THE CROAKING OF FROGS

I HAVE

Oh! she was a princess. Although she was not a princess with a sceptre and a crown, with a kingdom of hers, with servants to wash her or cook her delicacies, she was but a maiden with the right to everything, for she was beautiful and fine, well-spoken and charismatic; or at least that was what they had always told Matilda.

Her father was the owner of a large London corporation. One that flourished, there at the dawn of the avant-garde century. And that tycoon had no suspicions of the wars that would ensue; he only foresaw expansion and glory, and new markets for the business that brandished his family's crest.

It was her mother who received the first letter, or perhaps the last one. Stacked, she found the previous notifications, alerts… threats. And the bank finally took what belonged to it by right. A new poster was hung on the facade of that great factory, of that great dream, one where her married name was no longer read.

A neigh of misery could be heard as the carriage stopped in front of the archway of the exclusive school that Matilda attended. The suitcases were stacked on the roof and in the cart behind. And the girl could almost hear what those adults were saying. Tears, soon, took her prisoner.

Between fury and despair, the girl ran as fast as she could until she was out of sight, believing that if she ran far enough away, reality would not reach her. Soon, her hair was lifted by the breeze, and butterflies parted in her path, and she found the beautiful garden for which that institution was famed.

Tall, the walls of the bush maze loomed before her. Perhaps, if she hid there, she could continue to go to school as if nothing had happened, Matilda thought, as she went deep into the entrails of that maze of plants. And so, she zigzagged, the little escapist, from left to right, right to left, until she finally reached the stomach of the beast.

In the centre of the labyrinth, there was a water fountain. The liquid gushed from a small golden tap that was embedded in a perfectly polished white marble, and its transparency flowed along a tongue made of stone until it fell into a pool.

But only frogs dare to go where water lilies reign.

The young girl then sat on the edge of the pond, and she began to cry. She rejected reality and whimpered, wishing that what she had heard from her mother's mouth was not true.

Seeking to wipe her tears away, Matilda guided her hand in search of her handkerchief. Something cold and metallic could be felt deep in her pocket. It was that old English coin that her father had given her. Then, begging the pond, she asked the gods to be rich again, and she threw, what was her only fortune, into the strange spring of water, where many other wishes slept.

The coin sank into the pond, and there in the dark, it was captured. And the girl was plucked from that pond, as if she were a lotus flower, just when the storm began. Forcibly, she was seated in the carriage, angry. And soon the school, the city, and the factory were far away; for they were going to the suburbs, looking for a new life.

The place they could afford had leaks everywhere. Moisture stains spread on the walls, and the smell of burning grease coming from the restaurant downstairs pervaded every turn. There were three cots, in the only moderately decent room.

The noises and shouts that came from the street made them suffer the first night, and, by the time they managed to close their eyes, the light of dawn was already filtering through the damp curtains that hung on the window; but the twilight had just begun, for that unfortunate family.

I WISH

Matilda was lucky to have been accepted into a new school, even though it was public, and her former classmates would have made fun of her. Meanwhile, the beautiful dresses that her wardrobe hung were properly reserved for upcoming events, such as her birthday, or her graduation.

To support the family, her father was forced to seek a working-class job, as none of her powerful friends even opened the door for him. The poor gave them indigestion. And so, it is that he spent his days - his life -, in a soulless factory, as a link in the assembly line, grey and obedient, like any other good proletarian.

Meanwhile, her mother dedicated herself to the house, while she was withering between tears. Unbeknownst to anyone, she would go down to the street and sit on the benches, every afternoon, where she smoked a cigarette, and then another, hoping that someday luck would help her out. And her gaze remained lost for a long time in the smoky black chimneys.

By the time Matilda finished school, only one dress still fit her. And it was on that special day that that dress grew legs for the first time. And she stumbled, going up the stairs, while she was going to the Golden Room, where she would be given the award, for many the most precious; and for her so secondary, because it was not money.

And with the paper that swore Matilda was already a graduate, the girl left alone to the park, where a river ran. On the other side of the water, the world was very different. The carts came and went - with people, not heaped with coal - and the children played rather quietly. That reminded her of her childhood.

There was a man on the shore, wearing a hat and an expensive black suit; and his legs were short, and his face that of a toad. Of course, she did not think twice and posed, and shortened her skirt. Young and seductive, she blinked slowly, her frog lids. I suppose it won't be surprising to know that the man took the bait.

He took her away from there, to his palace with servants; for he was rich and admired. The condition, as there is always one, was that the girl never made contact with her parents again. They were unworthy poor, and the man would not be well seen if it were known that his consort was of such an unworthy source.

Matilda accepted without thinking twice because she only wanted one thing: to be rich again one day. So be it! But lonely was her life in that distant place. The days were eternal as if the clock did not tick; but life was happening, without her even suspecting it.

***

One fine day, one like any other, the woman went for a walk through the surrounding groves. She alone, went into the forest, among the birches, firs and pines; and she somehow found, again, the immense green wall of old: that very intimate and saturnine labyrinth.

Dark, like solid rock, the shrub walls rose again, inviting her into the world of her desires. There, the plants snored, for they dream of many things and drink from the noble pool. And the girl crawled inside her way, like a sleepwalker, and she did not rest until she reached the centre, where the water lilies floated.

Knowing what she was coming to, the woman closed her eyes. Striving, she asked the gods to return to her parents' home. Round, that sharp and taut penny cut through the atmosphere; and heavy it sank, defenceless, in the waters of that pool, where it was captured by the beast that there, snores.

The girl woke up suddenly, frightened by the strange dream, and the moon was shining in the sky, on that terrifying night. Not a single sound could be heard in the palace she inhabited, for her husband, who was next to her, no longer moved, and snored no more.

I NEED

War broke out a week after the burial, and the palace that Matilda inhabited was one of the first to fall into the hands of the government. They said that, for strategic reasons, he would be intervened by the Army. To make matters worse, Matilda discovered, to her dismay, that her name was not even mentioned in the will.

With nowhere else to go, and with only a handful of money, Matilda took the train that would bring her closer to the industrial suburb where she had lived as a teenager. Finally, after a long journey, the woman reached the district, the building, the room. But there no one slept anymore, and there weren't even beds.

A neighbour was flabbergasted to see her, and she confessed what was most feared: Matilda's parents had been dead for several years. The old woman told her that many have been looking for her, but no one had been able to find her. And the neighbour invited her to stay with her, at least for a few days.

That old woman had stored a few things that belonged to Matilda's family. They had been waiting in a chest, for days, months and years. Among them were necklaces and combs, her graduation degree and birth certificate; and a bank check.

Matilda burst into tears, for she knew she had come back too late. It had been unfair to them, who had given everything for her. And in the old woman's house, she spent the night that day, remembering and longing for what is really important in life.

The next morning, she went to the bank. A long queue, she had to wait. Finally, she was served by a banker as tall as a dragonfly; he told her that twenty thousand pounds would be paid to her, but there was something else someone had left her: a small black book that the banker gently placed between her hands.

Excited by the finding, Matilda visited the park. On the coal-black leather cover, her last name could be read in golden letters. And so, she knew that the notebook was the one that her father used to carry with him.

And then she opened the little book, excited and intrigued, and on the first page, she saw a drawing of a building. On the second a garden, and on the third a labyrinth. On the fourth of her a portrait of her, asleep in her old bed; and suddenly an old coin, hidden in the book, slipped out.

Surprised, Matilda stopped a carriage and immediately ordered the coachman to take her to her old school. Expensive, that man charged her, but that no longer mattered. And so, she faced, again, the labyrinth that had been hunting her.

Running, she stepped into the mist, as the sun was setting, and finally, she reached the pond, where the frogs were croaking. Rolling up her dress, she put her feet in the water; and she went looking for that first wish of hers that was submerged in the fountain.

Suddenly, Matilda was pulled into the depths of that pond; stroking and swimming, she tried to get away. But the beast that lived there was stronger than her, and between its jaws, it held her prisoner. And then she could see the coin, the one that she had thrown, gleaming in the darkness, and stretching her long arms it was that she finally obtained it; just before being rescued, like a lily, from the water.

There was a fat man there, and another one, tall and slim. And there, too, were Matilda's parents, obviously worried about their little girl. And she, all wet, ran to hug them; and she told them how much she loved them, no matter what happened.

Oh! She was a princess, after all; for she had it all.