The Frog

It was dark, the misty smoke covered almost the entire view from my corner at that old table made of deliciously smooth and incredibly expensive wood. Still, no one seemed to realize the treasure stowed in plain sight, serving no other purpose other than holding the drinks of broke drunkards and be the stage for sessions of simple card games.

It was one of many of these monotonous and rather boring evenings that the Man entered the room. He asked my pal if we were playing. Seeing the stranger's fine clothes and smug stance, my pal told him to get lost. Folk like this either wants to hire you to do something they would not do themselves or want to give you a beating in exchange for a few credits.

However, the Man insisted. He claimed he was not that different from us, that he simply wanted to have a good time with his recently acquired deck of cards. He did not want to bet on anything, he simply wanted to play.

As strange as this seemed to us, our hostile attitude ceased once he offered to order drinks for the table. With a smile on his face, he sat down and drew out the famous deck. It was not a normal one, or at least not like the ones I was used to. Instead of having people drawn in it, it had animals, animals of the Old World. Many of us had seen these only in school books and publicities around the City. It was... Unusual, not strange, but simply out of what I had expected to see that day.

Upon inspecting the cards, one in particular startled me. The joker, it was a Frog. Very silly looking, with a wide sick- even hideous smile. A little too much for my taste. In that moment the server came in with the drinks, it was a green bottle, the Man took the role of pouring the green slimy liquid into each of our glasses. Might have been the lighting and the smoke, but it seemed to have a certain glow of its own.

The Man rose his cup high and with a grin invited us to cheer with him and gulp the drink. It went down easy, easier than what I expected. Did not feel slimy at all, but smooth and sweet, with a faint burning aftertaste. It was delicious indeed. The coming minutes became blurry, I think we drank once or twice more from the green bottle. What happened next, I still can't explain. A mix of dream and vision, unpleasant and eerie.

We played with the cards, I even think I was winning at at certain point. Later on, when our stay at the bar started to get long, my colleagues all proceeded to leave one by one, until it was just me and the Man. He was disclosing to me details about his life, the places he had visited and the strange objects he had acquired. I was listening to him, but I could not really make up what he was saying, I just knew it was interesting, intriguing, and at some point repugnant. He told me about his new deck, and how it was special. I don't know how much time it had passed, but eventually the man decided it was enough. He gathered his cards and left. He looked at me, tipped his hat and wished me a good evening.

Me too, more by inertia than by will, stood up and reached for the exit. Once outside I expected to see the man, and probably share a smoke with him, but he was nowhere to be seen. The street was empty, and light rain poured down on the metallic ground. I could hear the sound of engines roaring in the distance. It was dark, but the clouds were illuminated by the light of the City. However, it was not the usual white-copper tone, this time, and I blame my state of mind for it, it was a greenish white.

I did not feel ill, but I was drowsy, not drunk, but not sober, it felt like a dream. I had minuscule sensation of fear in the back of my head, but I dismissed it as I started heading home. Just another day, in this boring life. At least the drinks were free this time. And the Man, though I don't remember what he said, was interesting and unique.

I was mid way home when the drops of water became heavier and louder. Clashing against the metal street with vicious strength, like needles attempting to pierce the skin of the City, but unsuccessful and frail. Water was going down the street taking cigarette butts and various garbage with it. In that moment, it started. A weak guttural sound, made by something, some sort of animal I assumed. It was one voice far away, then there was a second, and a third, I felt like they were surrounding me.

The rain no longer fell downwards, but it started going sideways, with such a violence it was painful to stand it. I was staring down in a useless attempt to protect my face when a loud thunder stroke the skies, but the light it emitted was not white. No, it was a bright green light that illuminated the entire neighborhood. I knew I was not sober but that was too much, fear took hold of me causing me to run as fast as he wind would allow me. As I approached my street, that hideous guttural sound- that damned croaking intensified, as if it knew my thoughts, as if it delighted in my suffering. It came from all directions, from under the metallic floor and from above the buildings, from the alleys and from the thick mist ahead.

I made it home, I don't remember how or when, but I entered the building. Wet, damp and splashing on the entrance of my apartment. The croaking had stopped and the rain seemed to ease down. I was still terrorized by what had occurred. That damned drink and that damned Man. I knew there was something in it, something that had caused me to see what I saw and to hear what I heard. I was shivering, besides the obvious water running down my hair, I could also feel cold sweat on my entire body, it was damp and disgusting. In need of a warm shower, I headed to the bathroom. The shower curtain was closed. As I placed my hand on it, the light went off.

A blackout it seemed. I had my heart on hand and was very still, I wanted to cry or run, but run where? Outside? Normally I could see the outside light through the translucent curtain, however, this time it was of a greenish tonality, it also seemed this light did not to come from the window. No, the light came from the bathtub, and it was something inside the bathtub that was emanating it. The eerie sensation was overwhelming, but I had to know, I needed to see what was in there. So I did, I took the shower curtain, and in a single motion opened it completely.

I could not believe, or understand what I was seeing. Green, green fucking everywhere! My bathtub was full of that awful green drink, it was glowing and bubbling. So slimy, sickening and grotesque yet so enchanting, disgusting to the look but oh- it tasted so well. And now my entire bathtub was full of it. I did not know what to do or think. Should have I taken a sip? The hypnotizing thought was crossing my mind the moment a deafening lightning stroke nearby, the flash blinded me. Once I could see again, the electricity was back. The yellow light of the bulb illuminated the room as I stared down at my empty bathtub with the wide open curtain, the rain continued but was weakening now. I was still trying to process the event, and it was there that I realized the bathtub was not fully empty. A card, the goddamn Frog was there, looking at me, with that wide, sick- hideous smile.