Read Brunette Girl and frogs :: Four-Palm lotus

"OWCH—WHAT THE FRIKIN' HELL

WHY DID YOU PULL IT OUT!"

"hehehe lol"

"WHAT THE HELL YOU MEAN "lol"? MY PALM IS BURN—PHOO—NING—"

"Ice yourself dude your palm's not even bleedin'—INFACT—there is barely gap there!"

"DAMN YOU"

SHIEEHHH PHOOOOO

"Mwuehehehehehheheheh"

"Why did I even come with you?"

"Definitely not to whine dude"

There was a needle-sized hole in my palm as she plucked off the splinter, as she said it didn't bleed, it really did not bleed.

(The macro pain was hiding in micro)

Before I was too determined to catch frogs that it slipped off my mind, what slipped off was the fact that my skin might taste like dirt to leeches.

Neeta lifted her arms up as a layer of ooze cemented like thin wafer on her palm and arms, it seemed like she was shedding skin—though that sounded like an idiotic thing to percieve as.

(Meh—but given how beastly she be movin'...it ain't mislabeling.)

"Aye baldy"

"Uh—yea?"

It felt like her tone wrapped that silly "baldy" nickname into monotone seriousness.

"Well—have you ever eaten shit?"

(okay—THIS one definitely ain't some informal way of speaking!)

"Neeta—not goin' outside often doesn't mean—"

"Heh?"

"Uh..not everyone is like—those corners—"

her eyes glared me with the arch of despair and dissapointment, there was something pulling in her stare, though it wasn't romantic, it was more like something slowly flaying off all my goosebumps.

(Hope she doesn't fly off the handle)

"OH—MY—GOSH BEENLI—DO YOU THINK I AM SOME NO-KNOWLEDGE GIRL WHO KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT INTERNET—LIKE EEWWW"

"I mean—uhm—well you asking THAT question did not make sense to me—I thought some—some—dark internet—"

Smack

My words were cut off by the sound her palms made, the sound of a very BANGING face palm that echoed something.

(Echoed the fact that that my brain is stinkin')

"I was 'bout to say 'mud tastes like shit you know'..."

I felt absolutely stripped after that reveal, I understand why and I don't understand why.

"Leave it"

"Yeah you right girl.."

(Good riddance)

Just like her, I too, now have a new cracked muddy layer of skin on myself.

"Oyii—baldy look at our skins— We are twinning!"

Her eyes curved into a smile, well thats what I saw as laughing makes eyes smile too..that was a joyful smile thing for her to say.

To my thoughts its still to early to say we can be friends, the thought of her welcomeness, still strikes to me like a neighbour formality she is fulfilling.

(Well—maybe she ain't that bad—)

SPLAT

(WHAT THE—)

My face tainted in mud again, first by those croakers and now, Neeta the brunnete-head.

"Hell Ya did that for brunette?"

"Well—uh—the Mud on yo face—kinda—dried so I—uhm..just threw you more clammines—".

"You are irksome as hell man"

(Yeah she ain't bad she playing 'being worst' ranked!)

What's irksome—

Leave it.

the mud reeks of absolute crap now that Neeta very much strained it in a sieve for my nose.

As I had a glance of her face again, the realisation hit me, her frog backstory, it completely discarded in the back of my head.

"Neeta—uh—tell me the frog-hunt origin"

"Finally gettin' to the point"

Her mud soaked hands, she let her chin dig inti them as the fingers sticker to the face, her face told the words were about to be flowers and dulls.

"Well—The frogs aren't an original passion, they are inherited"

"Inherited? From whom?"

"The old-gold grandma"

(Ou damn, I saw on mom's dailysoap—'em stories go in depth when it comes to the granny)

"My grandma used to catch frogs, just like me—though she was far better at it, beside her I am dust against clay pot"

"Continue.."

"Before I continue, please don't interrupt me"

(Okay now she got to speak some interesting shit)

"As ya wish"

"THANK-YOU"

"She said the frogs always smile, honestly—I kinda used to think she spoke crazy at that time, as a counter she literally just, tugged me by the wrist to the nearest pond and plucked out a frog—well it was a toad but all toad are frogs, though not all frogs are toads—not necessary for the story but its a cool fact—"

(Jeez—she definitely inherited that craziness from the good ol'granny)

"—SoAnyways— she closed up the frog to my face, like real close, I could the its sweat without touch, she told me to look at the face—and well granny got the win. There was definitely a smile on that thing, a small upward curve, it fascinated me, from then I started catching frogs with her, parents didn't know we catched frogs of course or granny would be a hazard lol".

All this that came out of her mouth, it was not upbeat, there was calm in it, a soothing backstory that would definitely sprawl into something written.

To finally break the silence, I spoke.

"Well..how's granny?".

As soon as the word hit out, the look of her eye felt deprived of bright, now it creeps me that out I had broken some knitting.

"The red leaf crunched blue"

"Wha—what do you—"

"She passed away".

...Sorry.

Neeta flicked the mud on her hand away with a yank.

"Eh. Don't be, its my fault anyways"

(Her fault? What does that even mean)

...your fault? How?

There was a claustrophobic silence that lingered.

"I am sorry—You don't need to tell if ya ain't comfortable—"

(????)

I will tell you Beenli.

Right here, right now.

But why Neeta?

Cuz...Maybe thats how my first friendship will bloom.

(First friendship?!! No way its her first—what the hell!!!)

Beenli..you thinkin'..its too early? For us, to be like this?

I kinda..don't know honestly.

Hm-mhm...that's okay. Vague things are most satisfy to shape.

grandma. She disclosed to me, that she kissed the frogs, she made a request, don't tell my parents.

She fell sick.

Kissing those things gave her somethin' called, salmonellosis.

The family doctor checked her, my uncle..he was aware of grandma's habit, I was with grandma everytime.

When he checked her, the infection was detected, she talked to grandma personally about, how her habits, now have brought misery onto her.

I begged him, not to tell the reasons to my parents, For the sake of the pact I made with grandma.

It is vague for why he agreed with me, maybe for grandma's sake too.

He should have broken the pact.

Grandma...I miss her. We always made a lotus, by joining our palms together, the "four-palm" lotus, the frogs hopped and croaked on the lotus, each palm was a delicate petal.

I wish..she was younger, it could have saved her life. The red leaf wouldn't have crunched blue.

Her words, they stiched my mouth, between each gap of silence, I didn't dare speak or think, all my mind was to her words. I have seen depraved things. But they are, in a digital barrier, intimacy just inches away, who knew it could, do something.

The sun had set already.

The moist of leaves felt deeper in no gleaming sunray.

Maybe It was sensory overload from hours in mud, for it felt thicker underneath now.

There was something amplifying, the frequency of croaks by of course, the chin-inflated croakers.

"Hey beenli"

"Uh—yeah?"

"The sun's gone already, its better we head our homes"

(Damn—she is right, mom and dad might be worryin' bout me).

"Yeah you are right, lets go. Mom's having a nightmare tonight seeing this".

***

Slowly we were out of the mud pond, the slopes from which I fell before were slippery from nightfall, though the mud-grip made a good climber of us.

She nudges my shoulder with hers.

"Lets go"

As she put on the slippers, turns out Her slippers I broke the plug of her slippers with my big foot, now the toe thong was stickin' out.

"Ow. Looks like its broken. big foot, huh, beenli?"

"Well, for starters— the slipper was suffocating for my foot!"

Chuckles

"Just pickin' on you baldy, don't worry".

Heh

***

It was a long cold walk, I was barefeet, she was barefoot, given he fact she only wore one slipper.

(The other one in hand ofcourse)

There was my porch, the lights were poking my eyes with brightness. I saw beenli's house. It really was some fifteen steps away from mine.

In a blink she held my wrist and manually performed a high-five.

"You know, You could've asked for one "

She smirked in a curve.

"Well—surprise!"

"You are a silly brunette"

"I know right?"

...We seperated as she went to her home, before the steps, she whispered to my ear, "next day?". There was no nod from me, no words. Silence. She smirked and went her way.

7:30 PM.

Papa should be home by now

(I guess..)

Slowly I walked up to the door. With a thud knock I stood there, waitin' for it to open.

Finally, mom opened the door, dressed in an apron.

"Why are you so la—what the—WHY are you so dirty?"

"I—uh..its mud"

Mom's brow raised as both of us knew, that was NOT sufficient for an answer.

"Aye—haggu—I ain't blind"

(NOT THAT SHITTY ASS NAME AGAIN!)

"Mom I told you DON'T call me that! Can't ya use somethin' that sounds sweet and not stinky!

"OKAY—Mister western Brains, leave the names and tell me how are you so dressed in mud?"

"Mom—uh—I feel my skin..dehydrating..CAN I GO INSIDE?"

"OF COURSE NOT! You need to be washed first! Wait here"

With those words she went straight back inside as her steps were very aloud in those weared off years-old crocs.

(It's been a minute what she doin'—)

SHWWHHHOOOOOOOSHH

WHAT THE HELL—

MOM TURN THAT OFF—

OWCH—MY EYE !

"ITS CLEANSING TIME YOUNG MAN GET WAAASSSHEDDD!!"

***

Five whole minutes, I was in the agony of a jet spray roaring at me with all might, mom did not hold back her marksmanship with that hose, as it felt like she shot off even specks off my body.

"You are clean now boy" she grinned

"And add cold on top of it too mom"

She stepped aside to clear the path.

"Now you can enter—oh yeah and go take a bath."

(AFTER ALL THAT?!)

"Seriously mom?!"

"Yes son. Very seriously"

Hearing the straight thick walls my mom said. FINALLY my body could feel the house again.

(Something looks off. Dad doesn't seem to be here)

"Eh—mom where's papa?"

Her eyes took a glance of the main hall.

"Oh. Well he is gonna come late."