GERTRUDE

In the middle of the night I became aware of just how much water I had consumed before bed. With the mosquito net surrounding my bed and the unfamiliar jungle noises filtering in from outside through the open windows, I tried to go back to sleep. But I soon realized that I couldn’t hold it till morning.

I crawled out from underneath my thin blanket and through the net, slipped on my slippers and wandered sleepily into the bathroom. I sat down and began to feel some blader relief until I heard a prominent thump just behind me. Just then a tiny tree frog, perhaps only 2 ½ inches long, had jumped onto the back of the toilet. I curtailed a little squeak that pulsed in my throat. "Just stay calm, its just a tiny frog." I tried again to relax. "Just complete this common daily ritual. Everything is ok." Then she jumped again- and so did I! I quickly pulled up my pjs and dove back under the perceived safety of my mosquito net.

In the morning when my friend Corame asked me how I slept, I told him about the tiny frog in the middle of the night:

“ A trip to Asia without animals would require a refund,” he said with a smile, “And what did you name your frog?”
After a deep breath and a bit of soul searching I replied:

“Gertrude. Her name is Gertrude.”