Finding Sleep

The little girl sneaked out of her house and walked towards the backyard. It was past 7 o'clock and she was not allowed to go out of the house at this hour. She should have fallen asleep in her bed by now, but she could not find the magical rest that used to embrace her mind after sundown. She had had sleepless nights for a week now and today she decided to go out instead of waiting in bed for sleep and not finding it. As she wandered into the backyard, her eyes fell on a raised platform which held the well. She was forbidden from going near the well "The well will swallow little children who go near it," her mother had cautioned her. And yet her mother would fetch water from it all the time. Tonight the little girl wanted to know the truth about the well... to actually touch fire and know whether it is really hot.

As she moved closer to the well in darkness, an unfamiliar fear caught hold of her mind: what if the well really swallowed children? If she were to be swallowed tonight, her mother would never know what happened and might think that she just ran away. With every step she inched closer, the fear in her mind doubled. But there was a mystical force that drew her towards the unknown, defying this fear. The little girl stepped on the platform. And just as she reached the well, out of it jumped something and landed on the edge on the edge of the well, a few inches above her head.

With wide, webbed feet, a slimy dark-green body and huge dark eyes, before her stood a small frog.

"What's your name, Little One?" Asked the frog.

"Léa," the little girl answered, unsure.

"And what are you doing out here at this hour Léa?"

"I--I couldn't..." Léa stammered.

"Couldn't sleep?"

Léa shook her head.

The frog stared at her for a long time. So much time had passed that Léa wondered whether she had imagined the conversation.

"Hello?" asked Léa.

"Yes, my Little One?"

Now Léa knew that she hadn't imagined a frog speaking "What's your name?"

"I'm Andre."

And with that another period of silence reemerged. Andre kept his gaze on her and it appeared to Léa that the frog was lost in thought.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked.

"I'm the last in line of Frog Rulers of this well. We are the ones that keep the well full of water. But you humans keep destroying our kind. We have been planning our revenge against your kind for years, but tonight is the only time we've gotten an opportunity."

"I don't understand?" Léa took a step back.

"Why can't you sleep?" Andre demanded.

Léa's eyes welled up as she narrated her story.

"Very well Little One, tonight will be the last..." said Andre in a calm and cool voice.

Léa froze in hear. She wanted to run but her feet wouldn't move.

"Open your mouth Little One," Andre breathed.

Léa's jaw dropped open against her better judgment. She dared not defy this Frog Ruler who jumped out of the well and wanted to exact revenge on humankind. No sooner did her lips part than Andre shot his tongue, anchoring onto hers. And with a hop he retracted his tongue, accelerating towards her mouth faster than an arrow.

And before she knew it, Léa felt a slimy mass inside her mouth. Her jaw began chewing involuntarily, and within half a minute she devoured whatever had found its way inside her mouth.

Léa turned and made her way back to her house. She walked past her mother's room and stood before her tiny bed, made up in pink and white. She fell asleep the moment she touched the sheets.

As her sleep grew deep, she dreamt. She was floating through celestial space. There appeared a Frog King in front of her. She didn't recognize him for a moment, but when she looked closer she realized "Andre..."

"Yes, my Little One. It is me."

"Where are we?"

"We are in dreamspace. A space unknown to humans, which they visit time to time through dreams. They do not believe that such a place exists, but it exists as certainly as any place in the universe. This is also a place of unlimited potential, one far greater than the physical world we know."

Léa did not follow and Andre realized he was talking to a little girl.

"In other words, you're dreaming Little One."

"I thought you were going to hurt me Andre," said Léa.

"I should have. I had the opportunity to exact revenge upon your kind... and I have failed my kind. But when I came to know how heavy a burden you were carrying... a little girl who couldn't sleep... I decided that I wouldn't go ahead with my plan. You humans are very cruel; we animals can never bring ourselves to that extent. Perhaps that's what separates our kind, perhaps that's why you rule the earth and we're enslaved and destroyed by your rule."

Andre realized that he had lost the little girl yet again.

"Anyways, I sacrificed myself by launching into your mouth. By consuming me, you now have parts of me within you. You will never miss sleep anymore Little One. My magic will bring you sleep every night." And with that the dream dissolved and Léa continued sleeping. She would dream of Andre a few times when he wanted to talk to her. And she would go on to become a fine woman who would work towards the cause of saving wetland and mangroves, educating school children about the importance of little creatures in our ecosystem. Andre's sacrifice would not go in vain.