Squirrel

by R.C. Rabbitsfoot

This is about a painting I decided to do for some friends of mine to commemorate their wedding. Now from the time I started the sketches of the picture to now has been several months; they were married in the spring….it is now fall and while I do have a definite idea for what I want to appear on the canvas I haven’t even begun to pencil in the guide lines. I have a great fault of procrastination… and it can become very frustrating…..and depressing, so to clear my head and think of a definite “game plan”, I went for a walk.

Depressed, I walked down the street when a squirrel crawled out of his treetop burrow and asked me what was wrong.

“Everything.” I said, “I should be working on a project for some friends of mine, but I’ve been procrastinating on even starting it, I feel like a complete failure.”

“Cheer up friend.” The squirrel chattered, “All you need is the right motivation. Come with me and Ill show you a world filled with what you need.”

“But how?” You mean through your tiny hole in the tree?” I asked, pointing at his home, “I couldn’t fit through there!”

“NONCENCE!” he exclaimed, “Just take my paw and empty your mind of all the rational garbage your culture has drilled into you.”

I did just that, amazingly it wasn’t difficult, I grabbed my new friends paw and before I knew it, my human form was collapsing onto itself as I was being pulled through the black hole.

What I saw was jaw-dropping to say the least, everywhere I turned was a lush, green field stretched across rolling hills. Squinting my eyes I could see the border of a dense forest and a family of deer that seemed to be looking at me.

If you were here and you looked up, your jaw would drop at the sight of the purest blue skies ever known. It reminded me of time I spend out in the Arizona desert. There was no distortion of haze brought on by factory pollution…in fact I couldn’t see ANY signs of human civilization... which was fine by me.

Glancing an my friend the squirrel I realized that he was staring at me with an ear to ear grin. I silently wondered how long he had been staring at me. I returned the grin… I had questions.

“How long has this place been here?” I asked.

“This land has been here since you were born my son.” He replied in a calm voice, “And way before that.”

“This…this place is amazing!” I exclaimed, arms outstretched and looking about. “This place is so clean, I can take a deep breath here and not cough or sneeze!”

“I know.” the squirrel replied, “This land is untouchable by human hands, what you see WAS what your world was like before man bred it to his needs.”

“REALLY?!” I exclaimed, looking around at the pure pallet of color that was this magical land. “Wait a minute, if this place has been untouched by human hands…then how is it I’m he-”

I turned my head in the direction of some grass rustling just in time to see my friend the squirrel scamper away.

“HEY COME BACK!” I yelled. “I have so many questions to ask.”

I ran after him, arm outstretched, then suddenly stopped....my eyes widened when; in my haste to chase the squirrel I saw that my arm had turned a brown color. Even in my wildest dreams this never happened to me.

Before me was not a long cylinder of white flesh with 5 digets at the end, but a long cylinder of short brown fur.Attached to that was not a hand, but a PAW covered with darker and shorter brown fur. I raised an eyebrow while rotating my arm, noticing a light reddish rust color in my fur as the sun reflected off my "fur--"Oh my GOD" I thought as the realization hit me, " I'm covered in fur!"

I raised my other arm to my face to confirm that yep....Im covered in fur. I flexed my fingers at watched the dark grey pads where my palm was wrinkle and then smooth out again.

I looked up, in the direction I was running to see a brown figure standing atop a nearby hill, it was the squirrel, he waived at me(I could've sworn he was grinning)--then he was gone.

For the next few seconds I gazed at the empty spot where my friend the squirrel was; partly in disbelief as to the recent unfolding events...and fear because I didn’t know how to get back home.

I gathered enough courage to reach over and touch one of my new, fur covered arms, I grimaced at first thinking it would hurt for some reason, my…paw quivered over my arm for a second. I had to will my paw to lower itself onto my other arm and touch my new covering. Once it did my mind was flooded with a sort of euphoric sensation; like little lightening bolts were striking my brain…but it felt sooo good, and this fur was sooo soft. Happiness filled every inch of my being, that’s when I felt something move behind me.

I did a double take when I turned my head and saw a big bushy brown thing in the shape of a graceful ‘s’ curve that ended in a tight,curled ball of brown fur.My eyes almost fell out of their sockets as I looked in awe when I reached around and gave it a gentle tug because not only was it as soft as a feather duster…

…but it was ATTACHED to ME!!!!…

…I HAVE A TAIL…..

That thought that was creeping in the back of my skull surfaced.

….MY GOD, IM A SQUIRREL!!….

idwj25@netscape.net