18. Heaven
298 Words
In a small clearing in the woods, all is quiet on this lazy afternoon except for the odd bird song. Jason sits on a rock, the piece of Bessie’s T-shirt hanging from his jeans’ pocket. On a nearby log, Miguelito watches a squirrel running up a maple tree. He tells Jason, “You gotta give it up, farm boy.” He turns to look at his companion, who is staring off into the distance. “What is up with you?”
Jason’s right leg shakes rhythmically up and down, creating a tapping sound on the hard, dry ground. He cracks his bony knuckles. Spotting a small toad a few feet away, he leans down to pick it up carefully, examining it. The toad sits as still as china in his open palm. Only the creature’s pulsating throat moves in unison with Jason’s tapping leg, it would appear.
Miguelito watches him, fascinated. Jason eventually sets the small toad gently back on the ground. The creature sits there for a moment, as if unwilling to leave the human for fear the young man will do something to harm himself. With a few more pulsating throat movements, the toad eventually hops away towards the protection of scrub brush. Jason stares after it for a while. Unwinding his body from the rock, he lopes off into the woods.
Miguelito shouts after him, “What in the hell’s the matter with you, anyway? Crazy boy. Loco! Jason, come back!”
LocoHearing a rustling sound, he glances down to see the little toad again. Smiling, he crouches down to gently stroke the creature’s back. “What is wrong with him, amigo?” he asks the toad. “Did he do something very bad in his past life?”
, amigo“
- Writer
