RASCAL AT THE BRIDGE . . .
 
The young ferret slowly stirs from it's nap.  He feels warmth on his fur
as though he had lay in the warm sunlight.  He yawns and stretches, "Wow!
That feels good !  Guess that nap did me good.  All the soreness is gone".
 
He can feel other ferrets nuzzling up to him and grooming his fur.  He can
hear a voice saying, "Rascal?  Rascal?  C'mon now, wake up".  The voice is
unfamiliar.  He slowly opens his eyes as if for the first time.  As he does
so, he glances around.  He is surrounded by other animals, all different
kinds.  There are two ferrets standing in front of him smiling.  He can see
a glow all around them.
 
"How....?  How do you know my name?  I don't think I know you." The two
ferrets standing in front of him introduce themselves as Lady and Zeus.
"Lady?  Zeus?  I've heard of you !  Dad talks about you all the time, but
.... you're dead !" Panic and fear suddenly grip Rascal.  He begins to
scream "DAAAAADDDEEEE!!!!!!!!"
 
Zeus and Lady try to calm him down.  "It's okay Rascal, we will try to
explain.  You see, you were ill and...", Rascal interrupted, "No, this is a
dream!  I want to wake up, I want my daddy!".
 
Lady strokes him fur, her touch is so calming.  "Come with us, you can see
daddy".  They lead Rascal to a clear pool of water they called the Pond of
Vision.  Rascal looks down into the water and can see his human.  "Daddy?
Daddy?" He begins to cry.  The tears fall into the pond causing tiny
ripples.  In the pond he can see the vision of his daddy, his brother
Socks, and himself.  Sitting on the floor, his human dad is holding his
lifeless body, stroking his fur, and crying.  Socks lay on daddys lap.
 
"Daddy, I didn't want to leave you !  I'm sorry, please don't cry!!!!".
The other animals gather around him, each taking turns in comforting him.
Rascal sniffles and through tearing eyes, begins to speak.  "I've heard
about the Rainbow Bridge.  Daddy has talked about it.  He told us about
Lady, and Zeus and about how now they were in a better place.  That they
weren't hurtin' no more . . . ."
 
Rascal glances into the pond again, "If this place is so good, why is daddy
cryin' so bad?  Shouldn't he be happy that I am here and not hurting??".
Lady tries to explain about how the human heart aches whenever a human
loses a person or animal they love.  "You have to understand Rascal, humans
and animals don't live forever - - but love does".
 
"Tears are part of the process, and part of life here at the Rainbow
Bridge".  Lady points to a waterfall cascading down the mountainside.  A
river flows from the waterfall into the lush green pasture.  "Each tear a
human cries for it's beloved animal contains a bit of love.  The tears make
their way to the lake on the top of the mountain and cascades down in that
lovely waterfall.  What you see here is a river of love.  Each drop was a
shed tear".
 
"Daddy loves you, and me, and Zeus.  He will never forget us, he will
always have love in his heart for all of us".  Lady continued, "God said
daddy's heart is full of love for his fur-kids, too full.  Each time he
loses one of us, his heart grows larger.  That way he has room to love even
more ferrets".  "God said he had special plans for daddy, he just wouldn't
say what".
 
Rascal thought for a moment, "But, if we all leave daddy, who will be there
to love him?  Who's gonna give him fuzzy kisses and tickle his toes the way
we did ?".
 
A gentle breeze whistled past them.  Lady and Zeus each placed a paw on
Rascals back.  "We'll talk more later", said Lady, "right now, you need to
come with us to greet someone else".  The three then walked back to the
clearing where Rascal met Lady and Zeus.  Laying there in the soft grass
was Socks ....
[Posted in FML issue 2904]