My History

My eyes were still closed. I'd never seen the world. All I knew was my burrow, my squirming siblings and Mom. And then our little den flooded and we had to move quickly. As Mom carried us out, one by one, the den grew bigger and colder, but not as cold as the outside world was when it was my turn. I was last. I had been afraid, alone in the nest, silent and wet, until she returned to carry me to our new home. We went above and it was raining. It was cold. It was scary. Then something terrible happened. She dropped me. There was loud noise and I was tossed away from my mother, left on the ground. She didn't come back. I don't know what happened to her. I didn't know what to do, how to get to my new home. I was alone. And I couldn't see yet. So, I scrambled around, but I grew tired. The rain stopped, but I was still cold. Things were happening around me. I tried to move, but my little arms and legs just didn't get me to where I needed to be, and I knew I needed to be safe at home with my brothers and sisters and Mom. And then there was noise. A lot of noise. And the ground moved all around me. I tried even harder to run, but I just squirmed weakly. Then the strangest thing happened. Something picked me up and moved me, but it was not my mother. It did not smell like her, or like my siblings. It was not warm and furry. And then the thing put me back down, under a bush, judging by the smell. All was again silent. And cold. I was so cold. I tried again to find my way to something familiar, but I rolled and was pinned under a branch. The rain started again and I was splashed in the face by the drops that dribbled down past the needles of the bush. I wanted my family. I got colder and colder and stopped moving around. I was dying. And then the thing came back. It picked me up again and after a moment, I was warm. I was on skin, but not skin like my brothers and sisters had before their fur came in. It was different. But it was warm. I fell asleep. Next I knew, I was eating! Milk! Not the milk I used to drink from my mother, but milk just the same. It was warm. I didn't realize I was so hungry! I ate until I got sick. I was so excited I blew milk bubbles out of my nose and mouth. Then I was washed, but not in the normal fashion...I was covered by a warm, wetness and was washed all at once. I found out later it was a washcloth, but, at the time, I couldn't see, so I didn't know. My mom was gone. I didn't know what happened to my brothers and sisters, but I felt that I was finally safe. I went to sleep again, this time in a warm, soft little place and I thought about staying alive.