by July Morning
Sunlight. Darkness. Sunlight. Darkness. Alternating faster and faster until the sequences became like a strobe light in his mind. In the distance - Anura. Behind him - the orphanage. Toad master calling to him, begging him to return. Momma, Sam and Grump, rising from the grave - urging him, pleading with him. But what were they saying? Their voices all ran together in a confusing cacophony of noise. Sound and light; lights flickering, voices like raging waters. He felt himself being pulled apart, like a garment that is easily torn in two. Then came a soft voice from afar. Becoming louder, clearer, until he could plainly hear a distinct message above the confusion. It was his mother, his real mama calling to him. The message was this:
“Winky, my son, your destiny is clear,
Anura is yours, now listen my dear.
Your father was king, your bloodline is true,
you will take the throne, we’re all here for you!”
As the voice trailed off, that beautiful voice that he so loved, the confusion faded. Sunlight prevailed over the darkness, gradually, like dawn’s victory over dusk. The voices in his head no longer ran together like competing waters; each voice had the same message, “We are all for you, Winky.”
As he awoke from his dream and opened his eyes, Winky could hear a robin singing nearby. He took a deep breath and could sense that warmth had returned to the land. Spring had arrived. He sat up and looked around the cave and though it was dark he could discern sleeping bodies all around him. It appeared that he was the first to awaken from the big sleep. He thought about what he should do. After all, with Elmer still sound asleep this seemed the opportune time to retake control. Should he eliminate Elmer once and for all? It pained Winky that the thought even entered his mind. Should he bind him so that he and the others could escape? But then what about the guards? Would they not soon awaken and be hot on their trail?
It wasn’t long before the others began to awaken. The guards were all quite groggy, but after a few hours their senses returned to them. They had absolutely no idea where they were or how they had gotten here. Why was their king not on his throne? Why were they here in this dank cave? So many questions. The royal family waited for Winky to speak. But Winky too was looking for answers. Finally Elmer woke up:
“What…what’s going on - guards on your feet!
To…Antica we must go… but wait!
Why…uh, why, does the robin tweet?
Let us go, before it’s too late!”
But this time the guards did not respond. Instead they all lined up beside Winky, leaving
Elmer feeling alone and powerless. He began to tremble uncontrollably, then he began to…cry! Yes, the once nerd turned rebel was sobbing like a baby. The majority of those present felt a certain contempt for him. But Pat gingerly approached him, embraced him, and said:
“Elmer, my love, you’re as fragile as a child,
whatever got into that head?
My mem’ries of you are both tender and mild,
think back to the day we were wed.”
As Pat’s comforting words fell upon Elmer’s ears he suddenly felt ashamed. All the others, excepting the guards, rallied around him and offered words of comfort. Finally, Elmer got on his knees before Winky, his brother and king and sobbed:
“I truly deserve to be cast away,
far from the family I love.
But if it’s possible that I might stay,
I’ll help restore peace like a dove.”
For a moment all was silent, so much so that the only thing that could be heard was the sound of birds singing in the distance. Everyone’s eyes were intently focused on Winky, to see how he might respond. Then they watched as their king reached out his hand to Elmer and said:
“This change in you is truly profound
so really, what more can I say?
Here our brother was lost and yet found,
you are surely welcome to stay.”
Elmer then reached out his hand, stood up before his king and the two embraced. All were in tears as they witnessed firsthand the awesome power of forgiveness. Today was the first step toward Leonid’s downfall - love would pave the way to his ultimate defeat! Even the guards, though still quite confused, rallied around the royal family as they all prepared to step out into the sunlight, eager to get back home, home to Anura.
Back in Anura, Steve had to be extremely careful not to hop out in the open. He was determined to reach the town square. But as he looked to the sky he could see a legion of hawks; circling and diving, diving and rising. Their was chaos and panic everywhere. As he got nearer to the center of town, he hid behind a bush as he witnessed that an all too familiar strategy was being used against the realm of hawk. Every toad knew this one from history, part of King Chaz’s brilliant plan to try and defeat the hawk kingdom. A toad would lie out in plain site as though dead. Now, no hawk can resist that inner urge to feed, so down he would swoop. Just as he was about to carry off his prey, a dozen or so toads would pounce upon him from their hiding places, break his wings, and carry him off to Dungia. But Leonid had apparently forgotten the lessons of history. Because for every hawk that was captured, a few dozen toads were lost. How long could Anura continue to sustain these losses, Steve wondered? Oh, if only King Winky would return! He would know exactly what to do, how to stop the bloodshed!
Meanwhile at the palace no one dared venture outside, which meant that the grounds were beginning to look rather shabby. But that didn’t matter to Leonid. Anura was now completely under his control. It didn’t matter that lives were being lost in the process. Evil feels no remorse, has no conscience. Soon he would call for a truce, end the war, and would take his place beside King Chaz I, Chaz the Great, LEONID THE GREAT! Cleanup could wait till the war was over. As evening drew near on that first day of spring, Leonid called out:
“Cupbearer, my cup, tonight let us dine,
a grand evening meal, trust all will be fine.
Victory’s in sight, we’ll mourn for our dead,
they’re heroes to us, first let us be fed.”
To which Wort cried out, “Amen, let’s eat!” But in reality, there would be no mourning for the dead that evening. Only feasting and revelry as the usurpers indulged themselves in their fantasy of eternity.