This is a modern-day story that takes place in a busy metropolitan city with gigantic skyscrapers and never-ending traffic. In the city, there lived a young woman, Princess Tiana. Now, she wasn’t a traditional princess as one might think; however, her family’s wealth, along with her graceful demeanour, had earned her the name. Moreover, she was known for her sharp wits and even sharper heels.
Her father was the esteemed CEO of a renowned corporation, who had raised her as an ambitious, career-oriented, hardworking young lady. But unfortunately, even after all she had accomplished, Tiana felt a void in her life. She often thought about what joy was there in life when her days were filled with answering emails and attending meetings.
On a busy day, when Tiana got up for break one afternoon, she decided to go for a little stroll in a nearby park and took her vintage golden ball with her. This wasn’t an ordinary ball; she considered it one of her prized possessions, for it was a keepsake from her late mother and a reminder of happier times in her life. So, while walking and thinking about her mother, she kept tossing the ball into the air and catching it. It gleamed so wonderfully in the sunlight that passersby stopped on their way to have a look at the thing,
In her enjoyment, Tiana accidentally threw the ball higher than usual, and to her dismay, it landed with a soft plop in a cloudy pond near her. Panic surged through her as she rushed to the edge, peering into the dark water. The ball was nowhere to be seen.
“Great,” she muttered under her breath, annoyed at her carelessness. Just as she was about to resign herself to the loss, a croaky voice interrupted her thoughts.
“Looking for this?”
Tiana blinked in disbelief as a small, green frog emerged from the pond, balancing her golden ball precariously on its webbed hands. She stared at it, her rational mind wrestling with what she was seeing.
“You… you can talk?”
The frog gave a slow, exaggerated nod. “Indeed. And not just talk—I can help. But I don’t work for free.”
Tiana raised an eyebrow, suspicion flickering in her eyes. “What do you want?”
The frog tilted its head, considering. “It’s simple. I want to be your companion for three days. Treat me as an equal—eat with me, let me stay with you, and talk to me like you would a friend. After that, I’ll return to my pond.”
Tiana hesitated, for the terms were odd, and the idea of sharing her life with a frog, even temporarily, felt ridiculous. But the ball was priceless. Thus, she gave in with a reluctant sigh, “Fine. You have a deal.”
The frog beamed—or at least, as much as a frog possibly could. He tossed the ball to her, and she caught it with a mixture of relief and unease.
Day One
True to her word, Tiana brought the frog back to her sleek, modern apartment. As she opened the door, she glanced down at him. “This is surreal. I can’t believe I’m actually doing this.”
The frog hopped inside, his wide eyes scanning the pristine decor. “Nice place: minimalist, but cozy.”
Tiana ignored his comment and set a plate of leftovers on the table for him. “This is dinner. Enjoy.”
“Not so fast,” the frog croaked. “I said you have to treat me as an equal. That means I sit at the table with you.”
She groaned but complied, setting a smaller plate across from her own. Then the frog leapt onto the chair and began eating with such elegance that even Tiana was surprised. While dining, the two discussed random things as people normally do: the frog asked her about her work and hobbies and dreams, which she answered curtly in the beginning. But the frog was so genuinely curious that even she started getting interested in the flow of the conversation, sharing everything about her life.
By the end of the meal, Tiana couldn’t believe how much she’d shared with a stranger, and that too, a frog! The reason was his attentiveness and insights, pretty wise for an amphibian living in a park pond, she thought.
Day Two
The next morning, when Tiana got out of her bedroom, she found the frog already waiting on the kitchen counter.
“Good morning!” he said cheerily.
“Are you always this energetic?” she mumbled, still groggy.
He laughed so joyfully that even Tiana felt like smiling.
“Let’s do something fun today. Would you take me to see the city?”
Tiana hesitated, then shrugged. She hadn’t taken a day off in weeks, and she thought being a frog’s tour guide couldn’t really be a bad way to spend it. And so they went; they visited famous tourist spots, galleries, and landmarks and even stopped at a lively street market.
To her astonishment, the frog was a hit everywhere they went. Although grown-ups did feel odd about a talking frog behaving like a human being, children giggled and waved at him and even took pictures with him. He charmed everyone with his unique presence. And as for Tiana, she realized she hadn’t laughed that much in months.
Day Three
By the third day, Tiana had grown oddly accustomed to the frog’s companionship. Surprisingly, his voice of odd habits didn’t seem that odd anymore, and nor did she flinch at him sitting in her favorite armchair.
That evening, as they went to breathe in fresh air on her balcony overlooking the city lights, the frog turned to her. “Tiana, you’ve been a good sport. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.”
She smiled.
“Well, let me just say you’ve been a pretty good company! However, I have a question: why did you want to spend three days with me as a human being? I don’t get the point.”
The frog’s expression grew serious.
“Let’s just say I’ve been under a strong spell for a long time and needed somebody to see beyond my appearance, into who I really was. I needed somebody to treat me as a normal person even if I didn’t appear to be one.”
Before Tiana could respond, a soft golden glow enveloped the frog. She watched, wide-eyed, as he began to transform. His tiny frame stretched and shifted until, standing before her, was a young man about her age. He had kind eyes and a gentle smile, and his clothes were simple but regal in a way that spoke of another world.
“Who are you?” she whispered.
“My name is Prince Friedrich,” he said. “A curse turned me into a frog years ago, and only through kindness and companionship could it be broken. You’ve freed me, Tiana.”
For a moment, they stood in silence, the enormity of what had just happened sinking in. and finally, snapping back into reality, Tiana shook her head, “This has to be the strangest three days of my life, ever.”
Friedrich laughed heartily, “Mine too!”
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