Part XVIII: The Bells
Part XVIII: The Bells
Slowly Kermit the Frog walked along the rooftop. He liked it up here. From up here, he could see several blocks in any direction—see the neon lights of the neighboring buildings, the quiet streets below, the nearby church with its fearsome gargoyles. These were Kermit’s only company tonight, and he was grateful for them.
He had lost almost everyone else. The loss cut especially deep at night, when he found himself alone with his thoughts. At least during the day, he had work and Robin to attend to. To keep his mind occupied. But work was over and, after making sure his teenage nephew was safely in bed, Kermit had bundled up in a large overcoat and long red scarf and climbed up here.
Kermit looked over the side of the roof, at the sign on the building: The Muppet Theater. And below that, in smaller letters: Museum of the Theatrical Arts. He came here every year on this day, even though the theater had been turned into a museum over five years ago. This was, after all, the anniversary of the theater’s first opening.
I’d had such hopes back then, thought Kermit. Just him and his friends, making people happy. It had seemed like such a crazy dream yet it had come true. But only for a while. Then the dream had been dashed on the hard rocks of reality. It didn’t help that Kermit knew he himself had been the one to break those dreams. If only I hadn’t lost my temper that day, he thought, cursing himself for his stupidity. If only I hadn’t walked away from everything and everyone I loved, just because of one silly fight.
He walked along another few feet then gazed up at the sky. The stars weren’t quite so bright in the city, because the neon and fluorescent drowned them out, but they were still there. Tonight something about the stars made him even sadder, however, and he began to sing a mournful ballad up to them:
Was I dumb or was I blind
Or did my heart just lose its mind
Why’d I go and throw our perfect dream away?
From behind, another voice took up the second verse:
Looking back, I’ll never know
How I ever let you go
But destiny could see we deserved to have another day.
Kermit didn’t believe he’d heard what he’d heard, so he remained perfectly still. The cold wind whipped against him as he stood on the roof’s edge.
He didn’t turn around to look until that same voice called out to him, gently: “Kermie?”
“Piggy?” He turned.
Miss Piggy stepped towards him. What could she say? She wanted to say everything, all at once, but instead she simply said, “I’m so sorry, Kermie.”
Kermit gulped hard. Was this real? Was she real? “Oh, Piggy. I’m sorry too.”
“I never meant to hurt you.”
“Neither did I.”
“Can you ever forgive me?”
“Only if you can forgive me.”
They hugged each other close, and not just to keep out the winter’s cold. Finally Kermit asked, “How did you ever find me? I never told anyone I’d be coming here.”
“It was easy,” explained Piggy with a small laugh. “Where else would you be on the theater’s anniversary?”
Kermit hugged her even tighter, touched that she would remember this anniversary too, after all these years. They stood there on the roof for several more minutes, neither wanting to let the other go. Then the bells from the church started to chime. After the twelfth ring faded into the night, Piggy pulled back and smiled. It was now officially Christmas morning.
“Merry Christmas, Kermie.”
“Merry Christmas, Piggy.”
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