Can't Help but Love Him

New beginning

TEN YEARS LATER

     "I'm sorry I didn't pack you an umbrella, I should've believed her when she said it would rain today." Aurora says, closing the front door behind me. 

     "Oh it's fine, I barely got wet. I am worried, though. Should I go look for her?" I ask, waiting to take off my boots. She laughed, taking my wet coat off for me.

     "Elizabeth has her little poncho. Besides, she'd get mad if you tried to separate her from the rain." She says, looking out the window. It was sprinkling pretty lightly, but getting pneumonia was still possible if you stayed out there long enough.

     "I think I'm gonna go. Better safe than sorry." I say, snatching my coat back from her. She was right though, Ellie loved rain. She was the one who had predicted the precipitation today, when not even the weather man could. 

     I sprinted out the door, checking to make sure Ellie wasn't already close by. Her school was only a few blocks from home, so she liked to walk back on days like today. 

     I slowly drove along the route to her school, trying to see through the wall of rain. It was pouring now, so I didn't want anything bad to happen to her. I stopped when I caught a glimpse of a blue poncho, rolling down the window to get a better view. 

     I knew it was her when I saw the long white hair that spilled out of her hood. She was hunched over the sidewalk, staring down at something in her hands. I got out of the car, hurrying over to her.

     I stood behind her tiny figure, peeking at what she held. It was a small, green frog. She was fascinated by it, but frowned as it hopped away. 

     She turned around, looking for the reason the frog had been startled. "Ah, you scared it away!" She complained, looking back in its direction.

     "I didn't scare it, it's going back home. Back to his mushroom house." I assured her. Her eyes lit up as I talked, and she spent the whole way home asking me about the frog house.

     "A mushroom, really?" She asked, rocking back and fourth in her seat. I snickered, pulling up in the driveway. 

     "Ask Mommy when we get back home. She'll tell you all about it, I promise." Telling stories was more of Aurora's thing, so I'd sit back on this one. I was proud of the little tale I'd created, though. It would satisfy her as a bedtime story for nights to come. 

     She opened the car door herself, and hopped down into the pavement. She looked lengthier than the day before, but I couldn't tell because of her hair that dropped below her waist. 

     "Hey Ellie, did you grow over night?" I asked, watching her skip up the steps. It began to worry me; she had only just turned five right? She seemed to be growing so fast, there were only twelve more years left until she moved out. 

      "Yup, Mommy said I grew two centimeters!" She said proudly. I could barely hear her voice through the heavy rain, but I saw the glimmering smile plastered on her face. 

     I grabbed the keys from my pocket, unlocking the front door. Ellie skipped ahead of me, taking off her boots in the foyer. 

     "Elizabeth come, let me see your face." Aurora insisted, squishing her cheeks. She giggled, attempting to push away from her motherly hold. 

     "Momma, I saw a frog today." She began, wiping her face where Aurora had rubbed her. 

     "Really? How big was it?" She asked, sliding off her coat for her. They continued their little conversation, and Aurora had already come up with a brilliant background story for the frog. Even I looked forward to the full story she would tell tonight.

     Our house was technically big enough for maids and other cleaning staff, but we were both against the idea of people other than our family living here. Even so, the house was obviously too big compared to our small numbers. There were rooms we didn't even use; but I had finally paid back the debt I owed my Uncle for buying it, so it was all officially ours. Ellie sometimes switched bedrooms, claiming the air was better on the other side of the house. 

     She was an extremely intelligent kid for her age, and Aurora constantly fed her curiosity with books and articles she would find. Ellie loved everything about nature. Rocks, trees, moss and rivers. We had a huge garden in the back, and she spent most of her time outside playing with bugs and flowers. It kind of made me jealous; I wish I had been so invested in something as a kid.

     "Elizabeth! It's time for bed, my love!" Aurora called, leaning open back door. The sun was going down, signifying it was time for Ellie to come inside. 

     She peeked her small head up from within the bed of tulips, smiling when she saw us. "Come look! It's the froggie, he's back!" 

     I followed Aurora out to the garden, going out to where she was. She once again, held a tiny green frog in her hands. It definitely wasn't the same frog, but I enjoyed the delighted look on her face too much to say anything. 

     When Ellie was tucked in for the night, we both settled down for Aurora's bedtime story.

    "His name is Eddie, and he lives in a little froggy village. The elders of the village were four very old men, who forbade anyone from getting too close to humans. They told terrible stories of how scary people were, saying they were dangerous creatures and were to be avoided. Despite the many warnings and scary tales, the little frog wanted to know more about humans." She said, brushing Ellie's hair aside. 

     "So one day, he snuck out to the edge of the village without anyone seeing. He quietly peeked around from behind a rock, until he saw a little girl in a blue poncho walking down a path." She continued.

     "He bravely hopped over to her, even though he had never seen a human in real life before. Lucky for him, he was about to meet the nicest, sweetest girl on the planet. They immediately became friends, and he told her all about his froggy life." Ellie was now on the edge of her bed, listening intently.

     "Then, the little girl had to leave to go back to her family. The frog was very sad, and decided to do something dangerous. He would leave his village, and follow the girl he had met. So, he hopped along side the car, away from the life he was comfortable with. When they had finally reached a house, the frog hopped through the garden in the back to surprise the girl." I was extremely impressed on how she was able to make this up on the spot. 

     "When they met again, they were both so happy, the girl just had to show her parents. When they heard the story about how the frog had no where to go, the decided to take it in to live with them." She says, pointing to the tank next to Ellie's bed. Her story aligned perfectly, in reality we knew she would get sad if she parted with the frog. 

     Ellie peered into the tank, staring at the frog resting on some sticks and leaves she had picked out for him. "Best. Story. Ever." 

     "Goodnight, my little froggie." Aurora cooed, kissing Ellie on her forehead.  

     "Papa, you too." She said, reaching out to me. I bent down, lightly pecking her cheek.