Her story....

She sauntered into the warm soft room. She was so tired, but finally alone. Here she could rest. She didn't feel like eating, so she snuggled down into the soft downy bed she had prepared herself. She liked nighttime best. Nobody watching her. Nobody telling her what to do. Just quiet. This was the time she could take care of her home. But lately, she just wanted to sleep. That feeling in her belly was there again. Sometimes it tickled her, but this time it really hurt. The pressure from the pain was too much, and she tried to push it away. The next she knew, they were there. Four little blind ones. Squealing, and squirming and screaming. Be quiet, she thought, I'm used to having my peace. She approached them, and moved the dirt that covered them, and they latched on. She was able to quiet them. They all slept.

They stayed together, and she realized that this was her calling. This was the reason she was here. She'd make sure to care for them during the day, and at night she would run her errands and bring food home. They would sleep peacefully, and would be safe here in this warm cozy home she was so lucky to find.

They grew so fast. Soon she saw that they looked like her. They liked to cuddle and play. But her favorite thing was to just watch them sleep. They were her world. When her chest became swollen and sore, they would relieve her discomfort, with their sweet suckling.

She was happy, for no one bothered them here. She sometimes heard odd sounds of others chirping away, but in here, it was private. No one could bother them here.

The loud noise shocked her as she fed them that night. This wasn't one of the normal sounds she was used to hearing. This one was closer. She looked up to see him make his way into her home. "No", she thought, "I don't have anything here for you." She screamed, so loudly and fully that she surprised herself with its resonance. As he came closer, she panicked, "you will not hurt my family." She lunged at him , without hesitance, without really thinking about the ramifications. This was her home, these were her children. They will be safe. They will live happy and full lives, and no intruder has the right to take that away from them.

She scratched him first. A long deep scratch along the right side of his face. The shock in his eyes frightened her, and for a moment, she felt sorry for him. The smallest baby whined and she once again was filled with rage. She moved so fast, and with such fury, she didn't give him much of a chance to fight back. She continued to scratch and pull and bite. He moaned and cried for mercy, and finally he was still. He was alive, but so battered, he couldn't move. She slowly walked away from him as he cried for her help and went back to her babies. They snuggled right into her breast and began to feed. She was completely worn out emotionally, but hardly injured. Her babies warm bodies gave her comfort. She fell asleep to the sound of his dying moans.

She awoke in the daylight and to see another visitor come in from the basement of her home. She was so sore and groggy that she didn't react swiftly to this new intruder. He looked around for a moment and then disappeared. Her once safe and private home now felt like a place she could no longer be happy. She tucked her children safely in their beds, and she set off to find a new place to live. She searched and searched for somewhere warm and dry, and finally settled on a fixer upper not too far from where they were currently living. Her spirit lifted, and she was looking forward to telling them the good news that they were going to have a fresh start.

She gleefully climbed up her stairs to her front door, thinking about how happy they were going to be in their new home. As she went to open the door she suddenly heard a loud "SNAP", and then she could no longer move. She couldn't remove her body from the cage that surrounded her. She thrashed along the sides, she scratched at the cold metal walls, she wailed and hissed and screamed, but she was stuck. Her breasts were filling with milk and she knew that her babies were hungry, but she was helpless. She finally fell asleep with the cold metal under her body and her babies' chattering in her mind.

As the sun came up, she heard jubilant voices and activity down below. That moment when she woke up, she had forgotten about her current predicament, and wondered what all the excitement was about. From her high perch, she looked below and saw a group of people, mostly very young, staring up at... her. The realization that she was the source of this excitement made her want to hurt them all.

Soon, she was taken away from her house. Thrown unceremoniously into a hot and smelly trunk. Her chest was so full with milk that when she landed she cried out in pain. And then she was taken away. "Who would take care of my babies?" she thought, "Nobody knows that they are there. How will they eat? How will they bathe? How will they ever grow up without me?" She refused to entertain the thought that they would surely not survive without their mommy.

She was never the same after that spring. She lived a long life in a new place, but stayed to herself, running her errands at night and sleeping throughout the day. She thought about those babies constantly. She would pretend that they weren't dead, as she knew they must be. Instead she lived in a world of fantasy, creating wonderful, fulfilling lives for her children in her mind. She would never forget them, nor would she forget the place that was her first home.





THIS STORY IS DEDICATED TO ITS HEROINE, THE RACCOON THAT NESTED IN MY ATTIC. WHAT SHE NEVER KNEW IS THAT HER FOUR BABIES WERE RESCUED THE VERY NEXT DAY. THEY WERE TAKEN TO AN ANIMAL RESERVE WHERE THEY WERE RAISED. WE EXPECT THAT THEY WILL LIVE LONG AND HAPPY LIVES.




Forgive me for this odd and poorly written short story. We've had a lot of raccoon excitement in the house, after discovering last week that a mommy and babies were nesting in our attic.

Since having had her removed, I cannot stop thinking about her and what she might be going through. I had to write the story to clear it from my head.

xxoo....(now, i can finally fall asleep)