| 𝟳𝘅 𝗙𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘𝗗 · [Open Novella Contest 2019 Longlist] Una Morales's week is not going so well.
To begin with, her twin sister, Paz Morales, has disappeared.
To top it all off, Una is bedridden, sick with the flu and oh so dreadfully bored...
The car's radio lid snapped open and miniature five-piece ensemble band curtsied to Una.
"Un poco de música for the road?" La Señorita Cucaracha inquired.
"I knew it! Why, I always did think there were tiny men dancing and singing inside the car stereo!" Una cried out.
"This is just one of our jobs, lil' lady. We work inside traffic lights, too."
"You turn reds lights into greens! Is it difficult, to have two jobs?"
"Aye, sometimes. But we gotta mouths to feed at home. Artist life is sweet, but it don't pay them bills. Now, how about some jazz?"
Carefully arranged black dots and lines sloped upwards from the itty-bitty instruments.
One of the musical notes circled the tip of Duo's nose.
He went cross-eyed as he observed it.
The other two notes swooshed through Una's left ear and zoomed out her right one.
She giggled and waved her hands in the air, trying to latch onto a hermitical treble clef.
"Notes only appear to be pitch-black. They blow up in thousands of disconcerting colors, hues and undertones in our mind." Duo smacked several solfège syllables with his right paw.
"How rude," the chamber orchestra harrumphed.
The lid slammed shut.
"Duo! Now look what you've done!" Una sat up.
"¡Ay ay ay ay! Es ungatitomalo..." La Cucaracha shook left and right in disapproval.
"Soypráctico. Those fiddlers are oh so very distracting. We are to focus on a task at hand," Duo said.
Greenish-blue butterflies of worriment wavered in Una's irises.
"The beach is so big, Duo. What if we can't find the petal?"
"You are getting bigger, too, Una. Branching out, to fill the whole wide world."
"I don't feel big. I feel small."
"Every single particle of you is beautiful. It is becoming beautifuler and beautifuler, as the experience notches on your life belt change you."
"Thank you, Duo! You made me feel so much better!" Una pulled him into a brief hug.
Duo endured it for a while with a frown.
"In case anyone asks: This. Has not. Happened." The tomcat looked out of the window, feigning indifference.
"No quiero interrumpir the tender moment, pero..." La Cucaracha hiccupped. "I think that I am... shrinking some more again! Get out! Now!"
"Oh no! What can we do?" The car door remained handle-tied to Una's finger-pleas.
"¡EL BOTÓN ROJO!" La Cucaracha bleated.
Duo punctured the red HAZARD SWITCH (eject button for bad kids) with his tiny nails.
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