Daniel by Ani Arutiunian

Loud thudding echoes through the wooden floor,

sending waves of vibration through the whole house structure. It feels like a violent intrusion to the boy's peaceful state of mind, the type to disrupt the carefully crafted dream he's been basking in for some time now. The unconventional alarm has been pestering him ever since his parents' decision to move to the mountain cabin. His memory turns more vivid with each slam of his father's feet against the creaky panels of the attic, breaking free of the usual morning haze. As usual, the first thing his mind does is wondering back to the bits and pieces of a yet another argument his parents had before embracing the new living situation: closeness to the nature, something about bills and lay-offs (those are two words that have been stirring up a bubbling, stinging feeling inside his chest – they have been floating around the household for a while now), and artistic isolation, apparently. How odd, he thinks. He thought the view from their previous house was picturesque enough to elevate his mother's creative spirit and stimulate his father's academic mind. After all, that's all he had been hearing from them before the sudden rise of conflict that then led to the drastic move.

He doesn't get the chance to dwell on the subject for too long, though. Soon enough, the rowdy steps are accompanied by the rush of loud music, the type to overwhelm all his bodily sensations, the type to wake his mother seething rage. He then hears a set of much hasty, irritated steps quickly closing distance leading to the . A stench of an upcoming argument tickles his nose, sending anxious alarms straight to his heart. Subsequently, a spasming ripple tears away the last remains of his sweet rest. It's time to search for Snoop and start a new day, a day full of oddities and questions.