Your Daily Word Prompt – Idyll
Newcomers arrive in the neighbourhood, bringing mystery and intrigue. Do they have superpowers?
Changing Spots
Fernando, Nando for short, was one of a few dozen siblings. It was hard for his mother Felicity to do a head count as her offspring would not sit still long enough. They were an energetic bunch, constantly on the move. Her clan were growing steadily so from her maternal perspective, that was more important than knowing how many there were. She had to trust that they would stay safe, out of trouble and steer clear of danger to reach their full-grown status of a Spotted Marsh Frog.
They all lived harmoniously in their idyll state in the large pond between two rose beds in Ms Farrell’s front garden. When they reached maturity, they had lily pads to sit upon and contemplate their next move. Or maybe, they would just sit and ‘be’, in a frog-type meditative state, and croak occasionally. Either way, their day was busy, whether actively, or on a cellular level.
Nando and his family were aware of the sparkly activity on the front veranda with fairy lights draped artistically, adorning the concrete and brick façade. The neighbours in their street were also dressing their houses, fences and trees with lights and other sparkly paraphernalia. The lights were solar-powered and twinkled at night, giving a reflection on the glassy surface of their pond. It made a colourful yet calming scene to serenade the nightly meeting of the Local Frogs’ Chorus Group. Many frogs cranked up their croak and the range of different pitches harmonised well. The bassy tones resonated from below ground in the network of pipes, blending with those on the dewy grass above.
The mailman called and dropped off Christmas parcels from friends far away. In one of the packages, the contents were very intriguing. The sender was aware of Ms Farrell’s love of frogs and gifted a set of spotted green ceramic ornamental frogs to display on the front veranda.
They lived on the veranda for a few months, much to the curiosity of Fernando and his family. They were amazed at how long the frogs could stay in their meditative state, not moving a muscle, croaking, scratching, pooing, or eating. Nando wondered if they got frog cramps.
As time passed, the hot sun showed no mercy, causing the coating to fade on the ceramic frogs. Ms Farell and Fernando’s family saw the spots disappear as the green paint changed to navy blue. This intrigued Nando’s clan even more. These frogs must be magic, they croaked. What secret powers must they possess to not only sit so still for so long but change colour completely?
Nando and his family made it their mission to sit with their ceramic housemates when the coast was clear of humans, in the hope of learning their secrets. They would sit for as long as it took, until the cramp set in. Hopefully, the statue-like amphibians would be amicable and shed some light on their superpowers. They might let out a wise and deeply thoughtful croak. Nando hoped so.
Felicity had invited them to their lily pond, they could have their own lily pad and their fill of insects. But these frogs needed to wake from their trance first. She considered poking them with a stick but thought that might be unneighbourly. They would wait and croak harmoniously, hoping to stir them from their deep sleep.
Maybe they would be keen to join the Chorus Group, Nando wondered. They could do with more bass in the back row.
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