Division and Unity
by Michael Blair
What a silly little boy, slapping his little hands against the shallow water, creating a wave and pushing his pet green frog away from him. The tiny green frog took this opportunity to swim away from his owner, but the boy would bring him back over just to violently splash the water again. He would even drop his open-face hands right next to the frog to see if he would jump or have some other reaction.
“Can you please stop for a minute?” pleaded the frog. The boy slapped the water once more. “We’ve been doing this for a while, don’t you want to take a break?”
“No!” exclaimed the boy. “I’m having too much fun!” His hands made harder impact with the water, releasing his frustration on the poor frog.
“Son!” hollered the boy’s father. “Get your stuff and come inside for dinner.”
“I’m not done yet!” the boy hollered back. “Can I come home later?”
“That was not a request,” the father said unyieldingly. It was enough to get the boy to listen.
“Fine, I’m coming!” The boy’s hands lunged towards the frog.
“Wait!” the frog yelled. “I know this has been a long time coming, but can you please let me go?”
“Why would I let you go now?” the boy questioned the frog.
“I’m tired of living in a tank and having you try to kill me in the river. I want a better life for myself, in the marsh, where the other frogs live.”
“I can’t do that!” the boy explained. “If you’re not in your tank, then I can’t play with you.”
“Please! I’m begging you, let me go!” the poor frog restated.
“No!” the boy yelled with frustration. “Now stay still while I pick you up!” The frog was stunned. No matter what he said, the boy wasn’t ever planning on let him go. So, the frog took the opportunity to jump out of the water and get away from the boy. The boy was confused.
“What are you doing? Get back over here!” He started to chase after his pet frog.
“That’s enough playing around, get home, now!” yelled the father.
“Yes, father,” the boy murmured with a frightened yet sad tone, knowing that he was going to lose his frog forever. With this amount of luck, the little green frog was grateful. He kept on hopping further and further until he saw something that astonished him; another frog. However, this frog wasn’t like him, this one had a shade of brown to him and was hopping around the grass and dirt with further distance that he knew was possible.
“Hey, you!” the green frog yelled.
The brown frog stopped right where he was.
“Me?” he asked, confused.
“Yes! How are you able to jump all around the place with such distance?”
“What are you talking about?” the brown frog questioned. “All frogs can hop as far as I can.”
“Really?” the green frog replied in astonishment.
Still confused, the brown frog responded, “Yes, how do you not know this?”
“I lived in a tank for most of my life,” the green frog said, still surprised by how far the brown frog could launch himself. “I didn’t get to see any other frogs, just humans!”
“That’s sounds awful!” the brown frog asserted with pity and disgust. “How were you able to eat?”
“They dropped frozen flies for me,” the green frog replied while trying to match the brown frog’s pity.
“Heh, at least it wasn’t all bad,” the brown frog scoffed, trying to lighten the mood.
“Perhaps,” the green frog responded with a slight smile. Suddenly, he noticed something behind the brown frog. It was a creature that came ever closer. It was bigger than the both of the frogs and had a bloodlust and hunger in its eyes. The green frog had to warn the brown frog quick.
“Look out!” the green frog shouted with fear. The brown frog looked behind himself with his eye widen and his mouth gapped open. It was a snake looking for its next meal. The brown frog jumped as quickly as he could, but the snake was even quicker. It got its poisonous fang in the poor brown frog, paralyzing him, but not killing him just yet.
“Oh, no!” the brown frog whaled with pain.
“This can’t happen to me, not now!” The green frog was traumatized.
“What do I do?” The snake was about to fit the rest of the brown frog in its mouth.
“Listen!” the brown frog spoke with frantic speed, “Run away, it’s too late for me! Just get away to a safer place while you still can!” Without hesitation, the green frog hopped as far as his short hops can carry him away from the snake. He did not stop hopping until he became tired and hungry. It was then that he noticed some flies that flew about. He tried to catch some, but with very little practice at eating flies while they were in the air, he couldn’t get any. This was horrible. How could he survive in the wild if he couldn’t do what most frogs could? Life was easier with the boy. There weren’t any other predators to deal with except for that boy. The green frog had made a hard decision that would affect his way of life forever. He hopped all the way back to the boy’s yard where he was playing and apologized.
“I’m really sorry for leaving you! I promise I will never do it again for the rest of my days.”
“Oh, little froggy,” the boy responded with joy, “I can’t wait to get back to playing with you again!"
“Can you please stop for a minute?” pleaded the frog. The boy slapped the water once more. “We’ve been doing this for a while, don’t you want to take a break?”
“No!” exclaimed the boy. “I’m having too much fun!” His hands made harder impact with the water, releasing his frustration on the poor frog.
“Son!” hollered the boy’s father. “Get your stuff and come inside for dinner.”
“I’m not done yet!” the boy hollered back. “Can I come home later?”
“That was not a request,” the father said unyieldingly. It was enough to get the boy to listen.
“Fine, I’m coming!” The boy’s hands lunged towards the frog.
“Wait!” the frog yelled. “I know this has been a long time coming, but can you please let me go?”
“Why would I let you go now?” the boy questioned the frog.
“I’m tired of living in a tank and having you try to kill me in the river. I want a better life for myself, in the marsh, where the other frogs live.”
“I can’t do that!” the boy explained. “If you’re not in your tank, then I can’t play with you.”
“Please! I’m begging you, let me go!” the poor frog restated.
“No!” the boy yelled with frustration. “Now stay still while I pick you up!” The frog was stunned. No matter what he said, the boy wasn’t ever planning on let him go. So, the frog took the opportunity to jump out of the water and get away from the boy. The boy was confused.
“What are you doing? Get back over here!” He started to chase after his pet frog.
“That’s enough playing around, get home, now!” yelled the father.
“Yes, father,” the boy murmured with a frightened yet sad tone, knowing that he was going to lose his frog forever. With this amount of luck, the little green frog was grateful. He kept on hopping further and further until he saw something that astonished him; another frog. However, this frog wasn’t like him, this one had a shade of brown to him and was hopping around the grass and dirt with further distance that he knew was possible.
“Hey, you!” the green frog yelled.
The brown frog stopped right where he was.
“Me?” he asked, confused.
“Yes! How are you able to jump all around the place with such distance?”
“What are you talking about?” the brown frog questioned. “All frogs can hop as far as I can.”
“Really?” the green frog replied in astonishment.
Still confused, the brown frog responded, “Yes, how do you not know this?”
“I lived in a tank for most of my life,” the green frog said, still surprised by how far the brown frog could launch himself. “I didn’t get to see any other frogs, just humans!”
“That’s sounds awful!” the brown frog asserted with pity and disgust. “How were you able to eat?”
“They dropped frozen flies for me,” the green frog replied while trying to match the brown frog’s pity.
“Heh, at least it wasn’t all bad,” the brown frog scoffed, trying to lighten the mood.
“Perhaps,” the green frog responded with a slight smile. Suddenly, he noticed something behind the brown frog. It was a creature that came ever closer. It was bigger than the both of the frogs and had a bloodlust and hunger in its eyes. The green frog had to warn the brown frog quick.
“Look out!” the green frog shouted with fear. The brown frog looked behind himself with his eye widen and his mouth gapped open. It was a snake looking for its next meal. The brown frog jumped as quickly as he could, but the snake was even quicker. It got its poisonous fang in the poor brown frog, paralyzing him, but not killing him just yet.
“Oh, no!” the brown frog whaled with pain.
“This can’t happen to me, not now!” The green frog was traumatized.
“What do I do?” The snake was about to fit the rest of the brown frog in its mouth.
“Listen!” the brown frog spoke with frantic speed, “Run away, it’s too late for me! Just get away to a safer place while you still can!” Without hesitation, the green frog hopped as far as his short hops can carry him away from the snake. He did not stop hopping until he became tired and hungry. It was then that he noticed some flies that flew about. He tried to catch some, but with very little practice at eating flies while they were in the air, he couldn’t get any. This was horrible. How could he survive in the wild if he couldn’t do what most frogs could? Life was easier with the boy. There weren’t any other predators to deal with except for that boy. The green frog had made a hard decision that would affect his way of life forever. He hopped all the way back to the boy’s yard where he was playing and apologized.
“I’m really sorry for leaving you! I promise I will never do it again for the rest of my days.”
“Oh, little froggy,” the boy responded with joy, “I can’t wait to get back to playing with you again!"
Michael Blair is an aspiring writer from Sacramento, California. This flash fiction story is the first piece of fiction of his to be published online; putting his dreamed career of writing one step closer.