(audio) | Cavetown - Things That Make It Warm

By the time the song reached its peak, the first sliver of orange light hit the window frame. It didn't make the room hot, but it made the blue disappear. Elias stood up, pulled on his oversized hoodie—the one with the frayed sleeves—and felt a little more equipped to face the day.

He reached for his headphones, the cord tangling around a half-finished mug of tea from the night before. As the first acoustic strums of "Things That Make It Warm" hummed into his ears, the room felt like it shrunk, just enough to feel cozy instead of empty. Cavetown - Things That Make It Warm (Audio)

It wasn't a grand epiphany. It was just the realization that as long as there were tea bags in the cupboard and songs that sounded like a hug, he’d be alright. By the time the song reached its peak,

He thought about the way his dog, Bug, would lean his entire weight against Elias’s shin while he washed dishes—a heavy, furry anchor. He thought about the specific, muffled silence of snowfall, and the way a citrus candle smells when you first blow it out, leaving that trail of white smoke in the air. He reached for his headphones, the cord tangling

The sun hadn't quite decided to show up yet, leaving the room in that dusty, blue-ink shade of 5:00 AM. Elias sat on the edge of the bed, the floorboards cold against his heels—the kind of cold that makes you want to pull your toes back into the safety of the rug.

He thought about the "warm things" that weren't heaters or blankets.