Gentle Winter

1.0

               When you first walked inside, the warmth from the heater almost burned your skin. Your nose and unprotected hands started stinging at the sudden temperature change. However, you paid no mind-other than a small wince- and proceeded to toe your boots off your feet, unwrap your scarf, and shake your large insulated jacket off your shoulders. After you put them in their places, you wandered farther into your home, pulling your hat off as you went.

Coming to the kitchen, you sighed as you tossed the hat on the table. "What a day, right, Drax?" You addressed your cat, who was making his way to rub on your legs. You smiled as the feline gave you a sweet meow and pushed his head into your leg forcibly, letting you know he wanted to be pet.

After the day you had, you really appreciated being able to come home to your favorite guy. Drax had been your best friend for months. You found him at a local pet store for adoption; an employee informed you that no one wanted him because he had a bad, unknown past that led to him being found beaten up with permanent head trauma. The story immediately tugged on your heart, and you asked to pet him. At first glance the small black cat looked like he hated the world; he only had half of his left ear, his nose was scarred, and he sat curled in on himself.

When you first lifted your hand, Drax had scooted away in fear. You were persistent, keeping your hand on the floor of his kennel until he came to you. Slowly but gradually, Drax had nudged your hand, and you began to pet him. As soon as you scratched his head, he went crazy- pushing his head into your hand harshly, like he was dying. He was scared of touch but sought it out at the same time.

You had never smiled so big, and when your adoption application went through, you almost cried. He became your companion, and you two had been inseparable ever since.

"C'mon buddy, let's make some hot chocolate." You stated, walking to the cabinet to pull out a mug and a hot chocolate packet. When you moved, Drax followed, jumping on the counter and meowing persistently.

You smiled at him, "And let's get you some wet food, huh?" You gave his head a quick rub before going down his back with your hand. His body seemed to move with your hand, and his tail stuck up straight as he purred.

Before you made your warm drink, you cracked open a can of Drax's favorite wet food, and shook it out into his bowl. At that, the feline went quiet as he ate it up. You proceeded to make your beverage.

___

Siping the still warm drink in your hands, you stared out at the white coated land in front of you. Your driveway stretched out and curved, so you couldn't see the roads of the city. The snowy scenery made everything seem like a fairytale just from the looks of it. Tall pine trees stood around the property with glistening ice sickles hanging off of them and piles of snow at the base of them. Your driveway itself was void of snow due to you shoveling it that morning, and driving on it later that day. As you took in your surroundings, you concluded that it hadn't snowed since last night. Everything seemed to be the same as it was that morning.

Looking at the snow made a shiver run up your spine, so you quickly grabbed an old quilt your grandmother had made for you. It was old, an antique to you, as was the property. Your grandparents left it to you after they passed, so it would stay in the family, and you would have a nice place to guide and nurture your little brother who was now away at university, studying to become a historian.

You smiled as you thought this. You were so proud of him. You were also really proud of the life you had made for the both of you. You worked through university as a C.N.A. to provide for you both, and finally graduated with your nursing degree three years ago. Your brother graduated high school and decided he wanted to continue his education in university.

Life was good despite the hardships. You were happy and always ready to face the world.

As you sat reminiscing, you noticed small snow flakes slowly floating down from the sky. A smile tugged on your face, even though you knew you'd have to shovel the driveway again the next day. At that moment all you wanted to do was focus on the beautiful wonders of winter. It was so gentle and could produce the most beautiful things.

Drax decided to join you and jumped up on your lap where you sat on the armchair you had positioned in front of the large windows in the living room. "Hey, bud." You said softly, beginning to pet him.

You were content and comfortable; soon you went back to being lost watching the gentle snowfall. Drax purring, and the clink of your hot chocolate mug against your rings were the only sounds reaching your ears. It was a great way to wind down from the hectic environment of a hospital buzzing with constant noise and emergencies.

However, you were soon snapped out of your peace when you saw something in the distance. You saw a small, dark figure on the edge of your property. It seemed like it came from the tree line that separated your land from the road, but the figure didn't go towards the driveway for flat, un-snowed on ground; it constantly fell this way and that, tumbling to the ground a few times, trapped in the mounds of snow all around your land.

"What-" Escaped your lips in a small voice. You were confused. What was going on? Why was this figure- person?- on your land?

You squinted as you could finally make out limbs on the figure. They had their hands held out in front of them, like they were using them to guide them around the property. Their legs wavered, and you saw them fall once again.

Your heart tugged. They're not wearing a jacket. You realized with distaste and immediately stood up, Drax leaping off your lap unhappily as you did so.

You rushed to the door, pulling on your boots in haste, while grabbing your jacket and scarf in hand, not putting either of them on. You, of course, were saving those items for the poor soul that had finally collapsed in a heap in the snow and wasn't getting up.

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~ first chapter is LIVE!!

- i hope you enjoyed! this is the first work i have published in years, so let me know what you think! I am open to suggestions and ideas!

• leave a comment and vote if you love levi! 💓💓

i'll try to update at least once a week ✨

| word count: 1179

published on: 07/04/20 |