Hot Summer, Somewhere

It’s a hot summer afternoon somewhere, whether or not you can feel it. The pounding heat of the sun beats down on the surface below; animals bury themselves deep in their burrows to escape. A burbling stream sits at its own kind of low tide, unable to rush too quickly with half its contents returning to the sky by evaporation. The leaves are not wilting, but they droop, like tongues panting from the humid air, begging for a breath. To put it bluntly- it is simply unbearable out. Especially unbearable, one may note, for a certain fur-covered Pacapillar. Unlike the leaves, Asphodel is wilting in the sun. And with no burrow to shelter in like all those little animals- at least not a cool one, as their home was not exactly livable in this humidity- the poor fellow has nowhere to go. Laying against the grass in the shade of a tree, they writhe a bit in hopes their sweat might wick away. Scorching summer days sounded like so much fun- how dare they be born so fluffy! They stand, shaking their body a bit. They couldn’t stand this. They were going to find a way to cool down, even to spite the sun! So Asphodel bumbled through the grass, off towards a series of homes. They found themselves in what seemed like a forest community; mossy eaves and wooden panels greeted them ahead, and while the trees continued to provide cover, it still wasn’t enough to stave off the sunrays. Asphodel kept trekking in some kind of desperate hope. Surely the inhabitants of these homes have found some way to beat the heat, right..? From around the corner, their ear quirked up as they heard the sound of children’s laughter. Asphodel peered around the bend. In a stranger’s front yard- though it seemed to be everyone’s yard to share right now, given the congregation on the porch- was a group of young Pacas gathered around a garden hose. Leaping and jumping around in the spray, they seemed no worse for wear from the weather. Asphodel perked up. That must be it, of course! Nobody could stand the sun in their homes alone. They just needed water! Asphodel scurried forwards, unabashed by the thought of strangers. (They weren’t too old to be playing in water- nobody was! Who ever heard of being too old?!) They chirped a greeting to who was probably the parents on the porch- they offered a hello back- the children gathered around them, asking them to please, please play with them. And given the grand opportunity- Asphodel jumped without a moment’s hesitation into the hose’s spray, positively glowing at the thought of play and relief. The water flushed through their fur in a moment, spraying around them as they tumbled through the air. A rainbow glow emanated from their fur, the light of their mane scattering into a thousand colors in the mist- and the children oohed and ahhed at the flashing display! Their ears drooped happily, finally free from the heat. And so they let out a great, rumbling laugh. Finally, finally free! …Of course, all that happened before Asphodel landed flat on their face in a puddle. Sploosh. Right, so maybe they didn’t think their trajectory through first when they jumped into the spray. They sat up to the children giggling at them- and the parents shaking their heads. They shook their fur again, now colored a little browner at the standing mud pooling below the hose. But that was cooler, too, than the sun. Figuring it wasn’t worth caring anyway, they flattened out in the puddle. They sighed from relief. Who cared if it was silly? They were happy, after all. It’s a hot summer afternoon somewhere, and Asphodel wasn’t feeling it anymore. No, they thought- they weren’t feeling it at all. They were feeling alright.

~ <3 ~

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_EbeEnmKycf46QY5-LnprK1w3AVmvpl1gQ6rR3IfYLk/edit