Herbert?!

Words : 681

The lawyer handed me the will with a compassionate, slightly mocking smile. I found this very disturbing. Yet I did not dwell on it. I was curious to find out what Aunt Eta had left me. We had never been particularly close, to be honest. Therefore, I was a little surprised she had left me anything at all. However, I was her only living relative, so perhaps that explained it.
I skimmed through all the legal jargon, and came to the interesting part : “To my niece Emma Kingsley, I leave Herbert.”
Herbert? What in Heaven’s name was Herbert?
Aunt Eta was a peculiar character. Perhaps Herbert was the name of one of her “inventions”. It might even be nothing more than her couch. Aunt Eta had been known to name her furniture.
I read on : “Emma is to look after him to her utmost ability. However, if it be impossible for her to take proper care of him, he is to be released into the wild, according to international regulations (see annex).” This was seriously alarming. Was Herbert some kind of giant lizard or serpent, that Aunt Eta kept hidden in her garden shed? I wasn’t so sure I wanted to inherit anything from her after all.
I looked at the lawyer. He stared back at me, a very strange expression on his face.
“Here,” he said, handing me a stack of papers, “is all the information pertaining to, er… Herbert’s care.”
“Good luck,” he added, as an afterthought.
From the lawyer’s office, I drove directly to Aunt Eta’s. I found the key under the doormat, and let myself in.
The house smelled stuffy and sad. Obviously no one had been in since Aunt Eta’s death. A thought struck me : if no one had been in, then no one had fed Herbert. I wasn’t sure I wanted to be in the same room with a half-starved beast. “I’m sure Herbert isn’t carnivorous,” I said out loud, trying to reassure myself.
I think I’ll just make sure what he does eat before going any further, I thought, reaching for Herbert’s folder.
Dear Emma, read a note taped to Herbert’s file. I hope you aren’t too bothered by my leaving you Herbert. He really is a dear, I’m sure once you get to know him you’ll like him just as much as I do. I know I can trust you to take proper care of him. Really, he doesn’t need that much looking after, otherwise I wouldn’t have asked. I just can’t bare the idea of leaving him all along when I’m gone. Love, Aunt Eta.
Unsure what to think, I opened the file.
Herbert lives in the shed at the bottom of the garden, it read. He has quite enough space, but it would be nice if you could exercise him once in a while. Perhaps nighttime would be preferable, so as not to shock the neighbors. Ah yes, I should mention what Herbert eats. He usually takes a bucket of liver in the morning (and sometimes another small bowl around ten, just as a snack, you know). Then seven buckets of liver (or as many chickens) at lunchtime. I never feed him anything in the evening, otherwise he has trouble sleeping, the poor dear.
Needless to say, this note only added to my apprehension. My face pale and drawn, I dragged my feet across the garden and down to the shed.
Was it just my imagination or did the shed walls shudder and creak? Was that growling I heard?
“Oh stop it, Emma,” I said. “You’re being ridiculous. Herbert is probably only a very, very hungry dog. A nice, tame dog. Yes, I’m quite sure that’s it.”
I stepped forward and placed my hand on the door handle. “Just a nice, tame dog,” I repeated.
The suspense was too much. I threw open the door.
A large, scaly beast turned a curious gaze towards me.
Herbert was not a dog. He was a dragon.
My Aunt had left me a dragon.
There was only one thing to do : I fainted.