Anon
The pitter patter of rain on the window brings memories of staying in bed, swaddled in heavy blankets, the cold air on your face making the warmth of your body feel even better. Your natural frown is replaced by a smile that seems to have made its home on your face and would fight to stay. Lightning catches your eye and a note of pity plays in your ear. She’s going to be so mad.
“Oh no!” A gust of air at your side heralds the arrival of rain’s number one enemy. She hits the window without any sound, her soft body much too light to even rattle it. “But our picnic! Anon!” Her long shirt swirls as she twists while a cute frown tugs at her face. “I had everything planned out too.”
You stand next to her, shoulders touching. It’s really pouring out there, overcast skies with fat dark clouds rolling in the heavy wind, the early morning light glistening on the wet concrete. “Damn dusty, maybe next time?”
“But… Agh, today was gonna be special.”
You stand there together while the world showers in quiet melancholy. A glance at her tells you she’s really ticked off and rightfully so, she’d been going on about that picnic for so long. “Hey dusty, why don’t we just picnic here?”
“Here?’
“Yeah, we can sit there in the dining room. There’s plenty of space right?”
The windows shudder loudly. “I guess... You did clean the floor. You did right?”
With a laugh you nudge her shoulder and get a grin in return. As if she’d forget that whole ordeal. “So?” She looks back outside, a flash of lightning breaks the sky. She jumps at you, wrapping her arms around you. “Let’s do it!”
Dusty runs off to get everything she needs while you go off to the dining room and do a little remodeling. The small table for two goes up against the cabinets of little trinkets you bought to surprise each other. A figurine of some fox girl nods rapidly at you when the table bumps her. A quick brush with a broom sends any crumbs hiding in the carpet flying off just in time for Dusty to run in. She’s panting slightly and in her hands is a classic picnic basket with a checkered blanket placed on top.
You help her spread the blanket over the floor, laughing as she fumbles with the surprisingly large fabric. The tweed basket goes in the middle and out comes all the food she prepared. Sandwiches, sliced apples, peeled oranges, and some candy are spread in the center of your little picnic area with pillows for the cherry on top. You and Dusty sit at each side of the basket, facing each other. Light flashes from the sliding doors leading to your garden, the glass doors foggy as rain splashes into the red bricked path leading outside. She gestures at the food, watching your hand hover over the different choices. You pull back before picking anything up. “Hm, I don’t know. What does the chef recommend?”
With a giggle, she picks up a sandwich and thrusts it at you. “The chef recommends you shut your mouth and start eating.”
“If the chef says so…” You lean forward and take a bite out of the ham and cheese sandwich. She watches you eat, waiting for your response, the sandwich hangs in the air between you. “Meh.”
“What! Meh? It’s not meh!”
A loud belly laugh shakes your body as tears tickle your eyes. You can’t even keep still long enough to reply; instead, you gesture for her to try it. She snaps a bite out of the same spot you did, shooting a glare at you as she does. Her scrunched eyebrows lose their strength the longer she chews. The bread lands inside the basket. “Meh.”
You watch dusty play with the red checkered blanket. Twisting it up and scratching at the white squares in a sea of red. The heavy rain keeps pouring down, flashes of light sneaking into the room every now and then, the muted boom of thunder in the distance. You wave your hand in front of her face to catch her attention. Her cute eyes glance up and her face soon reflects your smile. “Come here.” You tell her.
She scoots over, making sure not to hit the fruits lying between you. Dusty leans against your shoulder but keeps her face pointed outside, occasionally glancing at you. When she peeks at you again you cup her face and softly kiss her forehead. “Don’t worry abou-ab-ah choo!” You manage to sneeze into your elbow but that doesn’t stop Dusty from laughing at you. She giggles and jabs your side before shifting to go back to her spot. Before she can leave you catch her and pull her back towards you. A pillow goes on your lap followed by her head. She lies on her back looking up into your eyes before shifting her head to look at the garden. You slip your fingers between the strands of soft hair spilled over your legs; you scratch her head and look outside. Sunlight spills through the gaps in the stormy sky, shining down on the various plants adorning your garden.
It was her idea but you really took to it, tending to the plants often since you stayed home most of the time. From left to right they go, the tallest at the left where you placed the first flowers and in the middle a sapling breaks out of the muddy dirt. This was your idea: an apple tree that would grow alongside your relationship. Framed on your bedside table was a picture of you and Dusty with the baby tree, you were both covered in dirt but nothing could take away from the bright smiles beaming from the picture. A soft snore breaks you out of your reverie. Dusty twitches in deep sleep, her eyebrows wiggle as you watch.
The leaves dance in the rain, the drumming of windows and roofs being washed continues, lights flash and the air rumbles, but nothing can wake Dusty as she lays in your lap. You want to watch her forever but your eyelids feel heavy and you soon fall asleep hunched over the cute girl who decided your lap was the most comfortable place in the world.
Sunlight peeks into the house, waking the sleeping girl. The rain is gone but Anon is still there. You breathe the rhythmic breathing of calm sleep and Dusty snickers knowing your back is going to hurt like hell when you wake up.
Dusty
You open your eyes to a dark room, a soft bed holding you in its tender embrace, everything is perfect, until you hear it. The snapping, popping sound of rain hammering at your window. Everyone loves that sound and you do too but you hate it. You hate it now and any warmth you had for that watery event is quickly dried up. Maybe it’s not raining? Hope blossoms at the thought. Maybe the neighbor got too into watering his garden, he does have some beautiful roses. There you go, obviously it’s the neighbor; Earth isn’t so cruel as to ruin the one day you had planned out for a picnic. Now to get Anon ready for a little early morning hiking.
You find him out in the living room but- “Oh no!” It was raining. You slam into the window, the cruel rain trying in vain to hit you through the glass. “But our picnic! Anon!” You turn to him for support but the traitor just stands there with a cute smile. “I had everything planned out too.”
You stare out the window in mourning for that lost picnic. Heavy rain pours outside, dark rolling clouds blanket the sun, trees rustle in the strong wind, and puddles form in the front yard. Anon wraps his arm around you. “Damn dusty, maybe next time?” Dusty. You wanted him to call you by your actual name but it was always dusty. At least he dropped the bunny part.
“But… Agh, today was gonna be special.”
You stand together while the world showers in quiet melancholy. You notice Anon glancing at you but you’re too focused on the rain to look back. Plans involving umbrellas and way too many raincoats float through your mind but they pop when Anon clears his throat. “Hey dusty, why don’t we just picnic here?”
“Here?’
“Yeah, we can sit there in the dining room. There’s plenty of space right?”
“I guess. You did clean the floor. You did right?” You know he did and he knows you do since you had to force him to do it. He nudges you and laughs, making you smile. “So?” he asks. You look outside, a flash of lightning breaks the sky. That’s a lost cause. “Let’s do it!”
Anon goes off to the dining room to get everything ready while you run off to the kitchen. The tan reed basket you bought special for today awaits you there. For the cuisine you’ll be sharing there is some candy, an apple, and an orange. Both turn into cubes and wedges donated to the hungry basket. As for the sandwiches you wanted to make, there’s some perfectly good store bought ones right there. Plastic comes off and into the basket they go to keep the rest of the food company. You double check everything and realize you’re missing the blanket. One frantic search turns up the red checkered bundle so special for today. Picnic materials in hand, you run back to the dining room where Anon cleared out a space for your little date.
Anon helps you spread the blanket over the floor, laughing as you fumble with the surprisingly large fabric. The tweed basket goes in the middle and out comes all the food you prepared. Sandwiches, sliced apples, peeled oranges, and some candy are spread in the center of your little picnic area with pillows for the cherry on top. You and Anon sit at opposite sides of the basket, facing each other. Light flashes from the sliding doors leading to your garden, the glass doors foggy as rain splashes into the red bricked path leading outside. You gesture at the food and watch Anon’s hand hover over the different choices. He pulls back before picking anything up. “Hm, I don’t know. What does the chef recommend?”
With a giggle, you pick up a sandwich and shove it at him. “The chef recommends you shut your mouth and start eating.”
“If the chef says so…” He leans forward and takes a bite out of the ham and cheese sandwich. You watch as he chews, his cheeks bulging as he moves the piece of bread around. He finally swallows and shrugs. “Meh.”
“What! Meh? It’s not meh!”
A loud belly laugh shakes his body and his eyes glisten. You watch him trying to catch his breath until he finally gives up; instead, he gestures for you to try it. You snap a bite out of the same spot he did, ready to defend the sandwich's honor. The fiery support for the snack trickles out of you the longer you chew. The aftertaste makes you throw the thing back in the basket. He was right. “Meh.”
Great way to start the picnic. Suddenly the blanket becomes really interesting. It feels a bit tacky now, buying a red checkered blanket just because it's always in the movies. The heavy rain keeps pouring down, flashes of light sneaking into the room every now and then, the muted boom of thunder in the distance. Anon’s hand waves into your vision and catches your attention. He’s smiling and you can’t help but smile back. “Come here.” He says.
You scoot over, making sure not to hit the fruits lying between you. Keeping your attention on the garden, you lean against his shoulder and look up at him every now and then. After a particularly loud thunder strike you look back at Anon who cups your cheek and bends down, planting a soft kiss on your forehead. “Don’t worry abou-ab-ah choo!” The blush creeping into your skin gets blown away by a loud sneeze from Anon. Laughing at the dork you jab his side in mock aggression and start pulling away. It’s not the first time you made him sneeze by getting too close and it’s not the first time he’s stopped you from leaving.
A gaudy green pillow with four clovers goes on his lap, Anon calls it his guilty pleasure, followed by your head as he pulls you down. You lie on your back and look up at his shining eyes before looking out at the garden. The rain hasn’t slowed down, the greenery outside is glowing, and his fingers are scratching your head. One hand caresses your cheek while the other one rubs hearts into your head. The sound of pouring rain outside is washed away by the scratch of his nails, sunlight spills through gaps in the stormy sky, shining down on the various plants adorning your garden.
It was your idea but Anon really took to it, tending to the plants often since he stayed home most of the time. From left to right they went, the tallest at the left where you both planted the first flowers, in the middle a sapling pokes out of the muddy dirt. His idea; you wondered how life would look when you finally got an apple from that little thing. Framed on his bedside table was a picture of you and Anon with the baby tree, both covered in dirt but nothing could take away from the bright smiles beaming from the picture. The rain and soft touches from Anon pull you into the warmth of sleep. The memories dissolve into dreams of the future, happy little dreams that flow by too fast to remember.
The leaves dance in the rain, the drumming of windows and roofs being washed continues, lights flash and the air rumbles, and you lay on the most comfortable pillow in the world. Eventually sunlight peeks into the house, tapping at your eyelids. The rain is gone but Anon is still there. He’s hunched over you, somehow he didn’t fall over when he went to sleep. You feel faint vibrations from his gentle breathing and take the time to enjoy the moment. A perfect snapshot in time until you laugh at how bad his back is gonna hurt when he wakes up.
Art and courtesy of dustbunny