The Frog at the Top of Frosty Mountain

The Road To The Mountain

As Allan sat in the back of the car watching the world rush by his window, his mind was filled with questions. He wondered what had been real and what been fantasy over the last few days, and why his own mind had resorted to such bizare fantasies. He wondered if anything that he had seen was the product of the fiction in his writing, or if the lack of writing anything in the past few weeks had caused him to produce these wild adventures. And above all, he wondered about the accident, and how it happened.

"How long ago was the accident?" Allan asked.

Sharon, who was sitting in the passenger seat, turned around to look at him.

"It's been two years." She answered.

"That man sitting beside me. Was that my father?"

"Yes. Robert was in the back seat when it happened."

"Was I arguging with my father?" Allan asked Robert.

"Yeah. But I don't remember what it was about. Everything surrounding that day is a little fuzzy."

"I remember that day very well." Sharon said. "I was at home when Robert called me and told me what happened. I came as quickly as I could, and when I got there, I saw you and your dad getting put into an ambulance."

"My father died that day, didn't he?" Allan asked.

"No. He was put into a coma, and he stayed in one for a year. You were put in a coma too, but it only lasted a week. When you woke up, you couldn't walk and you had problems with your memory. You did thearpy for about a year to walk again, all while your dad was in a coma. It was so strange, just when you regained your ability to walk, your dad..."

"...died."

"Yeah. Your memory got worse after that. You forgot everything, and you started to see things that weren't there. The doctors said it was your way of dealing with the trauma and guilt. They said that the best thing for you was to stay at home and write. They said that it would help your memory get back, and that it would be a good way for you to get over the trauma. They followed your progress on a daily basis. I took a peak every now and then too."

"What did I write about?" Allan asked.

"All kinds of crazy things. Magical talking animals, demons, witches, giant monsters. You wrote it all in first person. I didn't know what to think of it. The doctors said you were only trying to order your thoughts, preparing yourself for the harsh truth that you would need to face. You wrote for six months, then all of a sudden, you stopped."

"I got writers block." Allan said. "That's when I decided to get advice from Mr. Bullfrog. I decided that I needed to go to Frosty Mountain, then a bunch of weird things started happening after that."

"I tried calling you for days!" Sharon said. "I went to your apartment and didn't find you there. I told the police and they searched the whole city for you. A police officer found you, but you ran away. He said you wouldn't stop talking about talking about the mountain. I thought nobody would find you, then last night, I found you walking along the road on the way home."

"I remember getting lost. Then I remember being picked up by a witch."

Sharon laughed.

"Yeah, you thought I was the witch. I took you home, and on the way there, you wouldn't stop talking about that damn mountain. When we got there, you saw my tattoo equipment and started begging me not to tattoo you!"

"So you are a tattoo artist?"

"Yep. It was a hobby I picked up to calm myself after the doctors said it was best for you to remain in confinement.  It then turned into a good business."

"I'm terrified of needles..."

"I know! You wouldn't shut up about it. You picked up a marker and drew a frog on your arm, and you kept saying that it hurt like hell."

"I thought that the witch had tattooed me!"

"Do you really think I'm that evil?" Sharon said with a laugh. Even though she said it was a joke, Allan felt bad about it.

"I thought everyone was evil." Allan explained with his head hung in shame. "People in the supermarket, cops..."

"That's why the doctors said you needed to be confined. When you were at my house, you saw Robert and started screaming that he was a demon! It freaked us all out. You were so agitated that you jumped out the window and ran towards the river."

"The acid river..."

"The what?"

"Nothing. Just another fantasy of mine. You guys tried to pick me up at the river, right?"

"Yeah. Robert tried to grab you, but you jumped down the waterfall. I thought you died for sure, but we saw you surfacing, so we took the car and made our way down."

"I'm so sorry." Allan said, still feeling shame.

"It's fine." Sharon said, giving Allan a kiss. "I'm just glad that you're here with us and that your memory is coming back."

Allan was surprised to feel the car come to a stop. Robert turned around in his seat with a smile.

"We're here." Robert said.