A Little Frog’s Heart: The Stellar Waltz of Life

Dedication-2

She was surprised at first, but she soon picked herself up and acted on the first impulsive thought that came to mind: she allowed the duvet to fall to the ground, as she continued to stand up with only her natural beauty as her cover against the frost bite. Was she planning to impress the Little Star? Did she want to make him take pity on her?

No! None of these. She just wanted to make him feel at ease, to stop being sad and… she wanted to show him something! Something she held carefully to her chest, protected by the warmth of her heart. She opened her hand. In the steaming cup of the flower’s palms was a seed! A small seed which the Flower lifted toward the Star with joy and care, in order to prevent Frost get hold of her priceless treasure.

Her presence brought a touch of warmth to the place: after all, she was not alone, abandoned by all living creatures, in that forlorn ravine. The immaculate blanket of snow softened the rough edges of the scenery which, otherwise, would have spooked out the few brave ones who dared venture there!

For the first time since their encounter, the flower thought she could decipher a reaction on the Star’s face. Maybe it was the unexpected presence of that seed which impressed him? He looked again across the vaults of the sky. His sisters had already drawn the road on which he had to travel back. And yet... some of them encouraged him to give in to the inviting offer of the flower.

The Little Star took a deep breath and looked again at the tiny, courageous plant. She embraced her bundle of joy closely and showed the star that, if he wanted to, there was enough room for him to stay over. The night was still young and they had plenty of time yet. Before the Little Star could make up his mind, the other stars had already put together a stairway leading precisely to the place where the flower was taking shelter.

The Little Star descended light as a feather and he soon reached the Flower. He stopped at some distance from her. The Flower wanted to greet him but a cold draft made her lose her voice for a while. She coughed to clear her throat, made her excuse in front of the Star and then said in a whisper:

“Good evening star from up high!”

The Star didn’t answer. He just looked at her – or, better said, he looked at her very closely, moving his cold gaze from her to the frail seed she held in her frozen arms.

The Little Flower was confused. The sadness and coldness of the Star acted like a brick wall between them; next to each other, and yet so far apart: he remained unapproachable. But she didn’t lose her composure. The Frost was prowling around in readiness for the fatal bite, so the Little Flower gave a frightened smile. She thought she could see the countless stars from the vault of the sky shining down on her, encouraging her to be brave and find a way to make the other-worldly visitor talk to her.

Persuaded by the unexpected support of her bright friends from above, the Flower cleared her voice again and tried to take her mind off the bone-aching cold as she asked:

“Where are you coming from, Little Star? What made you come all this way to our lands? And... why are you so sad? Why aren’t you talking to anyone? If you are troubled, it will do you good to let it all out! I am ready to listen to you! I might even be of some help,” she babbled quickly – both because of the cold, and because she wanted to say everything before being interrupted.

The sad star finally blinked; he sighed deeply, and his strong and cold breath made both the flower and the seed in her arms shiver. But he did not hurry to say anything. He looked at their old timers nearby – the Frost and the Old Wind – who had stopped on a hillside and watched them from the corners of their eyes. The Flower looked that way too; noticing her new nosy neighbours, she frowned as if stung by an angry bee!

Their intentions given away like that, the two friends busied themselves circulating rough breezes from here to there to embellish Winter’s dress with brightness collected from the vaults of the sky. They feigned to perfection a total lack of interest in anything besides their job. The Star saw the shadow of the Flower created by the light of the moon, and he could only imagine her disappointment, but did not respond; it was as if he wanted to get the advice of somebody else first.

He looked at the moon from the corner of his eye. She made desperate efforts to draw his attention to the Flower! The Star listened, turned to his little host and gave a start. The Flower’s sudden sadness gave him the shivers! He thought she might be cold or... maybe she had caught his sadness? He increased his light suddenly in order to offer her some warmth! No reaction came from the Flower, though. She looked at him with wide eyes, stunned, as if who knows what had stopped in front of her!

The Star checked himself out: maybe he was dirty! He looked behind him, too: was there anyone else that had come over without him noticing? No, nothing of the sort. Very curious to find out, he decided to talk:

“Tell me, what happened? Are you cold? You look as if the Frost turned you to stone!” And saying this the Star cast a gloomy glance in the direction of the two old fellows to let them know that he meant business and tough measures were to be taken if they were guilty of whatever was happening to the flower!

“No, Star! There is no need for that!” said the Little Flower, reading his mind. “Thank you, anyway!”

“What is it, then?” he turned to her.

“Please tell me: who are you and where are you coming from?” came the Flower’s sudden question. The Star looked at the place he came from, but did not answer immediately.

“Do you belong here, but had to go far away at some point for reasons known only by yourself, like stars do all the time?” the Flower insisted.

“Wait a moment... you are a flower!” the Star interrupted her. “Your life is short! How did you find out about the destiny of the stars in general, and about those who left these lands long ago?”

“Oh, I know many things!” smiled the Flower. “Some from my parents, some from my neighbours and friends! Some of the things I know come straight from the stars! Look, I can say about you that you’ve returned from a long trip, urged by sorrow... Many sorrows hidebehind your cold brilliance...”

“Sorrows?” the Star gave a gentle start.

He Wearing his heart on the sleeve in front of a plant didn’t exactly fit in with his idea of discretion.

“But what do I know…please don’t mind me and my silly talk…” said the Flower quickly, not wanting to make him uncomfortable. “Anyway, sadness makes your brightness fade! It makes you feel alienated and lacking in confidence, and unwilling to talk about it… You seem so faint! Judging by the look on your face, you are surely going down with something,” she added.

For the first time, the Star lowered his eyes in front of the flower. He breathed in again, deeply, and the coldness of his breath made the Little Flower quickly pull the snowflake duvet up and lay it carefully around her shoulders; she made sure that the little seed was nestled to her bosom nice and snug.

“This is true. You are right!” whispered the Star. “I now feel like an aimlessly wandering star. I left my native lands long ago…”

The Little Flower reached out with a trembling hand, determined to make him look up. Seeing her shadow, the Star guessed her intention. The Flower understood and withdrew her hand.

“Then… maybe you will allow me to give you a warm welcome? It’s nice to have you back home safe and sound!” she whispered with good will, smiling, trying to make him a little bit happier.

She didn’t like it when those around her were unhappy; particularly somebody who had stopped by for some rest and relaxation. With all the movement and wriggling around, the little snowflake duvet had slid off her shoulders again, making a flock of little stars carefully arranged by Frost on the ground to fly joyfully in the light of the Star. The Flower raised to her mouth the cupped hands in which she held the seed, and whispered:

“Did you hear that, dear child? A star that belongs to these lands has returned home today! This is a great joy for us all!”

The Star looked briefly at her; despite her innocent bravado and her genuinely good will, the Flower couldn’t stop the violent trembling in all her limbs! With quick movements, the Star leaned over and picked the sparkling duvet up, covering the Flower, and then returned to his place looking to the sky, where he discovered a snaking road of light that seemed destined for him to follow. Noticing his gaze, the Flower guessed what was going on in his mind. Embracing the seed strongly, she took courage and said:

“Oh star, you don’t have to do that...”

“What exactly?” he looked inquisitively at her.

“Why leave your native lands again?”

“What good would it be for me to stay, when nobody is interested in my being here?” replied the Star, disappointed.

“How come?” frowned the Little Flower, understanding the reason why he wanted to go.

“You’ll see what I mean if you look around! You might not have noticed, but I’ve been living here for a while, on the borders, and nobody even deigned to greet me!” said the Star with bitterness in his voice. “Not to mention being invited by anyone, as if I’m some sort of jinx that rests amongst them! If you only knew how much I longed for this greeting! Well...” he seemed reluctant to give away too much of his suffering.

“No, I haven’t noticed!” the Flower said again, quickly. “You know, cold is not exactly the best of friends to us, during this time of the year,” she smiled. “He brings us to our knees in no time! It is his way of showing everybody he is one of the strongest masters of the world!”

The Star looked admonishingly to the place where the Frost and the Wind were apparently minding their business...

“But why do you say that... nobody greeted you?” continued the Flower. The Star looked at her. It seemed to him she was very daring!

“Look, I... I greeted you!” smiled the Flower. The glamorous visitor wanted to say something but changed his mind.

Ignoring the danger of exposing herself to the elements – Frost being able to take over her frail body quickly – the Little Flower reached out to the Star again. Her warm confidence unsettled him greatly. He tried to stop her. She said gravely pretending not to notice:

“Given that you are a star, you must surely know the unwritten laws of the Universe.”

The Star scrutinised her closely:

“What do you mean?” he asked. “Be more specific!”

“This law maintains that if a single creature (irrespective of the species),” said the Flower slowly, “believes in another creature’s worthiness, they deem it as valuable to the whole universe. It is also known that one’s value is easier recognised by somebody coming from the same place – you have to be one , to know one! No matter how much we move around, or where we choose to be at a certain time, there is only one place under the sun we can call homeland! That is our home, just as much as we are its children! Measured against it, nobody and nothing else matter! The common longing for the homeland is an unbreakable bond for those who share it! So you, Little Star, you will only feel accomplished here, if you belong to these lands as you said!” she said directly to the Star.