He was a member of the "bad hair day" guinea pigs and this did NOT mean he had messy hair. Nor did it mean that he had a propensity for mohawks or other-such rebellious forms of hair-dos. What this DID mean was that he had several rosettes - similar to cowlicks - situated all over his body and these gave the appearance of the poor fella having a bad hair day.
When he was but a few weeks old, he was chosen to be the birthday gift of a lively young boy. This boy welcomed him with tears of joy and a promise of long-abiding love.
"I'm going to call him Maple II!" the young boy declared to his grinning family, "after Maple-the-Hamster who is no longer with us...."
Young Maple II grew to a whopping 2 lbs and his hair swirls could have been the envy of any guinea pig out there. He loved short walks in his cedar-chip lined cage and long runs on the green green grass of the outside world. Carrots and green leafy vegetables were seized from any proffered hand with glee and nibbled and gnawed on to completion. His favourites were snap peas.
Maple II grew to recognize the sound of vegetables being chopped and would squeak shrilly as a means of gaining access to munching on said vegetables.
His family grew stealthier and stealthier about removing vegetables from the fridge, but Maple II was shrewd and clever and could always detect food that he loved!
"Squeak squeak squeak," he would squawk loudly and continuously until the crunchy veggies were jammed into his cage.
Maple II loved food but he also loved to be cuddled. A gentle rub between his large, floppy ears was delightful as was a friendly pet by his rump. Then he would purr and rumble joyfully. If his family would scratch at his nose he would nudge their hands to the top of his head....he preferred a head-scratch, thank-you very much!
Maple II would squeak, purr and rumble but he could also chatter his teeth very loudly. This chattering sound was reserved for when that pesty Fudge - the other bad hair day piggie - would be overly obnoxious. Fudge is decidedly younger and zippier and sometimes Maple II just wants to lie around and consider the meaning of life.
Although Maple II may not be aware of this, his existence has inspired the children in his family. His boy and the siblings love watching him and imagining his life. They have spent hours and hours drawing a cartoon version of Maple II and dreaming up his adventures. The invented character grew more and more alive; he became another living, breathing entity in his family's household and went by the name of Bob Mutt-Skin.
"Bob is Maple's spirit animal!" declared one of the children. No one was exactly sure what he meant by that but the antics of Bob were wildly hilarious and enjoyed by everyone in the family, with the exception of Maple II, who never learned how to read. Literacy is not that highly esteemed among guinea pig clans. Maple II did have one encounter with books but this ended with the book being nibbled and transformed into a massive pile of brown, banana-shaped droppings. After that, his family kept books far far away from him.
Bob - Maple's cartoon character - was most known for his wise sayings that usually went like this: "Mutt mutt." Apparently this was the sound attributed to guinea pigs by his boy.
All the children loved to draw Bob Mutt-Skin and his experiences. He had a friend named Snakey and he loved to dab.....I mean, who doesn't? Right? Isn't dabbing the most normal thing, like, ever?
Bob also had gigantic eyes and wore sunglasses often.
But, alas, yesterday Maple II's family noticed that he was not eating or moving around with any sort of vigor. He seemed lethargic and dull-eyed. His boy tried to hand-feed him and researched what the problem might be. There seemed to be no improvement by this morning, so his family removed him from his cage and wrapped him tightly in a soft towel. He was displaying all the characteristics of a dying guinea pig. His family took turns cuddling him and scratching him in all his favourite spots. They poured on the love.
"You are loved, Maple." they said over and over again. He could feel it emanating off of them in waves. All that love. Their hands caressed him and held him close. He could feel blackness closing in but before he succumbed, he lifted his head up once more and gazed steadily at his family. "You are loved, Maple," they repeated gently.
And then.....he breathed his last breath and grew so so still in their arms.
Dearest Maple Mutt-Skin II,
You were loved. You were precious. You brought laughter, joy and warmth to our home. We loved getting to know your spunky personality. We love that you were so loud when you wanted something. We love that you were always gentle and never bit all the hands that held you. Your passing away was so sudden and we miss you. Especially Fudge. He is sitting quietly in his cage and we all know that Fudge hates to be quiet. He is lonely.
Thank-you for all the years that we could spend together.
Good-bye, Maple II.
Love,
your family.
No comments:
Post a Comment