Today is the usual day,
As usual as can be,
As usual, I feel insane,

Seriously? This is the best rhyme I could come up with?

Ugh, what am I even doing? I need to write a story, and at the same time, I'm trying to secretly sell my adoptables to someone without my parents knowing.

So, what do I want to tell you about? Oh, yeah...

- - - -

Look at that weird green swallow! There she goes, doing those little spins in the air. And she's got a postman's bag that's way bigger than her, though.

This is Nini. And as you might've already guessed, she's worked as a mail carrier after the Olympics in Beijing. So here she is, flying around in the Asian Province. She's good at it. You know, among her recipients are a lot of animals: the tiger from Acacia Avenue, the heron from Riverine Boulevard, the antelope from Eastern Square and so on.

Here she goes, flying past the porcelain store... Whoa, whoa! Who's inside?

Beibei is. She's been selling all sorts of porcelain stuff for a while now: vases, plates, little figurines. Each one's so different! Here's this vase with the blood-red dragon on it. And this plate with the sea-blue fish that looks like Beibei's twin! Maybe she was the inspiration?

Speaking of figurines, check out this cute little kitty! It looks like he's playing with something. And it seems like he's having a great time.

Anyway, Beibei seems to be busy with something. Just what?

"And this vase here," she tells the excited customer, a mongoose from Deccan, "it's made from hard-paste porcelain and has a cobalt blue glaze underneath. The flowers are peonies, they're a symbol of wealth and honour in my country. I think it'll look great in your house, especially in your living room."

"Oh, it looks fascinating!" The mongoose's eyes are sparkling with delight as he admires the vase. "How much for this one, Beibei?"

"Just 1300 coubertins!"

The mongoose started rummaging through his wallet, counting out the currency. "Ah, I have exactly 1300 coubertins!" He exclaimed, laying them out neatly on the counter. Beibei's eyes widened with excitement.

"Do you need any help with transportation?"

"Nah, I've got this, thanks!" the mongoose replied cheerfully, grabbing the vase with surprising ease. "But could you maybe wrap it for me, though?"

"Sure!"

Beibei grabbed a roll of bubble wrap from under the counter and began wrapping the vase. When she finally wrapped the whole vase, she tied it with a ribbon. The blue and white pattern matched the porcelain perfectly. She handed it to the customer with a smile.

"Thank you very much! Your service is always excellent!" The mongoose says before scurrying away with his new purchase.

"Come again! You are always welcome!"

When the mongoose is gone, Beibei glances at the clock hanging. It's only 3 PM. She has two more hours until closing time. Since she has almost nothing to do, she languidly looks at the porcelain figurines. These are mostly kittens, but there are also tigers, pandas, and even a couple of fishes. It's like a mini zoo made out of ceramics. She wonders who they would be if they were real. Maybe someone would have been a student at school? Or maybe someone would be a factory worker or a doctor?

But now, a green swallow flies by the window again, it seems, already tired. It's Nini again.

"Nini..." Beibei speaks softly to herself. "That looks just like her..."

Meanwhile, let's take a look at Yingying. He's in the hospital, in his doctor's office. He's got on a doctor's outfit. In front of him is a worried-looking animal, an Asian golden cat. She's clutching her bag.

"I have news about your son..." Yingying says, peeking at the medical report on his desk. "We've done all the tests, and.."

"So what's with my child?" the cat asks, her voice quivering.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but your son has rabies." the antelope says with a professional yet concerned look on his face. "The most ordinary case of rabies."

"But it can be cured, right?" the golden cat's eyes widened with hope.

"Sweetie, there's no cure for rabies!" Yingying said, in a sarcastic tone. "It's deadly."

"Does modern medicine have no cure for those diseases?" The cat's golden fur bristled in shock and disbelief.

"Well, actually, there is a preventive measure..."

"What is it?"

"The simplest rabies vaccine."

"Are you from the pharmaceutical lobby too?" The golden cat's eyes narrowed.

"No, no, I'm not!" Yingying held up his hands in a placating gesture. "It's just that... your son was bitten by a fox, right?"

"Don't change the topic!" the golden cat said angrily. "Vaccines can cause autism, and that's just a fact!"

"Vaccines don't cause autism," Yingying replied irritably, "it was proven by humans."

"I don't care what humans have proven!" the golden cat's voice grew louder. "I said, are you from the pharmaceutical lobby?!"

Yingying almost got insane from that.

"Yes, I'm from the pharmaceutical lobby, and I wish death to everyone and everything. Happy now?" Yingying replied, his voice thick with sarcasm. But the golden cat wasn't amused. She stood up, her fur standing on end.

"Then I'll tell you what: all those damn vaccines were probably invented by..."

The antelope was ignoring her. But she did seem to be talking about some stuff in her speech, like aborted babies, civil rights, The Illuminati, and, who would've thought, vaccines. After all that talking, the cat grabbed her bag and stormed out the door.

Yingying sighs, rubs his eyes, and plops down in his chair. The office is quiet, except for the soft ticking of the clock and the rustle of papers. He's so exhausted from all this shit, he could just lie down right there and sleep for like a week. But of course, he can't. There's always some work to be done in this damned hospital.

Now he has no choice but to gaze languidly at the shelves of medicines. There was a lot on the shelves: ketamine, pregabalin, morphine, and so on. He's seen it all.

Meanwhile, we head to the training room. It's kinda like a Chinese temple. There are all these animals practising kung fu. And they're all led by this... red thing.

Oh, that's Huanhuan! It's been ages since he started that kung fu dojo of his, but he's still got that fire in him like always. He prefers ball sports like tennis and ping-pong but figured opening a school would be a great way to stay fit and help out the community. Plus, there's a whole bunch of animals that come there to let off some steam. There are tigers, monkeys, cranes, rabbits, and even some pandas. They all grunt and throw punches and kicks in the air.

But then, he turned off the player.

"That was a great class, guys!" Huanhuan said to his students as they packed up their towels and water bottles. "I love your dedication. Any questions?"

One rabbit timidly raised a paw. "Master Huanhuan, and how do you do that? Like, your actions, you're an expert at this, where did you learn so much?"

"Oh, that's nothing!" Huanhuan said with a dismissive wave of his hand, a proud grin spreading across his face. "That's just how all Olympic mascots are! We're not just there for cute posters, you know. We all have our special skills!"

Suddenly, a monkey started to raise his hand. Huanhuan also looked at him.

"I sincerely hope you won't ask me abo-"

"So what happened at Tiananmen Square in 1989?"

Huanhuan just stood there, frozen. Before he knew it, he was looking at the primate with a look of pure rage. He slowly walked up to the beast and grabbed it by the neck.

"Tell me, don't you have anything to do?" Huanhuan's grip tightened. "Are you going to ask me the same shit in different ways in all the languages of the world? Is your life really that empty and worthless? You know I can't answer that question, right? Why are you even asking that? Do you want to tell everyone about how awful I am? Fuck you. At Tiananmen Square, your mum got banged in all the holes she had. And I swear to God, your mum is so dumb the one who has Down syndrome would be a goddamn Einstein next to her!"

With that, he let go of the monkey's neck. The macaque immediately started gasping for air. But Huanhuan wasn't done yet.

"Here's what happened on Tiananmen Square in 1989, you joker wannabe. He's freaking curious..."

He walked back to where he started and his face lit up again.

"Any other questions, guys?"

No answer.

"Anyone?"

Still no answer.

"No?"

No one answered again.

"Well then..." Huanhuan started to pack his things. "See you next Tuesday!"

The animals looked at each other awkwardly and began to leave the dojo.

And so, it's dinner time. All the Fuwa are already at home, including Jingjing the panda. For dinner, they have a traditional Chinese meal: steaming hot bowls of rice, a variety of dishes filled with vegetables, a pot of fragrant tea, and tofu as a snack.

"And how was your day, guys?" Huanhuan asked with a huge smile on his face.

"Disgusting, just like always" Yingying mutters. "Some crazy lady started ranting about vaccines and how terrible they are. I swear, it's like trying to talk to a brick wall!"

Nini felt awkward.

"And I had to fly far away again, to the African Province..." she said with a sigh. "Not only was it in the middle of nowhere, but the sun was hot, the garbage stank and I also bet all these lions and crocodiles wanted to eat me... or do something even worse!"

Beibei felt sorry for Nini. "That had to be tough, Nini. I hope your future flights are a bit less... adventurous."

"Come on, guys, don't worry about it!" Huanhuan said, trying to cheer everyone up. "We're all Chinese and the Chinese people are indestructible, right?"

"I'm from Tibet," Yingying said with an annoyed voice.

"Yingying, there is no Tibet," Huanhuan said. "There is China. And Tibet is part of China, just like Taiwan or Hong Kong! That's why you're Chinese, and the Chinese don't think about that!" He laughed heartily at his joke, but Yingying didn't find it amusing.

"I'd rather die with chloropicrin..." Yingying muttered under his breath as he pushed aside the bowl of rice.

"Don't worry about it!" Jingjing said cheerfully. "Huanhuan's always right, right?" Huanhuan smiled, showing off his pearly whites.

Yingying sighed.

"Jingjing, what season it is?" he answered the panda.

"Summer," Jingjing replied in his usual voice.

"Summer? Are you sure?" Yingying raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it's snow everywhere..."

"Snow."

"...and kids are making snowmen..."

"Snowmen."

"...and it's cold outside!"

"Cold!"

"So what kind of summer it is then?!" Yingying exclaimed.

"Shitty, I guess."

The antelope just facepalmed. Jingjing never really had at least some wisdom. Anyway, all pandas are like that: a young mother can crush her cub with tons of fat and never realize it. I wonder why they are like that? Maybe it's because they only eat bamboo?

But now, Huanhuan has already finished his dinner.

"Man, that was a great dinner, guys!" Huanhuan said, rubbing his tummy. "But I need to get some sleep. I gotta be in tip-top shape for tomorrow's workout!" He wiped his mouth with a napkin and stood up, the chair scraping the floor. "See ya!"

Yingying was still feeling terrible, maybe even worse than when he had to tell the golden cat the truth about his son.

"You know, I feel the same sometimes..." Beibei said to him. "You know, I'm from Hong Kong. And, well, you know what happened there. But anyway, uuuh... the best advice I can give to you is... just don't say you're from Tibet, and I think you'll do fine."

The panda's jaw was wider than the Grand Canyon.

"Yes, Jingjing, there is such a place as Hong Kong, Huanhuan wasn' lying around."

But it's already night outside. Nini sits in her room and looks at the stars. Among the stars, she discerned the constellations like Ursa Major, Orion, and the Swan. She believes that the stars are the only creatures that can be called free. They shine and die, they don't have to work or argue. They just are.

Suddenly, Yingying entered the room.

"Are you okay, Nini?" Yingying asked, noticing the sadness in her eyes as she stared out the window.

"No, but thanks for asking..." Nini's voice was quieter than usual, lost in the vastness outside her window.

"Why is that so?" Yingying sat next to her, his curiosity piqued. Nini turned to face him, her eyes reflecting the twinkle of the stars outside.

"Besides the fact I filed to African Province? Well..." Nini began, her voice a whisper, "I just... ugh, why am I always the one who has to go as far as there? I mean, I know I'm special, but it doesn't mean I should be the only one to do all the heavy lifting. I wish I could do something that doesn't show me as a postman or yet another Olympic mascot... I wish I could just be a swallow. Free. Like those stars."

And she glanced at the stars yet again...

"Maybe tomorrow, things will be different."

And so, the next February day at European Province.

In the restraint called "Lesnaya Zapruda" (meaning "Forest Dam" in Russian), poets are performing. Now, here is one of them, a male fallow deer. Here he reads the verse, in a trembling voice:

And here's the winter, cold as hell,
It makes you want to scream and yell!
Afraid be not, the spring will come
And we will dance in the warm sun's plume...

Man, this deer sure seems like it's never performed in front of anyone before. Well, the audience seems to be loving it, or maybe they're just being nice.

The Phryges are in the front. The Olympic Phryge is sitting there, nodding her head as she listens to the poem. The Paralympic Phryge, though, seems a bit restless. She's tapping her foot to the beat of the words and her eyes are darting all over the place. But even though she seems distracted, she's keeping up with the poem just fine.

When fallow deer finally finished reciting his damn poetry, everyone clapped politely. The Paralympic Phryge couldn't hold it in anymore and jumped up from her chair.

"How long are we going to be here?" the Paralympic Phryge whispered to her companion, her voice bubbling with impatience.

"It's for the cultural exchange program," the Olympic Phryge replied calmly, her eyes still focused on the stage.

"But it's booooring!"

"I know it is, but it's still important," the Olympic Phryge whispered back, her gaze never leaving the stage.

All of a sudden, Nini walked into the restaurant. She was panting heavily.

"Don't pay attention much!" the swallow said to everyone. "I was just passing by... I had to... deliver something... to the African Province again..."

She sat down at a table.

"Hare, could you bring me water, please?" Nini asked Hare, the mascot of the 2014 Olympics, who was working as a waiter here.

"Of course!" Hare said, flopping her ears.

Nini looked at the scene. The poetry... ugh, just how boring it is!

"How do you ever listen to it?" Nini said that out loud.

Everyone looked at her with pretty relatable faces. Except for O•Phryge, though.

"You do realize it's not something you should say out loud, right?" she said to Nini.

"Well, it's all still dull..." Nini said to her back.

"Then maybe you can think of something better then?" Hare asked, setting a glass of water in front of Nini. Nini took a sip, thinking about the challenge.

"Yeah, like breakdance!" P•Phryge said, her eyes lighting up with excitement.

"Breakdance?" Nini said, turning to the Paralympic Phryge, with a sceptical look. "That does sound kinda interesting."

"Breakdance?" Olympic Phryge raised an eyebrow at her hyperactive twin. "P, are you serious? This is a poetry night, not a street festival."

"Whatever!" P•Phryge pouted. "It's still quite boring in here! Can't we liven things up a bit?"

"Ugh..."

Nini decided to answer to P.

"Maybe I can give it a shot, but we need some music, you know? Some hip hop or rap, at least."

"No problem!" Hare said and turned on the radio.

Nini only learned a little break dancing. But a deal is a deal, and she couldn't back down now. So she got up, took a big breath, and walked to the middle of the room.

When she started dancing, she was surprisingly good. It was like she was made for it. The whole room went silent as the music started and she started spinning on the floor. Her feet and arms moved so fast, it was a blur. She popped and locked to the beat of the music. The animals watching were in awe. They didn't expect such talent from a regular person. Even the poets on stage were watching, amazed and impressed.

In general, she danced just cool. In the end, the ceiling bowl fell on her, but it didn't hurt her.

After her dance, everybody started clapping and cheering so hard, it was like they'd never seen anything more beautiful in their lives. She was surprised by this herself: where did she possibly get such skills?

"Bravo, bravo!" P•Phryge was yelling. "It was FASCINATING!!"

"Oh, come on, guys, it's fine, I just..." Nini's words got lost in the deafening applause that filled the room. She looked at the broken ceiling bowl and then back at the crowd, with a mix of confusion and excitement on her face.

"That was something," O•Phryge said, her eyes wide with surprise. "I had no idea you could break dance like that, Nini!"

"Eheheheh..." Nini gave a nervous giggle, trying to act cool as she bowed, her heart racing with adrenaline. "It's just something I do in my free time."

After that, she got invited to the restaurant a lot. The animals loved her breakdancing, and she loved being appreciated for something other than just being the mascot.

That night, she was feeling better. She still looked at the stars, but the sadness in her eyes was replaced with a spark of hope.

"Hey Nini, heard you're getting down with some moves!" Yingying yelled as he walked into her room.

"Yeah, it made my day, Yingying," Nini responded with a weary smile as she plopped down on the edge of her chair. "But I don't know if I can keep up with this. I'm just a beginner, not a pro dancer. Plus... what if people expect me to do this all the time