The air was just getting cold when I finally turned around. Ashes flew over my head and escaped around my body. My house was now a firefly in a dark forest. My Snoopy slippers felt mushy on the soft earth.
I tried thinking of what I wanted to do next. It would be dumb to walk back to the place where I almost died. I looked around. My family had not yet shown. Did they even make it? I cursed my little brother for his stupidity. I blamed my mother and stepfather for their lack of attention. I only wished my dogs had gotten out.
I sat on the ground, feeling the coolness of the forest floor beneath me; It cradled my head as I watched my candle-like home flicker. I closed my eyes, letting the sleep take over my body.
A few ants were crawling over me when I awoke. I shooed them away and stood up. My night clothes were damp and I had dirt on my face. When I looked up at the sky there were bits of sunlight filtering through the trees telling me it was morning.
My family was nowhere around me. Lightning struck in my stomach at the realization I was completely alone. Suddenly, my stomach growled. I managed to find some berries just a few feet from me. I nibbled on them for a while.
When I walked the distance to my house, I stopped before I made it to the opening. My mother was talking to people in blue. There were two of them. One had a too-small notepad in comparison to his large hand.
My brother kept fidgeting with his fingers like he did when he was nervous about something. My stepfather too seemed taken with the same action. I had not seen him do this. He was new to our family, joining just a few months ago. I began to wonder if he was the real father to my brother. It made better sense why they got along better.
Barks came from a car with a siren attached to it. Two dogs whined in the back seat. One was big and the other small. The glass was already fogged up. How long had they been in there?
The bush I was hiding from itched my skin. I didn't think I was allergic to this kind of plant. I hadn't been allergic to anything before.
The fat cop spoke about reports and missing people problems. The other one, a woman, sipped out of a thermos. She had no expression on her face. She also wore no makeup. She spoke next.
"She's dead, ma'am."
My mother swore at the woman for her attitude, but it didn't phase the woman cop. She probably faced this all the time - I just was another dead person to her.
I sat there and watched my family cry. A large smile formed on my face. It was like the dream you have when watching your own funeral. Now, I was able to do so. I watched for a few more minutes, then got the sudden urge to pee.
I hadn't peed in the outdoors before. It was something worth trying with this new life I was leading.
After I pulled my pajama pants up, I picked out a new name for myself. I decided on the name Squirrel 361. Of course, I didn't know how many squirrels there were in the forest I was in, but I thought it was a nice name all the same. The funny part was, I didn't actually like squirrels. They scared me if I was being honest.
I walked deeper into the place that was my new home and found a nice log. It was smaller than I wished it would be, but comfy and cozy. I felt no one would bother me. I fell asleep again no later than that, and when I awoke, it was midday.
I was hungry again and found some nuts in a tree. They tasted bitter, but I chewed and swallowed them anyway. I played with the idea that maybe being a squirrel wouldn't be so bad, but I didn't like the idea of sleeping in a tree. I was better hanging out in a log on the floor. Not very squirrel-like behavior if you ask me. I would be a different squirrel then.
I had come across two bluejays sitting on a high branch above me. They were talking about the mates they had picked out just the other day. The one with white dots on her left cheek said her mate was strong, but her companion, a girl-girl bluejay was happy with her mate's intelligence.
"Personally, I want my mate to have some sort of humor," I said to join in their conversation.
They looked down at me and screeched, obviously angry. It was hard to hear what they were saying after that, and I had to cover my ears. They left when I told them to shut up.
The fox whose name must have been Mr. Fox came out of a bush that had similar berries I ate from before. I greeted him with a pleasant, neighborly hello. He was kind enough to greet me as well and asked If I needed anything.
"Anyone who calls me Mr. Fox must want something," he said.
"Where is there water?"
"There is a running brook not far from here. 1470 East, I believe."
I thanked him and continued on my way. My Snoopy slippers had become squishy with water and had turned brown. I kicked them off and decided to walk barefoot. The skin of the forest messaged the bottom of my feet. I planned on thanking Mother Nature when I had the chance.
An owl came flying and rested on my shoulder. He told me he was fond of me and had watched me since I named myself Squirrel 361. I asked politely what he wanted and he told me that he needed a wife.
"A wife, you say?" I said. "Whatever for?"
"I need a wife to watch the forest with me. She will watch the forest when I sleep and I will watch when she sleeps. It's proper marital behavior for the guardians of the forest."
I asked if we'd ever be awake at the same time and he told me only when it was time to feed the children. I told him that I don't lay eggs and he told me it was fine. He didn't want children anyway. We agreed it was alright for us to live in separate homes. I was very fond of my log after all, and my fiance liked the trees around it. He left me a few minutes later to make the wedding preparations.
When I reached the brook, I sat down at the bank and soaked my feet in the shallow water. I probably was tainting everyone's drinking water, but they shouldn't care. I was Squirrel 361 and I was the shared guardian of the forest.
