The Hangover

The morning sun peeked over the horizon and decided to be cruel that day. It rose with a vengeance- rapidly and fiercly.  The rays extended outwardly from her center like swords cutting into his core as they struck him. Ringo stumbled backwards from the force of the sun meeting his eyes. His finger-like claws reached up to cover his face from the brilliant display of daylight.

"Ugh." was his singular response as the sun lit the room. He blinked his eyes trying to clear the fogginess but it would not disappear. He sat upright to dislodge the stupor and a wave of nauseua and pain struck him full force. His furry bulk fell back upon the soft chair. His black grey pelt blended into the black and white fleur de lis pattern of the fabric and created a new, beautiful print. Normally, his senses would have regarded this and he would have appreciated it. Today, however, he was numb to all but the throbbing inside his head.

Ringo struggled to sort his thoughts. They were simultaneously dreamlike and nightmarish. He decided to try to reconstruct the previous night in his mind. His brain flexed, he winced in pain, and he began to search his mind. Fleeting images danced before him- a goat in a tutu, crablegs (or was it froglegs?), a cat wearing underwear, the painted face of a mime.

Shaking his head as if to straighten the curvy line of thoughts inside it, he flexed his memory again. Clearly, this time, he remembered sitting down to a delicious snack. His masters, Wayne and Khris, had returned from a dinner out and had carried with them a doggie bag. When he saw it, he became excited as he was the usual benefactor of doggie bags in this household.

Khris opened the sterile white styrofoam container and the aroma assailed his senses. She had brought him crablegs.  Like the nirvana of the gods, every raccoon alive was genetically programmed to adore the succulent meat of a shellfish.  She placed the heavenly manna into his dish and proceeded to retire for the evening. Ringo distinctly remembered savoring the delicacy as he began to eat the treat. From that moment on, the lines of his memories began to blur.

To Be Continued...