The Pink Frog

I started participating last month and my first stories were accepted, but in the past two contests my stories were rejected with no explanation of what was wrong with them. I looked through the terms of use and I do not see any reason why they would have been rejected. Is anyone else having this problem?

I've been excited to participate and would love to continue to

participate. However, I don't see any reason to continue participating in a

contest where my stories will be thrown out with no explanation of what I did

wrong. I cannot fix whatever issue I've run into, and it'd be much easier for

me to write without having to stick to a weekly prompt.

Is anyone else having this problem, or is it an isolated even

that I've somehow fallen into? I would love to continue participating, but I’m

not going to put in the effort if it’s going to be flat out rejected without

explanation.

To make matters more difficult, there’s no way that I could find to message the people running the contest to reach out to them for a remedy on either my part or theirs.

So, here’s my story that I’ve written off the cuff. I hope you hate it. LOL

The man had never seen a pink frog before, but the rough white bark of the tree made it stand out like an elephant sized pimple on the back of a side alley dipsomaniac. The dark brown bark and bright green foliage of the surrounding trees made the pink frog on the white tree really stand out. He had wandered into the woods during his lunch break, after he had finished his meatball sub, which he always ordered with no sauce and no cheese. His life was filled with chaos in his job, chaos in his home, and chaos in traveling between the two. He didn’t need any more chaos added to his life.

The busy streets of cars honking and people yelling was a vastly different world from the one he found himself standing in now. His co-worker Nancy told him that exploring the woods in middle of city were a great way to get away from the chaos of the city-but he never expected it to be anywhere near this large or this intriguing. After walking for nearly forty-five minutes, he assumed he would have discovered the other side of the woods and they would have dumped him back into the city. Ten minutes behind him, the trail had disappeared, but once he spotted the pink frog he also realized he could no longer see the buildings that had surrounded the woods a few minutes before.

Rustling of dead leaves being trampled underfoot filled the woods. He turned around and faced whatever evil was approaching. A small female voice called out to him, “Frank! I’m so happy you finally decided to take my advice.”

Frank responded, “Hey Nancy.” He chuckled. “Yeah, I finally decided to see what magic these woods held over you that made you talk to me about it every day for the past five years.”

Nancy’s grin filled her face. “Well, I’m sure you understand now, right?”

He shook his head at her. “No, not really. I’m not even sure what I’m seeing. At first it looked like any other forest I’ve seen pictures of. However, for the past several minutes it’s looked nothing like what I’d imagined it would look like in here. How much farther do I have to walk before I get to the other side?”

Nancy hugged him tight to her and whispered into his ear, “You don’t understand. There is no other side. It goes on forever.”

Frank pushed her away from him with a gentle nudge and held his hands up in front of him. “I’m not sure what you’re trying to get at, but everything has a beginning and an end.”

She grabbed his hands, interlocking her fingers with his. “Not here. Not now. Here and now we’re going to be together for the rest of eternity.”

He yanked his hands out of hers and walked back toward the entrance to the woods. “No, I have a wife and five kids to get back to.”

She put her hand on his shoulder and gently squeezed as the pink frog croaked behind her. Her voice was a low whisper. “But, you’re not happy at home, in the city, or at work. You’ve been looking for an escape for the past five years. That’s why I started working with you. I’ve been trying to rescue you ever since you wished that day in the park. You were sitting on the bench, eating your bland sandwich, and looking at the woods you’d always been too afraid to enter. Now you’re here and now you’re free. Your wife and kids won’t even remember that you’d left. Everything’s been taken care of for you and we can enjoy the rest of eternity here in these woods, together, and carefree.”

Frank slowly turned around to face Nancy and her deep brown eyes were fixed on him. A strong wind stirred through the tops of the trees and their branches creaked as their leaves made a loud rustling noise over their heads. He tried to speak, but nothing came out. Nancy pet his head and whispered softly to him. “Don’t worry my pet. No harm will come to you and you’ll be happier than you’ve ever been. No more worrying about getting up at four in the morning. No more wife yelling at you for waking her up because you’re too loud in the shower. No more children screaming that they hate you. No more boss threatening to fire you for not turning in your monthly report on time. No more co-workers holding up your progress and never having to take the blame for your late or inaccurate work. Don’t you understand? You’re free.”

Frank tried to tell her that he didn’t understand. He tried to tell her that he didn’t want to trade his life. He tried to tell her that everyone complains, but that doesn’t mean they want to lose everything they have. He tried to tell her that he loved his life and loved his wife and loved his kids, especially his baby girl who would be starting kindergarten next year. But, all that came out was a croak.

Nancy picked up the pink frog from in front of her and kissed it on the lips. She pet its head and set it on the bark of the white tree.

***

Far away in a small brick home sat a little girl in a beige recliner. Next to her sat her mom. The little girl looked over and her and asked, “Mommy. Why didn’t you ever get married?”

Tammy looked at her and shrugged her shoulders. “Oh, I don’t know sweetie. It just never seemed to work out with anyone I’d ever dated.”

The little girl frowned at her mommy. “What happened to daddy?”

Tammy scrunched her eyebrows together. “You know baby, I don’t really remember your daddy. Hey, your siblings will be home from school any minute now. I need to go out and wait for their bus. We can talk about this later ok sweetie?” With that Tammy stood up, stretched, and went outside.