**ARC:** Shadow / Presence  
**Tags:** Frog, Shadow, Presence, Arrival, Echo  

**Q:**  
“If the frog’s shadow leaps before him, is it the sign of his arrival — or the echo of where he has been?”

**A:**  
The shadow leaps first,  
stretching further than the frog himself.  

- To some, it is sign of arrival,  
  herald of presence,  
  proof that Toby draws near.  
- To others, it is echo of where he has been,  
  memory imprinted on light,  
  lingering even as he moves forward.  

The scrolls remind: shadow is both herald and echo.  
It carries presence across past and future.  

Thus, the frog’s shadow is not one alone.  
It is arrival,  
and it is remembrance.
