Clyde was a cat on a mission .... but he didn't know who to go to first. Most of the others were asleep under the shady trees. Just as he was about to charge at them yelling he felt himself hoisted aloft, and found himself on Andrew's lap, on the rock.
"it's awful, it's her first pet, and she's sad and ..." wailed the distraught cat. Andrew stroked him slowly and felt him calm down under the angel's touch.
"Now really, Clyde, do you think He missed the little fish? or *I* did for that matter? Calm down, and look around you."
Sure enough, the others were arriving in twos and threes, but the odd part was both Cody AND Gus had gourds of water in their mouths! Those two were coming from the Crystal Creek, where everyone had had to go first and drink. They reached Andrew, and sat, both of them proud of themselves. Clyde strained his neck to see what they had.
Cody's gourd had Pink Pad in it, who unceremoniously splashed water at Clyde. The other fish, a lovely Betta, looked a bit befuddled. The dogs were only too willing to surrender the gourds to Andrew.
"We have a newcomer!" Andrew spoke, softly. Coffee elbowed her way closer, "That's Bill's fish. Who's the other one?"
"Meet Robert! He was Izzy's first pet, but unfortunate circumstances brought him here to us. All of you have belonged to someone on earth, but your Creator knows every creature, from the tiniest fish to the largest bird, and everything else in between. When one falls, He knows.
"Robert has come to us today, as his body is laid to rest beside Clyde's earthly self."
"Does he hafta jump off the bridge like we did? How does that work if you're a fish and you don't have feet?" Coffee, ever practical, hadn't figured that out yet. Some of the birds twittered, remembering they didn't "jump off" either, they flew ...
"We will take him back to Crystal Creek with Pink Pad, where he will stay with other fishes who have come here before him. He will be well, restored to health, and have everything he needs," Andrew explained.
"Except Izzy." It didn't even dawn on Robert to wonder how he could "speak" and others understood him, nor how he understood them. He swam in confused circles.
Andrew stuck a finger in the water and rubbed the distraught fish along his dorsal fin. Robert relaxed, amazed at how good that felt.
Misty asked, "Can he go with us to the edge of the meadow first? before we put him in the creek? He might want to let her know he's okay ....
"Lovely idea," responded Andrew, "Let's all go!" And they did, faster than he finished his sentence. All at once they were at the edge of the meadow, still carried by the dogs in their gourds.
"What do I say? What do I do?" asked Robert.
"Splash her with water! Like this!" and with that, Pink Pad splashed water over the edge, aiming at the little boy who was now a man with a child of his own. They both giggled. Yes! Fish can giggle!
"He's safe with us, Izzy, we'll look after him until your day comes, Mannnnny years from now." Clyde purred all his love and understanding toward a little town in Pennsylvania, where a man and a child were laying to rest one small fish ....
As they all dispersed, and the fishes went to the creek, Andrew thought again about these wonderful creatures the Creator had made. All of their lives touched each others' in ways no one could have ever imagined. He heard the purring before he realized he was back under the trees with a calico cat on his lap. "Thank you Andrew," Coffee purred.
What a wonderful job he had, Andrew thought, as he slowly stroked Coffee's fur ... he thought he heard a child's laughter, figured she'd just gotten a few drops of water on her ...and he laughed ...
