Friday 7 December 2012

The red squirrel

I first saw the red squirrel one warm spring afternoon. She was all caged up with her friend in one weird room, where the Tamer wore full black and held a red ball of horror. He would stare at you through an evil muddy pool of eyes until you backed down, and the rest of the animals squawked and flew around the room. I left that day not knowing how to return. The red squirrel didn't say anything to me. But she was squibbling to her friend; 'She was too cool. She'll never come back'.
I did though. The late summer and nothing much was happening. I was thrown into that block of cages, pushed from one to another, and eventually I found myself in the same one as her. We didn't speak. Almost everyday we found ourselves within the same proximity. Eventually we ended up talking. Slowly at first. Then I shared my nuts, and then we found ourselves together more and more in the free times. There was a small group, and when we were let out every now and then, we soon found ourselves to be meeting up by choice. She was funny, nice; her fringe never left her face. 
Sometimes we 'borrowed' other peoples nuts and things without ever giving them back like we were supposed to.
We went to a gathering together; things got funny. There was crazy stuff going on. human rubbish on fire. Our perception was off from the refreshments. We ended up in a white room, where the humans were mean and we had to leave. We had to wait to be picked up, and by then the effect of the evening dawned on us. I'd rescued her from that crazy Tamer, but I hadn't rescued her from the other things in life. 
It was around this time that the black widow spider started attacking me again, and I couldn't salvage the happy times. She drifted and I fell. 
After some time we came back. It was gradual but she missed the nuts I shared with her. The stress of the tests of being able to get out of the cages soon got to us though.
We both passed well enough. There was a celebration afterwards.
We didn't see each other after this. The idea of freedom got to us, and we scrabbled to get out in our own way.
I was left alone for more than a year, but the little red squirrel went on with her funny little hats, and only recently did we re-meet. I bought her lunch and she shared her Doritos. I didn't realise I could miss a friend as much as I had done.

There you go. A whole post for you.

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