The Last Croak

Bob V - Moving On

Bob was not a frog but he thought he was raised by frogs. He inhabited a farmhouse with a human couple but had always assumed they discovered him living among the frogs at a nearby pond when he was a baby. The frogs were his real family and the pond was where he felt most at home. He resented his parents for taking him away. Bob was twelve years old now and was unusually large for his age with a stooped back and wide-set eyes that interestingly made him look a bit froggish. He was also very stupid as you might imagine, but was gifted with an active and vivid imagination.

Bob did not have any friends since he was so very dumb and socially awkward, plus his obsession with frogs was a big turnoff to any potential friends. All he ever aspired to do was return to the pond to visit his frog family and play with his siblings and frog friends. He adored all of his little frog friends and made up names for many of them. He had to stop naming the younger frogs a while back because so many of them died or were eaten by birds. That always left him so devastated, especially when he knew them by name.

One day Bob was lying on his stomach making frog sounds while mesmerized by the pond. He imagined he was communicating with the frogs and that they understood him. When they responded he imagined them saying anything he wanted. He could carry on conversations like this for hours at a time. As the sun settled in the west he heard a bird call out from a tree overhanging the pond, so he rolled over onto his back to determine whether the bird could be a threat to the frogs. Unfortunately, Bobs' frog parents and siblings were wallowing in the mud next to him and he accidentally crushed his entire family. The crunching sound as he flattened them made him sick to his stomach. He could hear what seemed like every bone cracking, every organ rupturing, and the spewing sound of guts escaping their lacerated skin and pasting his back. He realized instantly what had happened and was in such shock and horror that he remained frozen in position for almost an hour. He recalled the flattened frog he saw when crossing the farm road on his way home from school a few days back and how he had cried over the frog remains. He was crying now. Clouds crawled into the sky as the sun dipped below the horizon creating a gloom that matched Bobs' mood.

Something changed in Bob that evening. Once his torrent of emotions ebbed away, he rose and began his long walk home. He never looked back at the grim sadness and knew he would never return. It would never be the same again, not now. It began to rain. He walked slowly back to his human home with his head hung low, utterly devastated, devoid of any more tears or emotion. He was like a zombie. For the first time ever, Bob looked beyond the frogs and imagined a life without them. He decided that evening to leave the frogs behind and move on with his life. Never again would Bob speak of frogs and his life would gradually improve over the coming years as a result. Eventually Bob would forget about the frogs and would lead a normal life.

Unknown to Bob, when he had stood up at the pond, his mother and father had remained squished to his back and didn't slide off until he was almost home. Strangely and inscrutably, if one were to look at the frog imprints on Bob's back, for a few seconds before the rain erased their last vestiges, a couple of smiley faces could clearly be seen where the mother and father frogs had been stuck in death.