Hi, all-
 
I met a little girl coming across the Bridge the other day.  Her name was
Lucy.  Her dear friend Toby was waiting for her with me.
 
Well, different ferrets come across the Bridge in different ways.  Most
come slowly, a little cautiously, sniffing ahead of themselves because
they're not really sure what to expect.  Many walk confidently, because
they've been dreaming about the Bridge for a while now.  Some just gallop
across like their tail was on fire, ready for anything and everything.
 
First Lucy came slowly, smelling the Bridge itself, and the gentle breeze
that was blowing toward her.  She'd take a few steps, then stick her head
up to be as tall as she could be, as if she were looking for something.
Then she came a little further.
 
I could tell that she caught a scent because of the way she stopped all
of the sudden.  Her nose and whiskers twitched furiously.  Then, as if
she had made a decision inside of herself, she began to come across with
more confidence.  She came faster and faster, chasing that scent.
 
Finally, she looked our way, and she saw him.  Toby.  It broke Lucy's
heart when Toby left for the Bridge, not too long ago.
 
She saw Toby.  Only Toby.  She started to run toward him, faster and
faster!  I have seen this sort of thing before, so I knew enough to just
get out of the way before I got hurt.
 
Lucy and Toby met in a blur of fur.  There was dooking!  Wrestling!
Wardancing!  Biting!  Backing away with mouths open and heads shaking
back and forth!  Then more dancing, dancing for joy.  Hopping!  Leaping!
 
Like I said, I know how this works, so I actually lay down for a little
nap beneath the cherry tree.  I finally woke up when the two of them
started to nose me gently.
 
They asked me how long it would be before they could see their Mommy
Sharon again.  They really missed her.  That's a hard question for any
Greeter like me, because we treally, truly don't know the answer.  I
had to tell them that it would be someday, a long time from now, but I
couldn't say *which* day.
 
They looked at each other for a moment and then Toby said "All right,
Sandee.  Just tell us when, and we'll be ready." "Ready for anything",
said Lucy.  And they will be, too, because they have each other, and so
very, very much love.  Enough to last until someday.  Maybe even forever.
 
I met another little girl coming across the Bridge.  Her name was
Grandmother Monkey, a title she earned by virtue of a long, long life in
the World of the Living.  More than seven years!
 
Well, Monkey's Business (sorry, had to work in the bad pun) was waiting
for her with me.  Their names were Flower and Tofu.
 
Monkey, Flower, and Tofu spent a little while getting reaquainted.  They
talked about this Afterworld.  What it was like, and what things we had
here to see and do.  Flower carried Monkey's new hammie, and Tofu had her
new wings.  Monkey wanted to use those wings right away!
 
It seems that there was a big black dog named Millie that Monkey simply
had to see, the sooner the better.  Flower and Tofu agreed.  But Monkey
didn't want to walk across the Bridge to the dog Afterworld.  No.  She
wanted to *fly* there.
 
Well, I hemmed and hawed.  I had only flown to another Afterworld on two
or three occasions.  I tried to explain that just using the Bridge was
so much easier.  While there is only one Bridge, it goes to many places,
including the dog Afterworld.  No.  She wanted to fly.  End of story.
She had a really stubborn look to her, so I just sighed, and suggested
that we all strap on our wings.
 
Off we all went, flying to the east toward the rising sun, where all the
Afterworlds are found.  We wheeled around in formation above the Bridge
far, far below us.  Now things get tricky!
 
First we flew into a few tiny ice crystals that stung our eyes, just a
few.  It is so cold up here!  Then more of them, and more, still.  By now
we could see that they had color to them, these were a bright, shining
yellow, more like butter than gold.  Then we flew into a region of
intense primary yellow.  Our wings were yellow, the sky was yellow, we
were yellow!
 
Then abruptly, things darkened and deepened to a ruby hue.  The ice
crystals stung our eyes and noses terribly now, like little red needles.
 
Then, suddenly, the world shifted and deepened in hue once again to a
beautiful clear blue.  I looked down at my front paws, and they were
sapphire!  Monkey, Flower and Tofu were blue, too, though it was hard
to keep my eyes open to look because of all the tiny ice crystals.
 
Then suddenly, the ice crystals were all gone.  I had to blink and blink
to clear my eyes.  I rubbed at them with one paw, and what looked like
glittering blue snow came away in my toe pads!
 
We were here, the dog Afterworld.  When I looked down I could see dozens
and dozens of dogs stop suddenly in the grass far below us, and look up.
We were literally trailing yellow, red, and blue ice crystals in our
wake!  We must have looked like we were pulling a rainbow behind us.
 
Now, the hard part, finding Millie.  I have never met her, but my friends
will know her when they see her.  And you know, we have eternity to look!
 
Sandee
[Posted in FML issue 4413]