That Monday morning in June, Henry the rooster didn't wake up Jae as he usually did. The warm sun didn't wake up Jae either.

It were the cries of the children next door that startled him awake. At first, he thought another war had started - so loud were their screams - but then he realized there wasn't a hint of pain or agony in their cries... It was just pure surprise and childlike wonder.

Jae let himself fall back into bed as the spurge of adrenaline raced through his body and slowed down.

He shivered.

Jae knitted his eyebrows. Why was he shivering? Had he fallen ill again? He always did around this time of the year.

He sat up. A shiver ran through his bare spine. He raised an eyebrow. Every inch of his uncovered body felt like being hugged by an opened refrigerator.

When being ill, the inside of your body feels cold, right? Not just your skin?

Jae took a deep breath and breathed out a small cloud. His eyes widened.

That was new.

He stared at it with a mixture of panic and excitement and when the cloud dissappeared, he blew out another bigger one and another one. A smile crossed his lips. His eyes twinkled.

Have I become a dragon?

His eyes widened with wonder.

Did the children next door become dragons too? Is that why they shrieked?

He abruptly turned towards his window and looked at his reflection. There were no sharp teeth and no impressive claws. Just his round face and human features, but he kept breathing out clouds.

What was happening?

Jae checked his watch. It had already been long past five in the morning. His room should have been bathing in warm sunlight by now, even with all the sun blocking window screens he had installed, but instead only icy rays of light trickled through.

He opened his window. The cold hit him in the face. It was worse than opening the freezer! His teeth clattered and he quickly threw the blanket over him, but it didn't help much.

He looked outside. Everything was covered in white. Jae blinked. Was he dreaming?

He looked at the window sill and noticed a snowflake shaped kind of white thing he had never seen before. It was so tiny! He touched it. The cold shot through his finger and the snowflake melted.

Jae's eyes widened. He screamed, a mixture of fear, disbelief and joy. It was snow! It was the very first snow in more than a thousand years.
This was what his grandparents had heard their grandparents' grandparents say whenever it should have been winter. This was living proof of what the archeologists had claimed existed before the big climate change a thousand years ago. This was what ancient art and all those weird decorations had been based on. It was snow!

His teeth clattered, but he couldn't be happier. It was a miracle!

He closed the window, threw on his warmest clothes and dashed outside.

✨❄️✨

Two steps out and Jae stopped in his tracks. It was so cold every inch of his body shivered and his teeth clattered even louder than the hooves of a parade of horses on cobblestone streets, but he was as excited. He took one more step before he realized his body was not adapted to these freezing temperatures.

He turned around, rushed back inside and threw on every piece of clothing he could find until his movements started to be restricted.

With layers and layers of clothes on, Jae moved around like one of the first astronauts and just like them, he was ready to discover a whole new world.

He plumped outside and breathed in the cold air more deeply. It was such a strange feeling: cold air in his mouth, throat and lungs. It was also so much more difficult to breathe in. Shallow breaths led to no or barely any oxygen in his lungs and deep breaths only filled his lungs with the amount of oxygen shallow breaths in normal temperatures provided. How did his ancestors breathe back then? They must have had a weird set of lungs, he thought, a type of lungs I no longer have.

Jae pricked his ears. That was weird. Normally Life was making a ruckus at this hour. Birds would be singing, his chickens should be cackling and the cats should be meowing, but all he had heard so far were the shrieks of humans. Where were all the animals?

Jae rushed to his chicken coop. He opened the door through which he took the eggs. His chicken, chicks, rooster and a variety of birds, Javiflufs and cats that weren't his had hurdled inside, a thin layer of ice covering their feathers and fur as each and every one of them shivered.

"You're all cold too, aren't you?" Jae closed the coop and rubbed his chin. It was freezing outside, but still doable indoors. He shrugged. It was not like he had to ask anyone permission or answer to anyone about his actions. He had been living alone since he had lost the last of his family years ago.

"I just need something...." He looked around, but saw nothing he could use to move the entire coop at once. "Then we'll move them one at a time, but quickly."

Jae went back in the house. He grabbed a lot of blankets and put them in a box. With the box under his arm, he went out and headed to his neighbours' house.

✨❄️✨

Jae knocked on his neighbours' door; the box filled with blankets held tightly under his arm.

His neighbour answered the door. She looked Jae up and down and knitted her eyebrows. Disgust, annoyance and plain aversion were clearly stated in her eyes and overall demeanor.

Jae cleared his throat. He only had one shot at this.
"Khalon," he said. "How are you? Say, I have a tiny, small request. Could I borrow you and your family for a while to help me relocate my chi- animals? They're freezing in this cold and I want to warm them up in the house."

Khalon glanced Jae up and down. She did some quick math. She knew he had at least one chicken that had had some chicks and a rooster. She had no idea if the chicks were already grown up, but she knew that both the chicken and rooster were more that well-fed. "That's a lot of animals for you to eat at once, Jae. Do we get some of their meat too?"

"I'm not going to eat them! And no: never. I just want to protect them against this cold; they're not used to it."

"Neither are we, so why should we go out to fetch them if not for eating them right away? Their meat lasts longer frozen anyways."

"I don't keep animals to eat them."

Khalon eyed Jae. That was one weird neighbour she had. She diverted her attention to the box with blankets. "What are those for?"

"To swaddle them in... So the animals won't get cold when we're relocating them."

"You want us to swaddle your animals in blankets so they won't get cold?" Khalon laughed.

"I knew you were weird, but I didn't know it had already gotten this bad. Swaddling animals; that's even more weird than not eating them! Come again when you're finally getting your ducks in a row. Until then: goodbye."

Khalon shut the door.

Jae heard her tell her family loudly about his request."Swaddling animals in blankets instead of eating them! Who would think of that?!"

Laughter filled their house and echoed through the street.

✨❄️✨

Jae walked back home. "Stupid Khalon with her stupid family. They're all psychopaths if you ask me. Eating your pets!"
He walked around his home and into his garden.
"I wonder why I bothered asking them for help in the first place. I am perfectly capable of doing this on my own. I just have to ru-"
He breathed heavily. The cold cut through his throat.
"Who am I kidding? I can't even walk five meters without running out of breath..."

Jae plumped down the box with blankets in front of the coop and sat on it. He leaned forward as his lungs sucked in every bit of oxygen they could get.
He looked at the coop and thought of all the animals that were seeking shelter in it. He clenched his freezing fist. "I can't let them down. I'll just swaddle them in extra blankets."

He got up, grabbed the box and marched towards the coop. "I've got this. Don't be afraid, my loves. Help is on its way."

He placed a blanket over the door through which he always gathered the eggs. He crawled under the blanket and opened the door.

He went back and took out the warmest blanket he could find and crawled with it through the blanket door.

He threw the blanket over Mary - the chicken closest to the door - and swaddled her and her three little chicks in it.

Normally Mary would make a fuss out of it - she didn't like being picked up and she didn't like it either when her chicks were picked up - but the cold had taken too much energy from her. She also felt much thinner than she normally did.

Worry filled Jae's heart. He took another blanket and carefully swaddled the bunch in it. He held the ball of chicken, chicks and blankets tightly, hoping that the little bit of body warmth he had and the huge amount of blankets would be enough to keep them warm.

He hoisted them out of the coop, from under the blanket door and carefully, but unwavering made his way to the kitchen.

The kitchen was much colder than Jae remembered, but a little bit warmer than the coop. Jae gave Mary and her chicks a breather and watched them shiver still. He rubbed his own ice cold hands. This will not do.

He walked to the thermostat. He wanted to read the temperature, but there were no numbers on it. He tapped on the screen. It was no use.

Perhaps he just didn't see clearly?

Jae turned on the lights, but no lights went on either. He switched them on and off a few times, but none of the lights went on.

A fuse must have sprung while I was sleeping, he thought.

He walked to his technical and garbage room.

He opened the fuse box and looked at the fuses. They were all turned on.

That's weird.

Jae took out his phone, switched on mobile data and searched online.

Electricity cuts due to the bad weather
Miracle turned into a disaster

Whole Earthterra without power

"No wonder it's so cold in here. The power is off and in this weather!"

Jae looked around the technical/garbage room, emptied all the cardboard boxes he could find and carried them to the kitchen.

✨❄️✨

He filled a medium cardboard box with soft pillows he had found in the living room and added some warm kitchen towels. He placed Mary and her chicks in it and placed one of the blankets over it as extra protection against the cold.

He took the leftovers he had kept from yesterday's dinner and placed it in the box. "Here, Mary, Francis, Squeek and Peep. Please eat this and gain some strength."

When Mary, Francis, Squeek and Peep wearily began to peck the food, Jae went back to the coop to fetch the other animals.

✨❄️✨

He housed Henry - his rooster - in another cardboard box filled with pillows and kitchen towels and covered in blankets.
He placed the box next to Mary's and put blanket over blanket, covering each cardboard box with them.

Once he was warm-ish, he gave him his dinner and begged Henry to eat.

With his chicken, chicks and rooster safely inside, he started to relocate all the wild animals that had sought shelter with his pets.

Unlike what he had thought, they didn't put up much of a fight. All of them were frozen, exhausted and on the brink of starvation.

He ran from the coop to the kitchen with all the birds, Javiflufs and cats swaddled in blankets.

He ran out of cardboard boxes, but he made make shift shelters by sliding the cardboard boxes he did have a bit farther away from each other. He placed soft pillows on the ground in between, placed soft kitchen towels on it and added extra blankets to snuggle in. He had always known his hoard of blankets would have become handy some time.

He gave the animals the rest of his food to help them regain some strength. "Please, eat this. It will help you."

When the last animal started to wearily eat, Jae nodded.

He crawled from under the blanket door and headed back outside.

✨❄️✨

Jae had huge bags of bird food stored next to his house. It had never been his intention to do so, but the delivery people always dropped them off there and Jae just wasn't strong enough to move those bags.

He had tried countless of times to move them nearer to the coop, but he had never been able to carry them, let alone move them even one millimeter, but today he wouldn't give up that easily. Today he would move that bag and bring it indoors. It was only a few meters. He got this... Right?

Jae glared at the bag closest to the kitchen. "You're going down, buddy."

The bag of bird food wasn't impressed and neither were the other bags.

Jae leapt at the bag that was bigger than he was. He clung onto it with whole his might. "Go down, I said." He went feral, swayed his weight into it and bit the bag.

The bag didn't move. The other bags laughed as far as bags could laugh.

Jae pushed against his opponent and pulled it. He threw himself against the bag, threw himself left and right, but the bag didn't move.

Sweating and breathing heavily, Jae let go. He stumbled backwards and leaned on on his knees.

The bag was too strong. He would get it one day - he swore he would - but that day wasn't today.

"Have it your way, then." Jay clenched his jaw, grabbed his knife and sliced open the bag. The other bags stared in horror as their friend bled bird food.

Jae grabbed a small bucket and placed it under the stream of seeds. He wiped off his sweat and aimed his finger at the other bags. "One day I'll move you whole."

✨❄️✨

When the bucket was full, Jae carried it to the kitchen and scattered it on Animal Blanket Boulevard.

Mary and her chicks had come out of their box and started to peck the food more energetically. Henry had gotten more attentive and was eyeing the extra food as well, but just like the other animals, he didn't leave his warm pillow yet. The plate in front of him was looking more empty, though, which was a great sign.

A worried, but hopeful smile crossed Jae's lips. "You'll probably need some water as well." He wetted his dry lips. "And so do I. Mind if I go first?"

✨❄️✨

Jae grabbed a glass, walked to the sink and held his glass under the tap. He turned on the tap and waited. The metal shuddered and he heard a plop. Then all went silent.

He turned off and on the tap, but no water came out. He cursed.

It must have frozen.

He checked his fridge. There was still some milk and soda left, but his rations were low. Jae took the soda and glanced at the milk. He could give the animals some milk, but he'd have to dilute it first and even then their intestines might not handle it well...

Jae drank the soda. He shook his head. They need water and so do I.

He took his wallet, grabbed his keys, threw a blanket over his astronautic amount of layers of clothes and marched to his car.

✨❄️✨

The steering wheel felt cold in Jae's hands and the clouds he breathed were the biggest he had seen so far.

He put the key in the ignition and pressed Drive.

The car didn't react.

Jae took out the key, blew on it and put it back in the ignition. He pressed Drive.

The car didn't pur. The lights on the dashboard didn't light up. The car did nothing.

Jae pressed the button several times, but there was still no reaction.

His eye twitched. "Why doesn't anything work today?!"

He abruptly left the car and kicked in the air. He seethed.

"Fine! I'll walk."

✨❄️✨

The road was slippery and the upcoming wind was biting. Jae partially wrapped the blanket over his head and pulled it closer. Just a few more blocks and he'd be at the grocery shop. The cold numbed his legs and his feet felt like clumps of ice.

This was not the kind of winter he had imagined when he had heard the stories from a long time ago.

Why would anyone honour this freezing cold? Why would they turn it into decorations, sing jolly songs about it and even willingly play in it? The old generations were a different type of weird all together, but they must have been a tough one, that much was true.

Jae winced. Someone winced with him.

Jae stopped. He looked around, but there was no one there. He pricked his ears. Jae let out a soft wince.

Someone answered it with a louder wince.

Jae turned around. He winced once more.

His wince was answered by another one. A scruffy head poked out from between the houses.

Jae winced.

The large, scruffy, skin over bones dog limped towards him and winced.

Jae carefully rubbed the dog's head. Chunks of ice crystals melted under his touch. He checked for a name tag, but couldn't find one. "Where do you live, big fellow? Where are your humans? Why did they let you out? You're freezing."

The dog looked at Jae and then looked down.

Jae took off his blanket and draped it over the dog. "This might keep you warm. Tell your humans not to worry about it. I've got plenty of blankets, so you can keep this one."

The dog sat down and winced.

"Go home now. They must be worried about you."

The dog didn't move.

Jae shrugged, turned around and continued his way.

The dog hopped up and followed Jae.

"No," Jae said. "You should go home. I'm not going to your home. I'm going to the store."

The dog winced and nudged Jae's hand.

"Do you want more rubs? Is that it?" Jae stopped walking. He kneeled down and rubbed the scruffy dog. "There you go. Happy? Now go home, big fellow. You need to get in the warmth."

Jae walked and the dog followed him. "Your humans can rub you much better than I can. Go home."

The dog shook their head.

Jae sighed. "Alright, then... Come along. What should I call you, big fellow? You look like a Gertrude to me. What do you say about that?"

The dog wagged their tail.

"Gertrude it is." Jae stopped walking and looked at Gertrude. "Why are you limping? Have you been hurt recently or is it an old injury?"

He examined Gertrude's paws. They were full of blisters. "That must hurt tremendously. Let's see what the shop has to nurse your wounds."

Jae gestured at the building at the end of the street. "We're almost there."

✨❄️✨

The old neon sign that usually welcomed the customers wasn't burning, but the shop owner had written in big letters on the door that her shop indeed was open. She had also written across the shop windows that she had human powered heaters - her own invention - and enough stock to feed a small army. She also wrote that she had enough gun powder to fight off an army so don't ya dare plunder me shop. Not that she had to explicitly mention it on her shop windows; everyone who had watched the news regularly knew not to mess with the tiny lady behind the counter.

She was already a sensation on her own with her leather boots that were five sizes too big, her knuckly knees covered in a variety of mismatched socks and her two fiery pigtails with streaks of silver. She was always missing one or two teeth depending on the day of the week, but it was nuthin' compared ta me opponant, as she would laugh whenever someone asked her about it, but what made everyone fear her the most were all the rumours that had been spread about her.

Some rumours were good - like her having helped the Easter Bunny or being friends with Santa Claus - but other rumours made your spine shiver and wonder if she wasn't secretly a witch or even demon in disguise.

When questioned about it, she always said to ignore all the good stuff 'cause them is nothing but lies and believe every word of all the bad stuff 'cause at least that holds sum sort a truth innit and when you asked about her name, she gave you a toothed smile and said: "Call me Shopkeeper, human, 'cause I is a Keeper." She would then always wink.

Jae opened the shop door. Blissful warmth welcomed him. He closed his eyes and smiled brightly. Finally.

He ushered Gertrude into the shop and greeted the Shopkeeper. "Mind if I let Gertrude in?"

The Shopkeeper gave him a toothed smile. "Not at all, human. All animals are welcome here. It's ya humans I don't particularly like."

"Then why open a shop?"

"'Cause I love me money more than I dislike ya lot and animals..." She leaned on the counter and rubbed her fingers. "Them don't have any dough. Naw how can I help ya empty yar pockets? Fancy buying me heater? It's human powered, it is."

Jae rubbed his cheek. "Human powered?" He eyed the Shopkeeper. "How exactly is it human powered? Do I feed it pieces or -?"

The Shopkeeper leaned towards Jae. "Pieces o' what? Humans? That's a jolly good idea for me next invention, but this one here just requires ya winding it up every few hours, ya know like those old toys 'n stuff?"

Jae sighed relieved. "Winding up the machines is great! I can do that."
His face turned serious. "Please don't ever invent anything that requires us to chop off pieces."

"Why nut?"

Jae put on a straight face as he rubbed his fingers. "Animals don't have dough."

The Shopkeeper stared wide eyed at Jae. "Yer right. Damnit. I thought I had finally found a soluchion."

Jae shook his head. "Talking about solutions. Do you have something for Gertrude? Her paws are all blistered."

"Are they?" The Shopkeeper crawled from behind the counter and rushed towards Gertrude. She took Gertrude's paw and examined it. "Ya poor dog. Humans are cruel, aren't they? Let me see what I can do fur ya."

The tiny Shopkeeper picked up the big, shaggy Gertrude effortlessly and placed them on the counter. She then vanished to the back and came out with a variety of ointments, herbs, bandages and medication.

"It's not ta only problem ya got, innit? I see wurms and malnutrition and too much ear wax an-" As the Shopkeeper was muttering to herself and Gertrude about how those lousy humans didn't treat them right, she nursed every wound Gertrude had and every illness that popped up during her examination. The Shopkeeper did so much at once, Jae wondered if she had indeed eight arms or was just moving so fast he couldn't keep up with her.

The Shopkeeper stopped. Eight arms were dangling around her, holding towels, the blanket, medication, ointments and bandages. She looked at Jae. A frown hid behind a pair of huge glasses she had put on. "What are ya gawkin' at, human? Do yer shopping. Gertrude is safe wi' me."

Jae blinked twice. "Uhm..." He stared at her wide-eyed, turned around, fiddled with his wallet and strode quickly into one of the aisles. "What did I need again?"

"Dog food fer starters."

✨❄️✨

By the time Gertrude's wounds were tended to, their illnesses tackled, their fur washed and deep dried, their feet adorned with super deluxe extra soft padded snow shoes and their back and head covered in the warmest dog clothes the Shopkeeper could make with all the available materials, Jae had filled the counter to the brink with all sorts of animal food, trays and trays of bottled water and a wind up heater. His hand hovered over some ramen, but an estimation of the Shopkeeper's fee for Gertrude and some quick math made him shake his head and wonder how much canned food he still had at home.

The Shopkeeper rang up everything and when she pronounced the number, Jae turned white. This was much more than he could pay.
He cleared his throat and stared at the animal food and water. "How much would it be if I'd -"
He needed the animal food and he needed at least that amount of water to keep them all hydrated, especially with such a massive dog as Gertrude in the mix.

The Shopkeeper leaned on the counter. "How much can ya pay?"

"524 is the absolute max on my card."

"This all fur tha animals? How many are ya housing right now?"

Jae started to count every animal he had relocated to his kitchen.

The Shopkeeper watched him count on his fingers. "Is it more than 10?"

"Yeah..."

The Shopkeeper sighed. "Ya know what? Yer not tha worst human out there and there are more to rip off. Gimme 300 and we're even."

"Are you sure?"

"Gertrude told me all about ya giving the best rubs and even yer blankie even though ya didn't know them yet. We're good."

Jae bowed shortly. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it. I mean it. Not ta anyone! I've got a reputachion ta maintain." The Shopkeeper gestured wildely.

"I won't. Thanks again. Come, Gertrude. We're going home."

"Before ya go. Between you and me..." The Shopkeeper gesticulated at all the animal food and water. "How are ya gonna carry everything?"

Gertrude woofed.

Jae knitted his eyebrows. "Are you sure, Gertrude? You're wounded."

Gertrude woofed again.

"Alright then, but tell me the moment it hurts too much. I then figure something out."

Jae tightened some bags of animal food to Gertrude's jacket. He then filled up the blanket with the remaining bags and all the trays of water and hoisted it with the help of the Shopkeeper on his own back.

When they were about to start their way back, the Shopkeeper said: "Stop! Yer forgetting somethin'."

She grabbed the ramen Jae had been eyeing and gently threw it at Jae. "Enjoy yer dinner, human."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, now scram it! I got other humans to rip off." The Shopkeeper gave Jae a toothed smile and then closed the door.

✨❄️✨

Even with all the extra weight they had to carry, the journey back together with Gertrude seemed less far and took seemingly less time than Jae's journey - for the most part alone - to the shop.

Gertrude woofed and wagged their tail, even though their feet hurt with every step and the extra weight of the bags only made it worse. They were happy, though, having found a home and feeling much warmer and looked after than before. Jae was kind, a bit blunt and not the brightest according to the Shopkeeper, but the best human they could have come across. They were sure to be well-fed, loved and protected and in return they'd support the human and help them where needed.

Despite the weight of the bags and water pushing him down, Jae felt lighter than before. The ramen in his hands and the tail wagged woofing warmed his heart and gave him the strength he needed to pull through. The invention of the Shopkeeper - a carrier balloon she had attached to the blanket while helping Jae load up - did wonders too, but Jae didn't know that. He believed that the power of kindness and friendship gave him super strength and he was already planning on attacking the bags of bird food when he got home, but first he needed to give the animals some water and wind up the heater.

They reached home and with the heavy blanket still on his back and pushing him down and forwards, he tried to reach his back pocket to take out his keys. It took several attempts and quite a lot of help from Gertrude once they figured out why Jae was acting all weirdly, but Jae managed to open the kitchen door.

The moment he walked through the door, the carrier balloon popped and Jae was pushed down on the floor under the heavy weight of the blanket. Gertrude rushed to his aid and pulled the trays of water and bags of food off Jae as he lay there on the ground wondering why his super strength had forsaken him so quickly.

Henry came from under the blankets of Animal Blanket Boulevard and carefully walked towards Jae. He picked on Jae's hair, hopped on Jae's head and crowed.

Jae covered his ears. "I'm awake, Henry. It's okay. Stop screeching. Please!"

Henry crowed once more and hopped off Jae's head.

Jae got up and looked Henry up and down. The rooster was looking much better than that morning. He had gained some energy and walked around proudly. Jae noticed Henry was still shivering slightly.

Jae closed the kitchen door, grabbed the heater and read the instruction manual. He found the arm to wind up the heater and started spinning it. He pressed on the "On" button and warm air filled the kitchen.

Henry crowed happily and the other animals soon came out off their hiding places.

Animal Blanket Boulevard was no longer needed and life returned to the kitchen and Jae's home once more.

✨❄️✨

Jae handed out saucers of water as he watched the animals play. In no time, Gertrude and Henry had become the best of friends. Henry sat on Gertrude's head like a king sits on his throne and he ruled Animal Kitchen Town with iron paw, but only when Mary allowed him and only within the boundaries she had given him.

Francis, Squeek and Peep had followed Henry's example and adopted the cats as their footmen.

The other birds were allowed to use the cats as their carriage too, but only when the cats had had enough rest.

The Javiflufs followed Jae everywhere and copied his every move. It was helpful when he cooked or cleaned, but it wasn't great when he had to use the loo...

With all their hearts warmed and the heater warming the kitchen, the cold outside didn't bother them much anymore. The cold made it even more cozy and for the first time that sudden winter Jae understood why his ancestors used to celebrate it a thousand years ago.

THE END

✨❄️✨

Total amount of words: 5 222