November

Froggie went a courtin’. He did ride. But this was no oridinary courtin’. This was no ordinary ride. The new moon was rising as it signaled the coming of freeze up time. Froggie had the extraordinary idea to cure him of his loneliness. Having grown tired of finding a mate around the same old creeks and ponds, he dreamed of better things, a bigger hunting ground, so to speak. He was weary of poking around the same familiar rocks and pebbles and drainage pipes, seeing the same old ladies with their bulging eyes staring back at him, insect legs hanging out of their mouths. Froggie knew that there was a better way and it finally dawned on him what to do.

The entire clan always gathered after midnight around the Samhain fire, to recognize the thinning of the veil between the material world and the spirit world. It was a time to honor and remember fallen ancestors, and also a time to take caution that now malevolent spirits would hop their way back into the physical realm as a way to get revenge on beings that had previously wronged them, perhaps even leading to their victim’s ultimate demise. They might still be intent on settling some scores, so one most always be on guard during this time of year.

Froggie was keen on flipping the script. This was his secret idea. The one he had been harboring since the spring revival gave way to the rainy summer that had just passed. He would travel into the spirit realm, cross the threshold and enter a new world. There he would find his mate. No more just having to choose from the same set of ladies in the sewer pipe anymore. He was heading to a place that was the habitat of all the frogs who had ever lived. He was planning on finding the most transformative, most beautiful, most ethereal, sublime magical frog creature of all time. He was surprised nobody had thought of this previously. He was sure he was the first.

Once he had made his choice (could she say no? he briefly thought), Froggie would wait until the next piercing of the veil time and return with her to his hole in the mud at the south end of the pond. Or perhaps he would stay in the spirit world, cavorting with the other dead frogs for all eternity (would he, in fact, be dead too, once he crossed over, he briefly thought). In any case, he planned to check it out once he got there and then decide if he wanted to stay or not. Either way, he would have the most beautiful frog mate by his side, tadpoles just a swimming around them in delight.

The moon had risen and the fire was lit. The croaking intensified. The chanting of the names began. Froggie went into a meditative state and began to swirl. Faster and faster he went, as he prepared to breach the threshold and enter the spirit world. When he came to, the sun was just rising over the horizon. Mertle, a girl he knew from the sewer pipe, was staring at him. “That was weird.” She said. “You got dizzy and then passed out.” “Oh wow.” Froggie responded. “Mertle, do you want to go for a swim?”