Animated, Gif

Gif was awoken by the lone truth that if he didn’t, his soul would surely wither up like an infected morel. Gif arose out his polyester dream bin and slipped on his house shoes. They were nothing but wafer-thin strips of polyurethane that stuck to the bottoms of his feet. With the second sole in place, Gif felt a quickening rush from his head to his neatly clipped toenails.

“Ahh,” he breathed. He shut his eyes to feel the warmth of his body.

The soles gave him reassurance for the day. It was the material, of course, that awakened him. The feeling of rubber on the thin skin of his feet. Animated, Gif stood, donned his ersatz silken kimono, and left his bedroom.

Gif loved that kimono. For some reason he felt it was a part of him. Like everything about it got him. That he, Gif Behringer, was the kimono, and the kimono was he. On the back was a crane printed in black and white, standing on one leg in a monochrome brook of grey shadow. The material swayed softly from the left to the right, swimming through the invisible waves of his apartment’s climate control system as he strode to his kitchenette.

Gif made coffee. That good, hip, store-brand coffee you get with a free spoon affixed to the bag with the stickiest resin you’ve ever messed with.

The coffee was strong. Gif poured the life-gift into a mug stamped with the words “A Little Dab’ll Do Ya. Ah, hell. Fill it up!” in three different fonts.

Gif took a sip, assured his morning would be right by his cup of coffee, and sat crosslegged in front of his television.

Gif didn’t turn it on right away. He waited, needing to prepare his mind.

Gif took stock of the day’s duties: the laundry, the walks, the shopping, the feelings and thoughts. He reached into the palace of his mind to organize all the tiny electric sparks within his head that constituted his life.

Gif breathed. In. Out. In. Out. With the intensity of a rabbit curled into a ball, sleeping. He felt the peace come in trickles, then bigger and bigger drops until it was a straight downpour, drowning out the world beyond his self. Reaching calm . . .

Gif took a quiet sip of coffee and said, “Fuck all that shit.”

Gif clicked on the television and welcomed the noise.