Big fish in a little pond
Denny was circling the pond once more. He was thinking about giving up, but it was too strange to ignore. He reaches down and grabs an old tree limb that will serve as a walking stick. Now he is walking a little slower. He isn’t exactly sure what he had seen. Just that he had seen something.
With this in mind, he is careful not to get too close to the pond’s edge. He was sure it wasn’t an alligator, but he wasn’t going to take any chances. The water is clear up to the depth of about a foot. Then it becomes a murky green. Whatever had been near the surface, had submerged.
Big fish in a little pond
He walks slowly along, trying to remember what he had been thinking, when he had seen it. The pond is actually a pond, however it is situated in a city. Near the center in fact. Ah, there it was. He had been thinking about dinner. He was still on the fence about his choices.
The pond is large for being inside the city limits. Furthermore, it is surrounded by a paved walking track. Denny has left the track and is much closer to the edge of the pond. If he can get a pic of whatever that thing is, he might post it on his social media accounts. It had been large enough to be alarming so it likely would get some attention. Whatever it was.
He feels really good this evening, as he walks along. Work was fine, he got the raise. Score! He almost had enough money saved for the down payment on his new car, and he was going on a date this Friday. Yep, he feels really good as he walks along the pond’s edge.
As he walks and hopes for the encounter, he begins to hum. The pond water shimmers from the effect of the early dusk. Furthermore, the tune he is humming is an old song he hadn’t thought of in years. However, it is one of his all time favorites. So he hums and walks along, thinking about how good he feels about his upcoming date.
Bad Habits
As the dusk wanes, and the night begins to settle in, the shimmering of the pond water becomes even more mesmerizing. Denny notices that the shimmers have colors, and an ethereal quality that is entrancing. He stops along the pond’s edge for a moment to take in the effect.
His internal rendition of his favorite song hits the chorus now, and Denny can’t help but sing the words out loud, as he stares into the shimmering pond water. He feels better than he has in years. Therefore, he doesn’t feel self conscious as he sways back and forth, enjoying the tune in his mind. His earworm, so to speak. He closes his eyes, and just lets himself become the moment.
Walter Stevens and the big fish
Walter is about to give up drinking for good. He looks at the brown bag in his hand, then back at the pond. The damnable thing was he hadn’t been prepared for what he’d seen. In fact he is wondering if he saw it at all, except his bottle is still mostly full. He’d only had one swig.
Walter lived at the pond. When he didn’t live behind the dumpster at Clovington’s Department store. The warmer nights were better at the pond. Didn’t smell as bad. Walter is used to seeing all sorts of strange shit. He had been living on the street for years.
Big Fish
The man had been walking along the pond’s edge. Looked, like he was lookin’ for something. Then starts humming and carrying on. It wasn’t the strangest thing Walter had ever seen. A nutcase humming and walking along. Even when the guy stopped and started singing, it still wasn’t too weird.
It was that the man had just stood there singing and smiling. All the while, that thing from the pond, had risen from the water. It was impossibly big, an aberration. Then it swallowed the man whole. That is what got Walter. The thing had swiftly, and silently risen from the water, and seized the man in one bite. Walter throws the booze, and runs.
Thank you for reading! Like, follow and share The Frog Journal on X @1finja1 – and on The Frog Journal Facebook page click here. Subscribe to the free newsletter to stay up to date on new content and updates.
All original stories. Download in seconds, new titles weekly. The Frog Journal e-book shorts.