#25 | Pretend
Like flipping through the channels on the TV
This short comes from an attempt to write something small every day. This was from January 25th. Hope you enjoy it!
I’m making coffee and toasting a bagel while Millie sits in her pajamas at the table. Her breakfast was eaten a while ago and now she has a porcelain tea set in front of her.
“Would you like some tea?” I pretend to sip from the tiny cup and see there is some water in the bottom of the cup and I’m careful not to actually drink it.
I finish making coffee and I butter my bagel. I put the bagel on a small white and blue plate that belongs to a set I got from my Grandma after she passed away. The plate is light and the bagels slide on its surface as I walk. I sit on the couch to begin writing this.
“Want to go for a train ride?”
The chairs that go to our dinner table are now lined up in a row all facing forwards and a her cat stuffed animal sits in the last chair. I sit in the chair with the most space between it and the chair in front of it so my legs will fit.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
“Where do you want to go?” The conductor asks me.
“Alaska!” I respond.
Last time we played this game, Millie was fascinated by Alaska and every game we played involved us going to Alaska. She was either packing a bag for Alaska, making food to go to Alaska, or getting on a bus for Alaska.
We make train noises together and Millie sits in the front, steering an imaginary wheel. When we arrive in Alaska I look out my window and tell her how beautiful it is.
“I live here!” She brags.
“Does that mean I have to stay here?” I ask, concerned.
“No I can come back anytime,” she assures me.
Back on the couch I’m taking the first bites of my bagel.
“Pretend I’m your kitty,” and we’re back into another world. My kitty is curled on the floor and hands me a clear amethyst gem that was resting on the coffee table. With no instructions from the cat, I’ve lost the plot. I act amazed by it with a mouthful of bagel muffling my lines in this show. The cat scratches my arm and coos.