Bella

 

Bella was tired. She knew mom wasn’t happy, and for some reason Bella wasn’t able to fix it. But she thought to herself, I’ll just nap a bit, maybe then I’ll figure out what I need to do next. 

Misty scrambled to her feet, suddenly aware that she needed to speak to Andrew, and, as it typically turned out, found herself on his lap before she could really collect herself to go look for him. 

“I hate it when you do that!” Andrew just chuckled and petted the kitty as he reached into one of his famous pockets for a Misty sized treat. 

“Oh, you have to admit it does save time…” 

“Well, yes it does, but I’d like to, for once feel like I was in charge of something! You’re always 10 steps ahead of me, no matter what I do, or what I think, it’s frustrating!” 

Andrew was used to Misty‘s pouts and loved her all the more for them. And as he tried to soothe her indignant temper tantrum, another kitty, and a pudgy dachshund joined them. They were a little bit more used to Andrew's method of “snatching them” from whatever they were doing when he needed them all to be together. 

Pnut look hopefully at the famous pockets in the angel’s robe. Doggy sized cookies appeared along with something for Mouse as well. 

“Is she here yet?” Mouse asked as she looked over the meadow at a familiar tuffet of clover.  

“She is, but she hasn’t yet awakened.” She’s so tiny Mouse almost missed her but, there she was curled up, sleeping. “You should probably start making your way toward her. Her name is Bella, and we learned of her because your mama was talking to Bella’s mama. They talked about your mama’s book, the one with the stories of all of you.  I had Bella brought here.  She will be less lonely” the angel added.  

“I’ll go, she may not be used to cats …” And with that, Pnut trotted toward the familiar tuffet of clover.   

Bella stirred a little bit, and then realized she was not alone. She looked into the eyes of a dog no bigger than she was, but she wasn’t concerned, as she looked at the smiling face of the dachshund. 

“Bella!” The little dachshund extended her nose to Bella’s nose. “I’m Pnut, and you’re here with all of us now! But you need to have a drink from the creek first …" 

This all made less and less sense to Bella. ‘First, where in blue blazes am I, and who is this dog who insists I drink creek water.’ But being the lady she was, and until she knew otherwise, figured it was best to do as she was bid. It had been a lovely nap, and she DID feel much better. As she drank from the cool water, she had to admit it was the best she’d ever had. She’d always figured water was water, whether it came from a bottle, or the kitchen sink. But this stuff …  

“It’s Crystal Creek! It flows here from the River of Life. Isn’t it just the best?!” 

Having had her fill, she turned to the other dog, and asked “What’s next? And where am I?” 

“Come along with me, my friend Andrew will explain it all better. And be mindful of his pockets!” 

“Pockets? Andrew? Who’s Andrew?” 

“He’s an angel!” 

Now Bella was really confused. Mom had had angel statues at Christmas time, but she’d never seen a real one. She trotted obediently with Pnut toward a huge rock, where a man in a bathrobe sat, with a pair of CATS! And as Pnut sat at the man’s feet, goodies indeed appeared from pockets! And not all the same stuff! Stinky fish stuff for the cats, bits of pumpkin for Pnut, and her own favorite, chicken!! How could he KNOW that!!! With that thought, she was gently scooped up and deposited on the angel’s lap.  

“I am Andrew. This is Misty, Mouse and you’ve already met Pnut.” 

A cat named mouse? That was weird. “But who are all of you and where am I, and do you know the way for me to go back home? Mom will be worried about me going off without her.” 

“Bella, man’s time on earth is much longer than most animals. You came to the end of your days, and you were not well. Your family did what was best for you, even though it meant sending you here to all of us.” 

“And just where is HERE?” Bella didn’t like the sound of being sent anywhere away from home. 

Andrew soothed her with his hands and answered “This place is the beginning of your journey to Heaven. Our Creator once got mad at all of mankind, and washed off the earth, leaving only a few to start over. He was ashamed of himself and put a rainbow in the sky as a symbol of His promise not to do that ever again.   Today you will cross that great rainbow, it’s a bridge to your next life.” 

“I don’t WANT another life; I was just fine with the one I had.” Bella stomped her paw as well as possible while sitting on someone’s lap.  

“You will be fine here with us. No more pain, no more aging, you will be healthy and strong, with everything you could possibly want. And when your earthly family come to the end of THEIR days, they will be reunited with you, and all of you going through the great gates to live with our Creator.” 

“But …" 

Misty gently licked the little dog’s tears. “It really isn’t bad at all. We will teach you how to send your love back to your family. They will ‘hear’ you when they least expect and will know you are safe here with us. To them, this is a legend, but let me tell you, it’s very real, and very wonderful! 

“I think it’s time we got this young lady where she’s supposed to be,” said Andrew. With that he rose, a dog under each arm, and two cats pressed against his robe, and they vanished … 

… and appeared again on a beautiful Bridge made of every color of the rainbow. Bella’s eyes widened. So many animals! Cats, Dogs of every kind imaginable, birds, ferrets, foxes, deer … and many others she’d never heard of. 

Andrew lowered the two dogs to the Bridge, as two other enormous dogs moved over next to it.  

“Now you must jump off the Bridge and accept the promises our Creator made to us. Here we wait until their time has run its course. We will be reunited with our earthly families and go up the hill to the Great Gates of Heaven, to be with Him and all of creation until the end of time.” 

Bella looked off into the distance, yes there WAS a hill, and at the top of it the most beautiful gates she had ever seen. They fairly shimmered in the mists. 

“It’s kind of a big drop for dogs our size, here’s Cody and Gus. They make for a softer landing!” 

Bella gazed at all the faces surrounding her. They were all happy and welcoming. And as Pnut explained, a Great Pyrenees and a Bernese Mountain dog waited expectantly.  

“Here’s how!” and with that, Pnut plopped onto Gus’s back. Gus lowered his forepaws and Pnut slid safely to the ground. 

Cody stood by silently, as the others encouraged Bella to avail herself of his softness. She closed her eyes and plopped as Pnut had done. Gus did as Cody had, lowering her to the ground safely. 

She was immediately engulfed in welcomes, from the smallest birds clamped on collars of cats and dogs, somedog even had a gourd with a fish in it! A big fat pink one! So many animals! And she could understand them, even the ones who did not speak “dog”! 

Misty and Mouse quietly left them to celebrate and moved to the edge of the meadow. “Mama, Bella is here with us. She’s still a tad confused by it all, but then so were we.” Misty purred with all her might, sending her love and her thoughts to earth. 

“... and Mama, be sure to keep friendship with Noreen, so we’ll be able to reach her too. Bella will be all right; it won’t take her long! And Mama,” (Mousie purred) “she’s cute as a button!”  

Andrew faded from sight. It never ceased to amaze him the amount of compassion these animals had, not only toward each other, but for mankind as well. He was grateful for them. They had taught him so much … 

“…. We love you too, Andrew!” Misty purred. 

 

The angel blushed.