HOCUS POCUS

Down near the meadow, in an itty bitty pool, I watch my itty bitty sister, playing like a fool. Three year old Lisa is adorable. Being ten didn’t matter, I loved her before I knew she was going to be a girl. Mother didn’t love her. Daddy never said, but I could tell, one child was all they had wanted.

There she is, sitting on a rock, looking for a frog that she is going to ask me to catch. My sister loves the story of the girl who kissed a frog and it turned into a handsome prince. I have to tell her that story almost every night. ‘Lisa, honey, why do you want a handsome prince. You are only three years old. He isn’t going to wait for you to grow up.’ My sister is very smart. ‘Princes live in big castles and can have all the cookies they want. That’s why.’ I fake a try at catching a frog and my foot goes in the pond. Mother is not going to be happy when she sees my ruined shoe.

Lisa is so little, light weight for me. I pick her up, give her a kiss. ‘Make out I’m a frog. Kiss me back.’ She puckers up, aims at my lips and hits the target. My lips begin to feel numb, my shoes fall off my feet. Lisa looks oddly at me and points to my hands. ‘Ethie, Ethie,’ she can’t say ‘esses’ very well. ‘Look!’ My fingers are starting to web. What is happening to me? My skin is green! ‘Lisa, help, help!’ Lisa can’t help.

I try to walk but hop instead. ‘Come back to the house with me. Run, get Mother.’ She runs as fast as her little legs can run and trips on the pavement. I hear her cry, see Mother come out of the kitchen. Not knowing what to do when she sees me hopping, croaking help, all she can do is scream. Father runs out. He is astounded and frightened. They send Lisa into the house but they stand bewildered, not knowing who to call. They gawk.

Lisa comes out laughing, singing,’ Ethie is a froggie. Ethie is a froggie.Let me kiss the froggie, Mother.’ She climbs on the kitchen stool that is near the cabinet that holds the cookie jar and waves me to come over. ‘Here, Ethie, here.’ I jump over and stand in front of her and her twinkling eyes.

Little dear Sister, leans to me and kisses me on the lips. In an instant my skin returns to normal, my hands become hands. I can speak. ‘What did you do and how did you do it?’ I almost moan with pleasure.Mother and father think they dreamed or hallucinated this whole crazy thing, but they didn’t. Lisa and I know it really happened. I tell her, ‘No more kisses, Lisa. We are going to just hug for a while.’

Lisa puts on her pouting face. ‘I wanted a prince, no frog. Please give me two cookies. They are in the cabinet.’