I must admit that I was surprised by the squirrel’s choice. Before dawn when Fenton and I were about to go to bed there was a soft knock at the door. It was the squirrel, and he said he was choosing to stay in the Wild. And here I had a name and identity all picked out for him.
Still, it was his wish so we’re abiding by it. Even so, I explained that being allowed to stay on this side of the portal comes with certain responsibilities. He understood that; he knows he doesn’t belong here and that his presence is a privilege.
The first responsibility is a homing tag. It’s embedded in his ear, and it’s unobtrusive. You have to be looking for it to see it, and then it appears to be jewelry. We strongly suggested that he stay in the vicinity of the university and he said he had no problem with that.
The other responsibility is to be on call when Ms. Aura or other human has to visit our world. He would cross over to provide balance, and stay on their ship as a human until it was time to return. That’s it. Other than that he’s free to live the life of a tree rodent.
He left, visibly happy. I was perplexed, but then Fenton reminded me about what he said about hanging around the university. I then realized how many squirrels we see all over the place. Perhaps...he’s found a pretty young she-squirrel with a lovely bushy tail?
After his departure I checked our bank account. I was surprised to see a significant deposit made by the Group, and I assumed it was for the year, but when I asked my condor contact he said we’d be getting one every month.
