Jilly

I finished my tea early this morning. Today I needed to be at the Bridge early. I would be meeting a new arrival named Jilly today. It was going to be hard because Jilly wasn't going to know why she was coming here. I would have to explain things to her.

I met Jilly at the foot of the Bridge. She was a bit shaken, as one might expect. I went over to her and put my arms around her, feeling her tremble a bit. I held her for awhile without saying anything. I could tell this was very difficult for her to understand, and first I needed her to know she was safe.

After Jilly stopped trembling, she took a look around. All of a sudden she stretched out her paws and realized that she felt much better than she felt in the Hoomin World. She was no longer tired, or sick. I could see the bewilderment in her eyes.

"Jilly, my name is Sandee, and I greet all the fuzzies who come to the Bridge. Do you know where you are?"

"I think I do," Jilly replied, looking up at the perfect clouds and beautiful blue sky, "It's a very beautiful place. And I feel so much better, now. I think I remember my hoomin Ian talking about this place. I wish he was here with me.."

"Ah, my sweet fuzzy, that is not something any of us have anything to say about. The Boss has all of us come here whenever he feels it is time. It is hard to understand, I know.."

"But what happened to me? I remember Ian, my hoomin, taking me to another hoomin who gave me a shot... I don't understand, why did he do that, and why didn't he come here with me? This doesn't make any sense."

I knew this was going to be very hard to explain. I wished the Boss made it so that fuzzies and hoomins could talk to each other in the Hoomin World, but that is not how he designed it. I suppose the Boss knows what he's doing, but it has always puzzled me. It would be so much easier if fuzzies and hoomins could explain things to each other. I would have to be the one to explain it to Jilly.

"You were a very sick fuzzy, Jilly. The other hoomin Ian took you to was a doctor for fuzzies like yourself, and he was hoping he could take your sickness away."

"But he did! He *did* take my sickness away. I feel so much better now!"

"No, Jilly.. he was not able to take your sickness away. It is only when you got here that the Boss took your sickness away."

"But I don't understand..."

"I know you don't, sweetie. The fuzzy doctor knew that he could not make you better, and did not want to see you in pain, so he gave you a shot that took your pain away. It is difficult to understand, but he gave you that shot because Ian loved you very much. I know it's hard to understand, but you have to try..."

"So, why didn't Ian come with me? Couldn't Ian come here to keep my company? I miss him so much..."

"Oh sweetie, you do not want Ian to come here for you, not quite yet. Trust me, Jilly, your hoomin Ian wants to see you as much as you want to see him, but it is not his time yet. Ian has other fuzzies he has to care for, and he has to finish out his purpose in the Hoomin World. That is how the Boss designed it, sweetie. I wish I could explain it better, but you are just going to have to try and understand the best you can. One day, Ian will come to see you, and you will see all the fuzzies you used to play with, too! But it can't be today, sweetie.. do you understand?"

Jilly sighed and looked at me.

"I don't know if I understand. All I know is that I miss Ian and my mates. I will have to figure all of this out, Sandee."

I stepped up to Jilly and put my arms around her and gave her a squeeze. She was crying a bit, and her tears wet my fur. But I knew she would eventually understand. It always takes new fuzzies some time to get used to the fact that they are somewhere else. It is not so easy for their hoomins, either.

"C''mon with me, Jilly. I have lots of stuff to show you. I want to show you your new hidey-hole. It's very nice, dark with lots of blankets, so when you want to take a nap you will be very comfortable. And food- we have all kinds of food here, and you can eat as much as you want! And there are so many new fuzzies here for you to play with while you wait for Ian. This will all help you feel better in time, Jilly."

I took Jilly's paw and lead her off the Bridge to show her her new home. She even smiled a bit, watching the birds play chase through the trees. I showed her the new hidey-hole the Boss made for her, complete with wonderful soft blankets. She was so excited that she took a dive right into her new hammy! Jilly yawned a few times, curled up and went to sleep. I left quietly, so as not to disturb her. Things would be all right... I knew they would. ;)

-Sandee Ferrit

Zen (arrived on August 21st, 2009)

I was just finishing up my morning tea, when the Boss sent me a message telling me I had a fuzzy to greet today. It is always a sad day when I have to greet a new fuzzy, but it is also a happy day, as well. When a fuzzy comes to the Bridge, he leaves all his pain and troubles in the Hoomin World, but he also has to leave those whom he loved, and those who loved him. It is something we all must do one day...

My new arrival was a sparkling silver-mitt fuzzy named Zen. Being a Bridge greeter, I knew a bit about zen and zen philosophy. It is a philosophy of calmness and peace, and of things not being one, and not being two. It makes me smile how silly hoomins can make up things so strange and yet so wonderful. I looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was coming up - it was time to head to the Bridge to meet our new arrival.

I spotted Zen sitting at the side of the Bridge looking out over the water. It was a beautiful day, with a gentle breeze, and the water formed small ripples. Zen just stared at them, like he was meditating. He looked a bit sad, though, like he was missing something. I hurried over to him and offered him my paw.

"Welcome to the Bridge, Zen," I said to him as we touched paws.

I noticed a tear in his eye and I knew right away what was bothering him. Zen tried to keep it to himself, but I could tell he was missing his hoomin, Randie. No matter how many fuzzies I greeted at the Bridge, their tears always brought one or two of my own. I walked over to Zen and gave him a big fuzzy hug.

"It is so nice here," Zen spoke quietly, as if lost in thought.

"Yes, the Boss sees to it that we have a beautiful place to play and pass the time. There is so much to do here, and so many fuzzies to meet and play chase with. How are you feeling, Zen?"

"I am fine. I don't feel tired, and I don't hurt anymore."

That is always the first thing the Boss does when a fuzzy arrives at the Bridge. He heals them from all their sicknesses, grows their hair back, and makes them feel like kits again. Not sure what to do next, I asked Zen if he wanted to go meet the other fuzzies and see his new hidey-hole. He just stared at the water. I could not let this be.

"You are missing your hoomin, aren't you, Zen?" I said.

He nodded. When he nodded, his silvery fur caught the sun and made him look so handsome, and his body looked like a pastel rainbow. The sun at the Bridge seemed to do that with silver fuzzies - it brought out all the wonderful colors hidden in their fur. Ah, that reminded me - I knew something that might make Zen feel better...

"Zen, I have something the Boss wanted you to have. I was going to give it to you a bit later, but I think it would be OK if I gave it to you now."

I showed Zen the blue, red, and green blanket Randie had comforted him with when he was sick. The Boss had given it to me just a bit earlier so I could give it to him, and I thought this would be the perfect time. Before he took it, I took a corner of it and wiped the tears from his eyes. Zen's eyes seemed to brighten a bit. He took it from me and held it against his face, sticking his nose deep into it. He started to smile and closed his eyes..

"I can smell Randie on it!" he said excitedly, "It smells just like home..."

Zen breathed in several deep breaths, the blanket against his face. It always amazes me how the Boss knows just what to do to make a fuzzy feel at home here at the Bridge, even though they are without their hoomins. Zen clutched his blanket and started to look around. All of a sudden, his ferret curiosity kicked in and he started to hop around a bit, leave the Bridge to wander around the flower bushes at the end of the walkway. Zen was becoming a playful fuzzy again! I closed my eyes and smiled, then opened them to see him doing his first wardance at the Bridge. He wardanced like he hadn't wardanced in ages! It was a wonderful sight to see.

I explained to Zen how the Bridge worked, and that one day, but hopefully not for a long while, he would see his hoomin again. It's always hard for a fuzzy to wait, as it would be for anyone to wait to see the ones they loved, but Zen seemed to understand, and he did just fine. Every time he would start to feel sad, he would clutch his blanket to his nose, he would smile, and things would be better.

"C'mon Zen, let me show you where all the goodies are. We have great stuff to munch on up here. Do you like to dig? We got all kinds of dirt and sand for you to dig in. Oh, and there's a whole hill full of tunnels where all the fuzzies play chase. And guess what? A little later on, I get to introduce you to the Boss! The Boss is just an amazing guy."

Zen smiled a calm little smile and took my paw, clutching his blanket with the other paw.

"I want to thank the Boss for my blanket. Can we do that now?" Zen said softly, "I just want to tell Him how much it means to me. Then maybe after that, we can go meet the fuzzies and play chase?"

I smiled. Zen looked at me anxiously. Most fuzzies want to start playing right away, and when they realize they are no longer sick or hurting, they want to jump around and wardance as much as they can. But Zen was a thoughtful fuzzy, one that I'm sure the Boss would want to meet right away.

"I think we can do that," I said, wryly smiling, and I gave Zen a wink.

Zen looked at me like he was about to burst, took one giant warhop towards me and kissed me on the nose! Ah, I'm just a sucker for fuzzy kisses. I might just even be able to talk the Boss into giving this little cutie his wings right away...

-Sandee Ferrit