Revelation

Thanks for following, Alana, Ginger and Amanda! {Ginger and Amanda are guest bloggers for Miss Unlimited also.}

You know those memory-snatches we all have? Something that happened when you were little, or a book you read years ago, or a tune that you can't place. Those little bits of sensory input that you can't trace back to...well, anything. Those pieces that lurk in the back of your mind, unidentified.

I have a lot of those. And they bug me. I hate to forget things, and for my brain to latch onto something without proper documentation seems cruel.

For instance.

*clears throat*

BACKSTORY

From the time I was born, I had a babysitter named Yvonne. I could not pronounce that, and christened her "Bon."

Bon took me seriously and knew everything most people know, plus some. She had twin boys who were fifteen years older than me. They had about a million bouncy balls and would dump them out in the hall and we'd play with them. We would smack them at each other as they rebounded off the walls. I thought they were great.

By the time I was three, Bon was still my babysitter, but the boys had gone off to college, so Bon and I were left to our own devices. That wasn't a problem. We would go to the Chinese restaurant or work in the garden or try to hear the cat purr or go to the library.

But for whatever reason, one day at her house I wasn't doing any of those things. I was sitting on Bon's couch, watching TV.

It was a cartoon.

It was dark and had capes in it.

There were orphan children.

There was the name "Frog."

There was a part where a nice man was trying to get a boy to take a bath and the boy grabbed the doorframe to keep from going.

And those are the only pieces of that experience that stayed with me. Odd little fragments for a three-year-old mind to latch on to. I remember not being scared of the show, and understanding what was going on. But I had no idea what the show was called.

Those pieces of cartoon have distantly haunted my mind for about fifteen years now. I really wished I knew what it was from, because it was just bugging me. For a while I wondered if it was some show called "The Magician." I think I sort of assumed it was and never pursued it. I mean, what would YOU do with those fragments I mentioned? It's not even enough to Google on.

{I just tried Googling "cartoon orphans boy name frog capes." I got Meet the Robinsons, Pete's Dragon, and Toy Story. No, nope, and nah. I was right. Un-Googleable.}

But I really wanted to see how the story came out. I couldn't remember. What happened to the orphans? Who is "Frog"? Did the boy get a bath?

Today I was watching Batman: The Animated Series {Christmas present :DDDD} with Sarah and my friend Brianna. The episode started out good; I liked it right away because it had kids who were thieves.

When the plot turned to a whole bunch of kids, working in a sewer, my mind did this weird turning thing. It felt sort of like what your stomach does on a roller coaster, but in my head. I was starting to get this vague impression of familiarity. Even fainter than deje vu, but persistent.

The feeling grew when I saw this evil guy in a cape. He was enslaving the kids in the sewer and I could have sworn I'd seen him somewhere before. But I still didn't say anything.

Then a little boy got taken back to Wayne Manor for his safety. The boy's name was Frog and he wouldn't talk. That struck another very odd chord with me.

Then Alfred started trying to persuade the boy to bathe. The recognition strengthened and stirred under the murky water of childhood impressions.

When the boy refused, Alfred carefully picked the boy up and tried to carry him into the bathroom.

The boy braced himself against the doorframe to keep from going.

Suddenly the familiarity pulled itself into a great mental monster and rose from the murky memories. I gasped.

"I've seen this before!" I cried, pointing at the TV. "I know I have now!" I was shocked. "When I was three years old...I've always wondered what it was and now I know!" I shook my head, eyes wide. "It was BATMAN."

It was such a revelation to me! Like a burden lifted! It was Batman! That collection of memories could finally be put to rest! It was like a ghost finally being able to cross over. The memory had a name now, a pocket it could sit in comfortably. My mind actually felt freer.

No one I told of this was properly impressed, relieved, excited, etc. I guess this is a really strange thing to get excited about, but then again, I'm a really strange person. *shrugs happily*

Also makes me wonder if that's why I love Batman so much XD He was woven into my subconscious at a very young age. Maybe that's why I love orphans too.

I've also always wanted to do that door thing. But no one has ever had to force me to take a bath, so I guess I'll have to settle for watching Frog do it.

~Stephanie