scaley. She became flushed in a deep purple, and then I heard a rip. 
 
 Two wings sprouted out from her shirt as a tale ripped through her pants. Her body coiled and transformed right in front of my eyes. 
 
 I was speechless. 
 
 After the transformation, which took mere moments, she- it- reached out and touched my arm. 
 
 `` Sorry.'' I heard the word from nowhere, her mouth did not move. 
 
 She jumped and her wings pushed the air around her. 
 
 As quickly as she'd appeared she was gone. No one around us seemed to have noticed what had just happened. 
 
 I looked down at my arm, wondering what I'd just seen. And then, for the first time, my mark began to glow.
