Hi, all.
 
There is a new star in the sky tonight.  In the World of the Living, his
name was Yin-fu the Angora, and he was voted most beautiful ferret of San
Diego a few years back.  Yin-fu shone with a special inner, as well as an
outer beauty, and the Big Boss decided he should shine for all of us,
forever.  Yin-fu is not an ordinary star, no.  He is a red giant, three
hundered times the size of our own sun, and he glows in the heavens like
a rare orange sapphire from India!
 
He appeared in the sky a few nights ago, and we here in the Afterworld
have really been enjoying staying up late to watch him rise over the
Southern Mountains.  Yin-fu is not alone in the sky, he has a companion
star, a beautiful girl whose name nobody remembers now, except the Big
Boss, and He's not telling.  Yin-fu's companion is a small blue white
star, very hot, very bright, like a little shard of diamond spinning in
space.
 
Yin-fu and the beautiful girl orbit around one another in a slow, stately
dance that isn't apparent to our eyes because their time isn't like ours.
They look down on us every night, and then up to one another's radience.
 
I wonder what they see when they look at us?
 
I went to the Bridge the other day to wait for a little girl named
Hershey.  Her Brother in fur Casper came with me.  We stood together,
waiting, when the most bizarre thing happened!
 
We didn't hear the pitter patter of little feet on wooden planks, we
heard a thundering noise!  All at once fully 100 yellow fuzzy tennis
balls came at us across the Bridge from the direction of the World of
the Living like a herd of buffalo!  There was nowhere to run, we just
hunkered down and let them boing off of us.  They didn't hurt, we just
had to wait them out.
 
Finally, the roar subsided, and a few last stray balls rolled across the
Bridge, bouncing just a little.  Casper and I felt safe enough to come
out of our crouches, and there, walking happily across the Bridge, was
Hershey, grinning from ear to ear!
 
At that point, Caspar said some things that I am not going to repeat.  It
wouldn't be ladylike of me.  It seems that Hershey was fond of tennis
balls in the World of the Living, so she brought some with her.
 
Finally, Caspar relaxed enough to touch noses with Hershey, and he had to
admit, it was kind of funny.  We must have looked pretty amazing huddled
together for dear life as the tennis balls blew by us!
 
Well, I Greeted Hershey and got her a set of wings and a new hammie.
Caspar told her not to bother with the hammie, he had a place to sleep
all set up and waiting for her.  Hershey wanted to see it, so without
further ado we slipped our wings on, and lifted up, one by one into the
sky, the breeze lifting us up toward the sun.
 
Our flight wasn't very long, no more than five minutes, I'd say.  It's a
good thing Caspar knew just where to land, because I couldn't have been
able to find his special place from the air.  It was a simple round
wicker basket with a handle arching over it, nestled snug in the long
grass of a sweet-smelling meadow.  Inside, was a lining of fleece scraps.
It looked like a delicious place for a nap... Fortunately, we all fit!
 
I met a little guy coming across the Bridge.  His name was Max, and his
Business of Echo, Tally, Toby, and Lucy stood with me to wait for him.
They were very excited about seeing Max again, he was a very popular guy!
 
Finally, a ferret came bounding across the Bridge.  He was more than
trotting, but a little less than war-dancing.  His eyes were bright, and
he held his head high.  There was just a hint of fang in his smile!  This
was Max.
 
Max didn't stop his bounce at the end of the Bridge, oh no.  He leapt
right into the midst of his Business, as if they were a furry mosh pit!
His Brothers and Sisters in Fur squealed and laughed, and parted ranks so
that Max tumbled into the grass, completely unhurt, but laughing for the
pure joy of the moment.
 
We all lay down in the grass around him and chatted for a while.  Max
said that he had not known about the Bridge, until the last moments of
his life, when he saw it in a vision of cool green grass and bright
wildflowers.  Were there really flowers?  We all assured him that there
were many flowers and gardens, and the Big Boss even had a greenhouse
that went halfway to forever, full of blossoms and vines and lily ponds
full of brightly colored fish to snorkel in.
 
"Snorkel?" said Max, "What's that?"
 
Oh, I'll let you imagine how we spent the afternoon after that comment!
I'll tell you this, it's really hard to get algae out of your fur!
 
Sandee
[Posted in FML issue 4678]