As I reached up to knock, Issi ripped open the door and yanked me into the room.

  “Ack! Were you just standing there, waiting for me?” I asked as I stumbled forward.

  “Yus! Of course! You said you’d come, and I’m eager to introduce you to the boys!” The little girl chittered as she pulled me towards the back wall.

  The terrarium was absolutely massive. It barely fit on top of Issi’s dresser, and there was a step ladder next to it so the little girl could reach the top of the tank. There was a massive log sitting in the middle, surrounded by a variety of ferns and other small plants that would have been native to the forested areas.

  “Did you need to get such a big tank?”

  “Would you be happy being trapped in a tiny little room?” Issi grumbled. “People need space to play and grow!”

  “What about frogs?” I asked with a small grin.

  “Frogs too!” the little girl exclaimed.

  Leaning down, I scanned the massive tank. I’d seen the frogs before, so I knew what to look for, but the tank was so massive, and there was so much foliage, that I couldn’t spot them. After a few seconds I glanced over at Isabelle. “Are you sure they’re in there?”

  “Yup! Frankine, and Steve like playing hide and seek, and sleeping in the shade, so they’re probably hiding in the mulch,” Issi replied.

  “Frankine? Don’t you mean Francine?”

  “No… I named the first froggie Frank before Mrx Nyx informed me that she was a girl. I didn’t want to completely change her name and confuse her, so I just feminized it a little bit,” Issi explained proudly.

  “And Steve?” I asked.

  “Steve’s just a good name,” Issi replied.

  “Right…” I muttered. I swept my gaze over the tank one last time before stepping back and shrugging. “I don’t get how you’re supposed to spot them in there. Do you have to wait until feeding time?”

  “Nope! I use the light!” Issi declared, like that explained everything.

  “The light?”

  “Of course! Watch this!” she exclaimed as she darted back to the door and flicked the lights off, plunging the room into inky darkness. Even with my synthetic eyes, I had trouble seeing through the gloom.

  “Issi, are you sure this is a good idea? I don’t want you to stumble and fall in the dark,” I said, watching the little girl stumble around.

  “I’m good… just watch…” she said as she felt her way across the room. When she got to her desk, she tripped on something and nearly smashed her face on the corner. The only reason she didn’t was because I was fast enough to dart forward and catch her.

  “Oops! I’m okay,” she chuckled before continuing forward. Once she got to the tank, she felt around the back for a couple seconds before finally fishing out a power cord with a switch on it. When she flipped the switch, the tank lit up with a deep purple light.

  “Can you see them now?” Isabelle asked, using the tiny bit of illumination from the blacklight to maneuver back to the front of the tank.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  “Why would I be able to…” I started saying, before noticing that one of the little rocks deep within the tank was glowing.

  Crouching down so I could peer under the foliage, I stared at the glowing rock until it moved, just a tiny bit. “Why do your frogs glow in the dark?”

  “They don’t glow in the dark. They glow under the special light,” Issi replied. “Cool, right?”

  “Did they always do that?” I asked suspiciously.

  “Dunno. Mrx Nyx didn’t get me the light until I had Frankine for a few days. Steve didn’t glow right away. It took a little while. Maybe he needed a couple days to settle in,” Issi posited.

  I sighed. “Nyx, did you do something to the frogs?”

  All I did was add a couple additives to the frog food; Some extra vitamins, and a couple enzymes. Nothing excessive, just enough to make sure the frogs stay healthy for a long time.

  “And the glow?” I asked.

  I may have added an enzyme that makes the mucus they excrete through their skin react and glow under a blacklight.

  “Wonderful…” I muttered. “Is it safe?”

  It’s one hundred percent safe for both the frogs and Isabelle. It’s just a minor change to help Issi enjoy her new pets.

  “Good,” I grumbled.

  “What did Mrx Nyx say?” Issi asked, tugging on my sleeve.

  “That they added something to the frog food to not only make sure the frogs stay healthy but also glow,” I told her.

  She looked at me, surprised. “They don’t normally glow?”

  “Apparently not,” I snorted. “Don’t worry, the change isn’t dangerous. The frogs will be fine.”

  “Good! If the froggies got hurt, I’d never forgive Mrx Nyx!” the girl declared.

  “It’s good that you’re sticking up for your pets,” I said, reaching out and ruffling her hair. “So we can see the frogs with the help of the black light, now what? You fish them out and play with them?”

  “No! Froggies are delicate creatures. It’s best to leave them in a natural environment and watch them from afar. Playing with them will stress them out, and that’s bad. I just like turning on the light and watching them go about their business while I play with my plushies,” she explained, holding up the bulwark plushy.

  “That’s very mature of you,” I replied. “Did Nyx teach you that?”

  “Nuh uh, Jane helped me read a book on frog care. It was in there,” Issi said as she stumbled across the room in the low light to retrieve a thick, well-worn book. When she handed it to me, I saw the title was: Caring for Your Amphibious Pets, and the publish date was 2017. I guess that made some sort of sense--the only pets people had these days were gene-tailored clones. The days of going to the corner pet shop, or adopting a stray animal were long gone.

  “Well, it’s good that you’re taking this responsibility seriously,” I told her. “But you have to take your own safety just as seriously. Have you been walking around in the dark every time you want to turn on the frog light?”

  “Not always! Sometimes I turn the frog light on before I go turn off the room lights,” Issi replied.

  “Still dangerous,” I muttered. “Nyx can you give me a nightlight?”

  “I don’t need a nightlight,” Issi pouted. “I’m able to sleep in the dark like a big girl.”

  “It’s not for sleeping, but so you don’t trip when checking on your frogs,” I told her.

  How about I give you some light strips instead? You can press them to the underside of her desk and dresser to light up the floor, and the light should be dim enough that it wouldn’t disrupt the blacklight effect.

  “What about when she tries to sleep?” I asked.

  They can be programmed to dim or go out when they don’t detect movement near them. I can adjust that distance so they’d be active while in the room but off when she climbs into bed.

  “Perfect!” I declared.

  “What’s perfect?” Issi asked, confused. “You know I can’t hear Mrx Nyx when you do that, and it’s impolite to talk behind someone’s back.”

  “We weren’t talking behind your back; we were discussing some options so you don’t have to walk around in the dark. I think you’ll like this,” I told her, holding out my hand. “Nyx, lights!”

  When the smooth filament fell into my hand, I located the end, pressed it into the underside of Issi’s desk, then ran it all the way around the top. When I got to the far side and stepped back, it began to glow lightly.

  “Ohhhh… neat! I can see my feet!” Issi declared.

  “Good, that was the point,” I replied. Taking the second strand, I ran it around the top of the dresser, adding a tiny bit of extra light. “There, fixed. Now you don’t have to enjoy your frogs in the pitch dark anymore.”

  Issi ran over and enveloped me in the biggest hug she could manage. “Thanks, Evie.”

  “Anytime, kid,” I replied. “Anything else you want to show me about your frogs?”

  The girl stopped for a moment, furrowed her brow, and put a hand to her chin. “Hmmmm… Not unless you want to see me feed them. Do you want to see me feed them?”

  “That depends… What are you feeding them?” I asked warily.

  “Today’s menu is live crickets and caterpillars,” Issi replied.

  “Then I’m good. I’ve had enough creepy crawlies for one day,” I said. “You have fun though.”

  “Okay!” exclaimed. “You going now?”

  “Sorry, kiddo, but I’m extremely tired after what I went through today,” I told her.

  “It’s okay, you had important work to do, and we all appreciate it,” the girl said, wrapping me in another hug.

  I smiled and hugged her back. “Thanks, kiddo. Hearing that, especially from you, makes it all worth it.”

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