I waited under the blooming lilac tree with Beebe's Business of Jako,
Rikki, and Riley for Bebe to cross over the Bridge and come over to us in
the Afterworld.  You never know about the lilac tree.  It always smells
sweet, but some days it blooms white, other days purple, and sometimes
it blooms both.  Nobody knows why!  Today it was a deep, rich purple,
and it was especially beautiful to look up at the thick mounds of
blossoms against the deep blue sky.
 
After a time, we could hear Bebe padding across the worn wooden planks
of the Bridge.  She never hesitated at all, she came right across.  Once
the breeze brought the scent of her friends to her she ran, she galloped
directly to us!  She never stopped, and crashed into our midst.  We all
went down into a tangle of tails and paws and sleek bellies, laughing and
rolling in the soft grass, everyone talking at once.  We knew such joy!
 
It was some time before I was able to get a woed in edgewise and
introduce myself, and officially Greet her to her forever Forever Home.
It was only after I did so, and gave her her set of strap on wings that
she noticed her tail.
 
Yes, her tail.  Bobbed in life, it was now fully restored to her, lush
and full.  She gasped in wonder to see it, and then she made us all laugh
by chasing after the end of it in little circles to try and see the very
tip of it.  She fell over in a tumble of paws trying, and then laughed,
herself, good naturedly.
 
Well, all that activity made her HUNGRY, of course, so it was off to a
trip to the Fruit Bar.  All five us trotted single file along the trail
worn in the long grass.  It brought us through the formal rose garden on
the way, and we took turns standing up against the stems and pressing our
faces into the deliciously perfumed, moist petals of the blossoms.  Red
and crimson, pink and white, yellow and subtle amber blossoms surrounded
us with their scents, and we sneezed from all the pollen we got on our
whiskers!
 
We came at last to the Fruit Bar, and there were savory minced prunes,
creamy slices of banana, little chunks of pineapple in heavy syrup...oh,
many wonderful things.  We ate until our bellies were hard, and then we
lay down in the nearby stand of fleece hammies suspended among a
conveniently planted bamboo hedge.
 
We did not sleep immediately, but spoke of Bebe's Hoomins, and how much
love they had given to the four of them, how much love, and patience.
Any ferret would be fortunate to have such Hoomins, and the four hoped
that the Hoomins would open their hearts and homes to many more!
 
Sandee
[Posted in FML issue 5112]