It was a large, pineapple-sized tree frog. Impossible, but beautiful!
He was silky smooth, symmetrical, perfectly shaped, and not quite, but almost a bright royal blue, with white spots around his eyes and a couple thin white streaks down his back. A life-sized version of a quarter-sized creature.
I’d never seen anything like him, and I was completely enthralled.
His deep, dark black eyes seemed to look into mine as I looked into his. And as crazy as it sounds, he looked like he was smiling.
I couldn’t stop staring at the frog as the little boy holding him walked toward me. With the way he carried himself and the smile-smirk on his face, it was hard not to think of Short Round from Indiana Jones.
In a small pond, about a car length apart, the boy and I faced each other. The water was about knee deep for me and chest deep for him, and the frog seemed to be completely happy as the boy played with him, lifting him up toward the sky and dipping him shallowly into the water.
As he walked toward me, the little boy held the frog out until I was only inches away from that sweet blue face. I was fascinated by the frog’s eyes that stared into me. And I laughed at his small light croak deep in his throat as he breathed in and out.
I stepped back just a bit to be able to reach out to the frog. Putting my hand near his face, he never flinched. I reached farther to touch the skin on his back. Surprised, I jumped slightly, pulling my hand back just a bit. It wasn’t slick, like I had thought. It was a super soft, fine fur, and the small noise from his throat got slightly deeper as I started to pet him more.
The boy laughed at me and pulled the frog back toward him for a moment, rubbing the side of the frog against his face, closing his eyes and smiling, as if they did this together all the time.
I’m not sure the frog ever even blinked.
As the boy opened his eyes again, he grinned and handed the frog to me.
I took the blue creature and cradled it out in front of me, its body sprawled across my arms, tummy pushing through my fingers toward the ground, and face looking right into mine. The frog relaxed and flattened slightly. He felt floppy and uneven, almost like a rabbit, and his soft, silky fur made me want to rub my face against him just as the boy had.
So I did.
I couldn’t help but smile as I closed my eyes.
When I opened them again, I saw nothing at first. But I felt soft fur on my face and heard the cat gently snoring next to me on my pillow, curled up against my head with his face pushed up against my cheek. He opened his eyes, stared right at me and then closed them again. I leaned closer into him, and I swear I actually saw him smile.