I had mixed feelings about greeting my new arrival this morning.  It's
not that I didn't want to greet him.  I like my job, and try to do my
best to make the transition from the Hoomin world to the Bridge as smooth
and as compassionate as possible.  But I didn't know quite how to feel
about this morning's greeting.  Oh, I know - I'm not making any sense.
Maybe there's a better way to explain it.
 
I talked to the Boss yesterday about my new arrival.  His name is Smoke.
The Boss described Smoke as a very handsome DEW fuzzy.  He had lived
fairly long as fuzzies go, but as with all fuzzies and their hoomins, it
never seemed long enough.  The Boss explained further.
 
Smoke had a very rocky start to his life in the Hoomin world.  As most
fuzzies, his life started in a pet store.  But while most of the other
kits he had started out with had eventually found hoomin families, Smoke
was left behind.  He went from pet store to pet store for the first year
of his life.  Hoomins came and went, and some teased and taunted him, but
none of them ever took Smoke home to look out for him.  Pretty soon he
learned not to trust hoomins.  He was on his own.
 
When the Boss told me this part, a slight scowl formed on his face, but
he closed his eyes, swallowed a bit, and continued.
 
Kristen and Steve had a friend who worked at the pet store that Smoke was
last sent to, and he brought Smoke home to them.  They became his first
and only mom and dad, but it was not an easy task.  Smoke was a biter, a
habit he had acquired from living in so many different pet stores as a
kit.  He never knew who to trust, so he bit everyone.
 
The Boss stopped his story for just a moment, started to smirk, then with
a semi-straight face he continued.
 
Both Kristen and Steve worked hard to teach Smoke that he didn't have to
bite, and it wasn't easy.  One time, Smoke bit Steve on the skin between
his nostrils and wouldn't let go!  Steve - not wanting to hurt Smoke, but
very much in pain - jumped into the shower with Smoke in hopes that he
would let go.  Smoke had never been wet before and it had startled him,
so he let go of Steve's nostrils, but not before he let out a
blood-curdling scream!
 
(Maybe I shouldn't be telling you this, but when the Boss told me this
part he was laughing so hard he could barely get the words out.  Steve,
if you're listening, I'm sure the Boss didn't mean to laugh)
 
The Boss explained that while Smoke's life had started out rough, it had
taken a very good turn, and much of that had to do with Smoke's cagemate,
Rascal.  Nobody ever really knows why two fuzzies form such strong
bonds, but sometimes they do.  Smoke and Rascal had formed such a bond,
and it was strong indeed.  Kristen and Steve tried to introduce other
fuzzies to Smoke, but Smoke had had enough of the way fuzzies come and
go in pet stores, and he would have none of it.  As Smoke's mom used to
say, he was a "one-fuzzy kind of guy." For some reason, the only fuzzy he
trusted was Rascal.
 
The Boss stopped for a second.  I looked at the twinkle in his eye.  I
began to suspect that maybe the Boss might have had something more to do
with this than it seemed, but he continued before I was able to interrupt
and ask him.
 
The Boss told me that many times he had watched Smoke try to steal socks.
Now, for a fuzzy, that was not so unusual, but often Smoke would try to
steal them while there were still feet in them!  The Boss tried hard not
to laugh when he told me this, but he just couldn't help himself.  One
could tell by just listening to the Boss that he very much liked Smoke,
maybe simply because he had made him laugh so hard so often!  The Boss
continued.
 
Rascal and Smoke spent the years together, and they very much enjoyed
each other's company.  But time passes, whether it be good or bad, and
Rascal had to leave the Hoomin world to take his place at the Bridge.
 
Without Rascal, Smoke was just lost.  He didn't get along with any other
fuzzies, and he didn't know what to do with himself.  He still stole
socks, but he only did it for something to do.  He still gave his mom
and dad kisses, but spent most of his time moping around the house.
Rascal, being just a bit older, had always looked out for Smoke, but now
Smoke had no one to look out for him.  He felt that it was his turn to
look out for Rascal now, but he had no idea how.  He spent time with
Kristen and Steve, and he still gave them gentle kisses, but a huge part
of him was missing.
 
Smoke roamed the family room, sometimes pretending to play, but mostly
looking for Rascal, hoping he would come back.  More and more of his
time was spent sleeping.  While Smoke used to weigh over five pounds
as a young fuzzy, his weight dropped until he was a mere two pounds.
Kristen and Steve took him to the fuzzy doc, but the doc could find
nothing wrong with him.  Smoke just didn't want to eat any more.  He
didn't have the hear to do anything any more.  He was just an old fuzzy,
and all he wanted was to be where Rascal was, wherever that might have
been.  Sadly, a short year after Rascal left for the Bridge, Smoke left
for there himself.
 
The Boss ended the story at this point.  I couldn't help but wonder how
to feel about Smoke coming to the Bridge.  Should I feel bad for Smoke
and the way that his life in the Hoomin world ended, or should I be glad
that he was coming here to the Bridge to be with Rascal?  There seemed to
be no right way to feel about it.  I started to ask the Boss which way
was right, but I never got the words out.  He told me that there was no
way he could tell me which way was the right way to feel about things
like this.  I continued to think on it for a long time, but couldn't come
up with an answer.  I did the only thing I could do; I left to go greet
Smoke.
 
On my way to the Bridge, however, I was stopped by a familiar voice.  It
was Rascal!  He asked me if he could come with me to the Bridge to see
Smoke.  I smiled and told him to come with me.  I figured they had both
waited long enough.  Though we walked a normal speed for a bit, it wasn't
long before Rascal was loping faster and faster.  Pretty soon, it seemed
we were war-dancing our way to the Bridge.  The same time I noticed the
Bridge in the distance, I also noticed that Rascal was no longer with
me.  Rascal had waited a long time to be able to look out for Smoke, and
nothing was going to stop him now!  What could I do?  I laughed out loud,
and slowed down a bit, tired from walking so fast.  No use to hurry.
 
When I got to the Bridge, Rascal and Smoke were tumbling with each other
on the ground.  They dooked and chucked making excited fuzzy sounds, all
the while their noses deep in each other's fur.  They breathed in each
other's scent in as if it the scent itself was a long, lost friend.  To
the both of them, I wasn't even there.  There was really nothing for me
to do.  I decided that Smoke was getting a way better greeting than I
could give him, so I left them both at the Bridge.  There would be time
enough for all the formalities later.
 
The Boss was right.  There was no way to know the right way to feel about
this.  I was sure that Kristen and Steve were hurting in the Hoomin world
because they missed their special fuzzies, but I wondered how they would
feel about things if they were able to see Rascal and Smoke together now.
Would their hearts be so heavy if they saw Rascal and Smoke together the
way that I had seen them?  It was a hard thing to know.  Maybe it was
something that there was no answ er to, or maybe the answer was in seeing
Rascal and Smoke together again.  I didn't know.  I decided to make
myself a pot of tea and think on it later.  Later would be quite good
enough.
 
Sandee
[Posted in FML issue 5204]