That Animated Podcast

It was the night before Christmas. In a cabin near Austin, Texas. Snow was falling down a gentle breeze. Quite loomed over the sky. No mouse was stirring. But the peace lasted shortly. A cat jumped over a fence and dashed with blazing haste. It seemed as if she was the only being not groomed into the touch of the motherly cold. Not used to the ice the pussy slipped and crashed into rubble. Whatever she was running away now did not concern her. She tried to stand up, but to her avail, the ice as if it were made out thousand needles, prickled her. Looking around the cat understand there was no way out except for walking up the rubble. In a dash and brazing display she jumped on the most flat part of it. Scanning with her eyes, she found the fastest and route upwards and away for what made her tremble. Quickly she found her way up and continued on her path onward. At the strike of the 11th hour a light turned on in one of the homes. A orange hue emanated from the window. A young couple were bickering about something. Taking a closer gander, their faces were not frowning, but displayed a pleasant smile. They were Dalton and Emi.

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(3)
Something brushed past Dalton’s hand. It was Lillie. She turned her face towards Dalton, it was her way of announcing she desired to be seen. Dalton brushed her using his phalanges, the bit between knuckle and fingernail. The gentle rubbing and calmness made it seem as if Lillie was a feline animal. The moment was so serene, as if Lillie and Dalton had become one. Both aware of each ones desire and sensations. Light breathing, slow gentle stroking. Pat, pat, pat. The quiet, faint and barely audible sounds were booming and bustling. Strangely enough, they felt comforting. The ticking of a clock in a far away room created a constant beat. Like drums in a swing style Jazz group, they provided a rhythm for everyone to follow. The slow rubbing sounded as a gentle picking of guitar strings. And the low growls of pleasure were the singing. The lights light up the musicians. A mere act of stroking a dog had calmed Dalton to a point, for the first time that day, he felt what Christmas Eve is about. Yet it weirdly lonely. A crucial part was missing…

Slam. Emi appeared in the living room. Her eyes red, with tears rolling through. The stress, anxiety and constant fluxation from one area to another had brought to her limit. Dalton fixed his posture, but Lillie still stayed near.
“I- I bro- broke o-ou-ourrr” muttered Emi.
“Breathe slowly. I am here for you” said Dalton while trying to control his inner disarray. Emi listened to the advise and tried her hardest to breathe in and out. Yet still breathing was jagged, irregular and heavy. Lillie was quietly whimpering. She understood things are not well and harmonious as they just were. Dalton did not pay attention to her. The main concern was Emi.
“I bro-oke ourr Playy But-ton,” whimpered Emi, “I am sor-r-ry…” the tears were dropping down on the floor. One of them hit Lillie’s tail. Dalton came closer and hugged Emi.
“I am here with you” whispered Dalton. Thump, thump. He could feel each heartbeat. Her body was blazing with heat. The palms were sweating. Drip. Another tear fell down on the floor. At that moment, out of all the colors red and blue lights felt most noticeable. Their blinking reminded of police emergency lights. Emi was now only panting. Palpitating heartbeats had ceased. No tears were running down the cheek. Lilly, too, seemed to have calmed down. Dalton let go of Ami. The couple were once again smiling. Emi brushed off the remaining tears. Smooch. She got kissed in the cheek too. Her face turned into saturated red.
“That trophy is not as important to me,” said Dalton, “as much as your happiness”. The already saturated blush had turned to even more saturated red. The doubt and regret in Dalton had evaporated. He felt nectarine sweetness in his tongue. He lived in the moment. It was half past eleven.

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(5)
Although the bedroom was quite spacious, all the clutter made it feel cramped. On the floor laid various clothes: shirts, jackets, jeans. Each with their pocket sacks sticking outside. To the left of the door were bunch of shards and the aforementioned silver Play Button. To right there was a ceiling reaching wardrobe. Its doors were wide open. The sides of the wardrobe were plastered with colorful posters. Largest of which was of Ika Misume. A double bed sat at the most left corner. It faced the wardrobe. The left side of the bed was dotted by various size plush animals. The sheets too were colorful. On them were various ornate flowers. A cornet window was above the bed. To the right of it a long table. Two office chairs, one black and the other had lines of alternating magenta and black. There were in total 6 monitors, 2 pairs of 3. One at the middle and two at the sides. The table had myriad of sticky notes with doodles. There were 2 pairs of keyboards and regular mice. To right side of the table hanged up stood another Play Button. Besides it there hung a single nail in the wall. Yet, to remind of its past glory, there was a slight outline of a rectangular shape. To the right of them was displayed a katana hanging on the wall. To the right of it was a plain, boring wall.

Dalton came with a broom in hand, while Emi had a large scoop. They began work by lifting up slightly tattered clothes. They appeared to have been worn over the years. Once they finished with the wear, Dalton broomed the glass shards into scoop held by Emi. By the act of moving the glass some dust had lifted up from the floor. As Emi was closest to the ground, it had accumulated in her nose. The moment when Dalton swept the last shards Emi sneezed and flinched, throwing few out. The shards fell on the ground, breaking up into smaller pieces. For a moment stood silence. Laughter. Dalton swept them into the scoop and ventured to the kitchen.
In it Lillie, through all the elapsed time, still sat looking at the reflection of herself in the water. The scene was oddly human, quite noir for such a usually energetic dog. Upon the sight of Emi, Lillie jumped on her with paws lifted in the air. This time she her claws were retracted. Emi motioned away from the dog. Lillie instead ran circles around her, waiting for a prime opportunity, as the hazardous glass was being carried to the bin. There were no signs of annoyance with Lillie by the couple. Emi scratched Lillie’s belly. Dalton joined the diversion by scratching her ear. The dog rolled on the ground, swinging the hips from one side to the other. The tail was wagging in harmonic motion to the scratching. Pleased and satisfied with petting Emi walked to the bedroom. The Play Button laid on the floor. Without much hesitation she picked and grabbed it. Hidden under the Play Button, there was a tiny glass shard. In rash motion she cut the tip of the index finger. Blood bubbled up. A high pitched scream echoed throughout the rooms. Dalton with haste ran towards the source of it. Emi was kneeling on the ground, left hand’s index finger was lifted up. From it a small droplet of blood fell down on the floor. It was 12 o’clock, Christmas.

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