The family sat by the garden pond, all hoping for the best. With fasting their only option, they were resigned to leaving their loved one. The children stood, supporting their mother, while the father stood with his daughter who had not uttered a word. None of them really knew what to do. They were together, yet alone.
The children took up the task of raising the old woman's dog, who was much more intelligent than it's owners. In order to keep up with its rapid development, the children named it Daenerys, after the woman's most beloved character.
The mother also made a promise to her children. That promise was to come true in 3 years.
Her children would be a family again.
In a small town, located far away from the giant's castle, a young woman rushed out of the post office. She paid a little extra to have the heavy parcel sped up.
'Come on, come on, come on!' she urged. 'Don't be late, don't be late, don't be late!' Her actions were those of a woman who had a desperate need to make it home before dark.
When the last post reached the hands of the woman, she took off at full throttle. It was around 6 p.m. when she started back to her home. The distance between the town and her home was usually covered by some sort of vehicle, but there was a more effective way. The young postal worker ran as fast as she could. The miles flashed by, each step was a thunderclap. Then, without warning, she stopped.
"Why didn't you just run around me?" her sister asked, who was walking along the same path.
"I'll walk with you!" the younger sister said, quickly catching up. "I have something important to tell you."
"Um, okay..." her sister drew out. She knew her sister's antics. Synnister never did anything without a reason.
"It's about our Dad," Synnister said.
"What about our Dad?" her sister asked excitedly. Almost 200% positive this would be something major.
"We don't know," Synnister said. "He disappeared. He left before anybody knew what happened."
"No way," her sister said. "He's not just another playboy, no way. He couldn't be."
"I've never seen him this angry," Synnister said. "How could he just abandon us?"
"Could it have been life threatening?" her sister asked. "He did have lots of enemies. It's possible that he went after him, or she..."
"How could a frog sit on his shoulder and make him leave?" Synnister asked. "I mean, how can that even work!"
"We're just discussing," her sister said.
"No way!" Synnister said. "He's not in any danger. I just know it."
Their mother was crying. When both sisters reached her, she pointed out her husband, who was running in the distance. That ran over hill and dale caused her to fall, sobbing. Her sisters cried with her.
They set up camp. Next morning, their father returned. On his way home, he noticed his two daughters, spread out all over the place, just like they were when he last left.
"What did I miss?" he asked, rushing towards the garden, where all their belongings were, in a small barn.
"Where have you been?" Synnister asked. "You can't leave us."
"I've just been travelling," he said. "I'm going to a place called Mount Cow."
"You've never told us about that," she said, changing the subject.
"What was going on when I left?"
Synnister was getting anxious, feeling the need to leave. He was tired of travelling and wanted to go home, but the prospect of leaving their mother upset the situation.
"Before she got angry," Synnister said. "She was happy, actually."
"What happened?" he asked. "I thought you were happy."
"When we heard your foot steps, she told us to hide, 'We don't have time for a reunion,' she told us."
"That's odd," he said. "Why didn't she say something before?"
He picked out a fork and shoved it deep into his foot.
"Ow!" he said. "I can't talk. Sorry, I can't say much now."
Synnister had a look of horror on her face. She was wondering why he would do that, but she didn't know if it was because he was unaware, or if he was aware of what he was doing.
"What's happening to you?" she asked.
Suddenly, he took off, running at a very fast speed, heading behind the barn and towards the carrot field.
"Dad!" she called out. "Come back!"
The number of groans, the number of cries. The pain was unbearable. He never thought going for a carrot to appease his hunger would be so traumatic.
His wife's face appeared, looking even more horrible than the pain he was experiencing.
"Dad, what did you do?" Synnister asked, running towards the carrot field.
"Well, I..."
He had no idea what to say. His daughters were now crying. They were in a fix and he was making it worse. He was putting them in a pathetic state, so instead of answering them back, he continued walking, to hide the truth.
"The truth," he said, to himself, feeling very much in pain. "I'll tell them the truth, if this doesn't work. After all, I know it'll work. It'll have to, but they may wake up before morning."
"What's he thinking?" Synnister asked. Her sister had no idea just how much pain their father was in.
"He's,...he's..." a thought flashed through Synnister's mind, a very barbaric thought.
"He's turned into a frog," she thought. "I've read about this in books. It must be true."
She reached for a scared looking creature, and looked at it, it's eyes fixated on her. She stuck her hand in the mesh and grabbed it's arm. It jumped, letting out a horrible cry.
Her sister's fears were now confirmed. I was terrible, their father now a frog. She started to cry, hoping that this was all a bad dream.
Their mother approached. She had already seen this happen before.
"What do we do?" Synnister asked. "This is probably the biggest secret ever!"
"We wait him out," she said, walking away.
Slowly, a dark figure crept towards the house, hiding the crime.
"Daddy," Synnister yelled, "you have to come back."
"I know," he said. "I know. How long will I be stuck like this?" He then got the presence of mind to say, "Just three days. That's all. Everything will be okay again. I just need to take what they call a refreshment."
Synnister had her sister take charge, so she could go and find him some water. His hair was hung over his eyes, his arm stuck out behind his back, his skin was turning a brownish hue. His eyes were looking on the ground, close to where he had stopped. He was on course to a spring.
"Please," he begged. "Please, don't make me a frog."
"Why?" she asked. "Did I tell you about this story? What is going to happen to you?"
He said nothing. She wasn't going to let him go. He wanted to go back to his family. He didn't want the pain to continue.
"If I'm going to be this thing," he thought, "then I'll be the most evil of frogs there is. I'll take the carrot. I can't do this." He swallowed hard, looking at his reflection in the lovely ball of gold he had been given.
"I can't do this," he said. "If this is how I grew up, I'll change now. My last words to you were no good. I don't know how am I going to make this up to you. I was supposed to look after you that's what the heroes do. Look after those who are in need. I can't even move. I'm going to be stuck here for ever!"