I got a note from the Boss about a little girl named Renae who had
arrived at the Bridge just about seven years ago.  It seems her hoomin
had been thinking about her quite a bit, lately.  Fuzzies often tend
to stick out in the minds of hoomins, but this little girl wa s very
special.  Renae was a very beautiful silver Siamese mitt, but her outer
colors were not what made her special - it was the heart she had inside
of her.
 
Back in the hoomin world, Renae had been hurt badly.  Her back had been
broken, and she could no longer walk.  At that point, many hoomins would
have given up on her.  But Debi was her hoomin, and she saw the heart
that Renae had inside of her.  If Renae would not give up on her life,
neither would Debi.  Whenever Debi took Renae out with her, other hoomins
would see how big of a heart this little fuzzy had and it would fill them
with a sense of awe.  Indeed, it was because of Renae's heart that Debi
decided to start rescuing fuzzies.  If this one fuzzy could be so full of
life, then Debi knew she must help to save as many fuzzy lives as
possible.
 
I remember the day that Renae came to the Bridge.  She had just arrived
and was lying down on the Bridge when I came to greet her.  I introduced
myself, welcomed her to the Bridge , and told her to follow me so I could
show her to her hidey-hole.  I started to walk away, but Renae just laid
there.  I called to her, but she looked at me, puzzled.  She remained
where she was.
 
"Look," I told her, "You can't just sit there being a speed bump on the
Bridge - you need to come with me, little one."
 
"Aren't you going to come pick me up and take me with you?" she asked.
 
I don't think she knew that the Bridge was a special place, a place where
all fuzzies were no longer sick, hurt, or in pain.  This little fuzzy,
with such a big heart in the Hoomin world, was now scared to just simply
stand on her own four paws.  I needed to convince her.
 
"Why would I need to do that?" I replied, "You have four good paws and it
is too nice a day for me to carry you piggyback.  Come on, now, we have
much to do today."
 
"But I can't!  Don't you know that I can't walk?"
 
I could see tears starting to come to her eyes.  It broke my heart, but I
insisted.
 
"Just stand up, little one.  I bet you can if you try."
 
Reluctantly, she stretched out her front legs.  I could see her eyes
start to light up.  She was able to move her front legs, something she
hadn't been able to do for a long time.  Slowly, she put her back legs
under her and pushed up, and before she knew it she was standing on them!
She pushed up with her front legs until eventually she was standing on
all fours.  She was shaky, not because her legs were weak, but because
she was nervous.  She hadn't walked for quite some time, and this was
all new to her.
 
I started to walk away slowly, and she followed me.  She started with a
slow and cautious walk, but soon she was loping right along with me.  We
had only gone a short way when she called for me to stop.
 
"I'm sorry to stop you," she said, "But I just wanted to see if I still
remember ed how to do this..."
 
Renae arched her back, crouched down a bit, and then lept into the air in
perfect war dance formation!  She twisted left and right, hopping on her
toes!  Ah, it was a sight to see.  The whole rest of the way, she war
danced in circles around me!  She had definitely not lost her heart.
 
The Boss had told me that Debi had asked him for a special favor, so I
went up to Renae and gave her a big squeeze and a kiss on the nose and
told her that it was from her hoomin, Debi.  Debi had wanted her to know
that she was not forgotten in the Hoomin world, and that Renae, this
little fuzzy with the biggest heart, was with her wherever she went.
Nothing could have made me happier.
 
Sandee
[Posted in FML issue 5176]