<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The burning against the tip of my nose refused to fade as I pressed further into the night. It seems no matter how the scarf around my neck is adjusted, it cannot form a barrier sufficient enough to prevent Jack from landing another one of his snowflakes. A constant battle in which I am destined to lose, yet the layers of defiance around me fight on. It’s a miracle that anyone noticed at all…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Motion ahead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Along the path. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A black tail curling from around a lamp post before it slips out of sight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Flippin….<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She wasn’t exactly my first pick in terms of companion, but the others seem to think the responsibility of her care lay with me. Since the feline chose to travel with our troupe. Yet her running off into the night and out of sight is out of character, even for one so jumpy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I press forward after her, toward the lone lamp post along side the path. A bright beacon in the night that seems to defy the mists as they thicken with a layer of powder, brightening the ground around the lamp post like lime and causing a golden halo of sorts to outline the aura of light cascading from the bulb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Approaching, I see that the Flippin has vanished from sight. I lean against the pole and look around for any paw prints in the snow, but the mist is falling so rapidly even my own prints are covered. Another dead end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I take a deep breath and begin to rub my hands together, the one touching the pole having been drained of warmth, even beneath the gloves. At first a futile effort, I begin to feel the tingling in the tips of my fingers again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Surely she wouldn’t have gotten far from the lamp post. With the powder rising, it was only going to become more difficult for my little friend to move around. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the base of the lamp post, I see a tiny thicket of black almost sprouting like a sunflower from a little mound of white puff. The stricken plant twitches from side to side and a flash of pink begins to show. My theory is confirmed as a paw begins to take shape in as my eyes strain against the flakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With a grunt, I lean down to push the snow away from the paw like plant. To my surprise, the snow doesn’t budge. I go to tap against it, but don’t feel any resistance. With a bit more confusion, my hands clasp around the paw and I attempt to pull up but once again find that there is no resistance until my fingers join together in a fist. Seemingly passing through the impatient vegetation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A snout busts through the flurry and Flippin’s green eyes stare back at me with an expression I can only see as confusion. As she shifts her head in a tilt, I see curiosity. Taking her nose and trying to bump it against my nearby hand. Only for her nose to… disappear? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As she pulls back, she rustles the rest of her body free from the drift. Standing on all four just in front of me. I adjust from the leaning pose intended to gain leverage before, into a sitting posture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Without hesitation she moves to sit in my lap but once again, she disappears as her skin comes into contact with mine. Like something out of an obscure film. Only for her to reappear with a look that finally can be confirmed as confusion. Matching my own expression. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is she a ghost? Did the drift snuff out such a brilliant little light? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Looking between Flippin and the lamp post. I notice that the light of the lamp post and the green eyes of the cat both shine brightly, and yet… I feel nothing but numbness in every extremity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Flippin shifts and proceeds to skulk around me. I realize that there are paw prints being left behind in the snow. As she circles me and the lamp. Those paw prints begin to fade… No… Not only fade. The newest ones aren’t as deep. Around she goes, bumping into me as she goes…. bumping into me. Not passing through as she did before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a few moments of circling, her paws no longer kiss the snow with her passing, and she steps up onto my lap and places her nose against mine. A tinge of warmth and moisture are left behind as she begins to pull away. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
With a swipe of my hand down her back, she steps off and proceeds to walk away from the lamp post. Stopping a few feet away, looking back at me, waiting…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shifting my weight forward as I pick myself up. I brace my hand against the post, finding not the void that stole my heat, but a beacon of warm almost scalding to the touch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With a start, my hand is withdrawn. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I once again adjust my scarf, following Flippin as she slinks through the mist without a single mark left behind. I follow in kind, with a warm smile on my face. As we both pass without a trace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nOriginal Prompt: You go for a walk in fresh snow. Suddenly you realize you’re not leaving any footprints.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A bright beacon in the night that seems to defy the mists as they thicken with a layer of powder…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":261,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":12,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[25,18,24],"class_list":["post-258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-prompt","tag-daily-prompt-2","tag-fantasy","tag-short-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/axwen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/axwen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/axwen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/axwen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/axwen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/axwen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":329,"href":"https:\/\/axwen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258\/revisions\/329"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/axwen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/axwen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/axwen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/axwen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}