💭+ MEMORY + Children

“Daddy?” The two little girls were hiding halfway behind the door frame as their father paced back and forth. They were both awoken by his panicked movements throughout the house. Upon hearing the girl’s voice, Oron stopped, looking over at his wife, who was rubbing her forehead. She was rather stressed out herself. 

Walking over, the large Australian knelled down. “Heeeeey girls, what are you doing out of bed?”

“We heard a loud bang.” The other girl, a little older than the other, spoke up as she hugged her stuffed kangaroo. “Are you and mum okay?” “Yeah… yeah everything’s fine.” There was a nervous smile from Oron as he ruffled the older girl’s hair, which prompted her to giggle. “You guys want to hear a bedtime story? We gotta get some shut eye, you got school tomorrow.” With a nod from both of them, they walked into their respective beds. Oron followed them and sat down next to the younger one.

“In the south eastern parts of Australia, there was a mischievous little frog named Tiddalik. One morning, Tiddalik woke up from his nightly slumber incredibly thirsty. ‘I have never been so thirsty in my life!’ He exclaimed before he began to drink from the watering hole until it was suddenly all gone!” As he told the story, the children were nestling into their beds. 

“He then drank from the creeks until all the water was gone. Then he drank from the rivers until it was alllll gone. As he drank, Tiddalik grew, and grew… and grew until he was a little frog no more. He became huge and fat, like a giant water balloon. Not a single drop remained in the lands.” 

All the animals became thirsty, the trees started to become brown due to the lack of water. The animals pondered the situation. ‘There is no more water to drink!’ said t- ” Oron stopped his story, both girls were fast asleep. A smile formed on his lips as he gave them both a kiss on the forehead before making his way out of the room. Jilby was waiting for him.

“So what are you going to do?” She asked as he closed the door.

“I have to leave. If I stay, they will come after you.” Oron was quickly grabbing his things. “I gotta get out of the country before they put my face everywhere. I think I have a couple hours at best.” He looked at his beloved wife, hands shaking. “Okay, we have some savings. You can use those.” Jilby looked down, clearly saddened by the fact that her husband was going to have to leave. She had some choice words for Oron but she decided to hold them in. “Alright. I promise you… as soon as I can, I will bring you guys to safety. I promise.”