Rainbow Bridge I

 

By Joan Elias 2,724 (words) grade 7.2

March 2, 2011

 

This story is fiction based on real events, real people, and animals.  It draws on my experiences living, working with, and rescuing felines for the past fifteen years.  I am positive that all the animals that have passed over the ” Rainbow Bridge” have made it to heaven and more than a few will be there to greet me the day I also arrive. The tragic incidences depicted in the story have happened to hundreds and thousands of animals despite the love and compassion of hundred of thousands of people.

Time:  Eternity

Place: Earth and Rainbow Bridge

Characters: Animals

Socks	Black and white	Greeter of homeless cats
Polly	White Polydactyl	Mother cat
Fluffy	Calico kitten	Miss Polly’s kitten
Nishba	Tortoise kitten	Miss Polly’s kitten
Gwen	Gray kitten	Miss Polly’s kitten
Oliver	Orange and white cat	Sock’s friend
Krystal	White Cat	Abandoned by a student

 

Characters: People

Angels

Mr. Schmidt

Couple

Mister Chum

Caretakers in heaven

A.C. (Archangel Cat)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                          Rainbow Bridge

 

 Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

 

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.

There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.

There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

 

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.


The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind. 



 

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster. 


 


You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart. 





Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

 



Author unknown...

 

 

Socks, a black cat with white bib and socks, waited for his person at Rainbow Bridge, a temporary place for animals before going to heaven. At Rainbow Bridge cats were kept busy and Socks was no acception.

“We need to return to earth to transport some cats and find Oliver, said Archangel Cat (A.C.). This interrupted Sock’s afternoon nap on a cushion of a low flying cloud. But before we leave, you need to disguise yourself as an earth cat.”

Socks made himself look like a homeless alley cat.  He rolled in a pile of mud to cover the diagonal white streak across his nose.  Then he dragged his tail through a puddle of grease.  His white socks were now unrecognizable and his striking black tail with its white tip, now jet-black, drooped sadly. Would he be able to pull off his first job and earn his final admittance to heaven?

Both cats arrived at earth with new identities: A.C became invisible and Socks looked like a disheveled homeless cat. They began their search in an alleyway several blocks from Fong Chum’s Chinese Restaurant in Chadvile, Kentucky.

Empty trashcan lids were strewn hither and yon behind the narrow alleyway. The two cats endured the rain and darkness, diligently carrying out their assignment without complaining. Their feet went splash on the wet concrete. The alley way was moldy and the steam from the evaporating sidewalk rose above the sidewalk giving the alleyway a heavenly aura. The sounds of their footsteps echoed off the smelly urine-stained brick walls of the buildings reminding them they were on earth, not heaven.

“I’ll just look behind the trash cans,” said (A.C.) as he tried to encourage Socks not to overlook any nook or cranny. But there was nothing but trash and broken bottles. Soon the cold and hunger hindered their enthusiasm

 “It doesn’t look like there is an orange and white cat back here either,” Socks sighed as he lifted a waterlogged cardboard box.

A pungent smell of fish permeated the air. Driven by their hunger, the two cats sprinted toward stairs leading to the kitchen of a Chinese Restaurant.

As Socks and A.C. approached the back of the restaurant they saw several cats: Miss Polly, a white cat with six toes on each front paw, with her three kittens. Fluffy, Gwen, and Nishba waited at the Restaurant’s back door while Krystal, a pure white kitten, stalked a cockroach. But Oliver was nowhere in sight.

Miss Polly yawned widely revealing sharp, stained feline teeth. She murmured repeatedly to her kittens encouraging them to eat solid food as old Mr. Chum emptied a pot of greasy Chinese food leftovers on a newspaper.  The cat took large bites of the slop stopping to chew only occasionally. From the corner of one eye, she watched her kittens as they took their turns feeding off the newspaper. She was happy that she would get some relief from their suckling.

“What is the deal with the white polydactyl puss?” Socks asked A.C.

“Oh, Miss Polly is a typical abandonment case” began A.C She was owned by an elderly couple who passed on and left her and her three kittens to fend for themselves.  She began using the neighbors’ flowerpot for a potty box. Yuck.”

“Yeah. Double yuck,” replied Socks.

“Soon afterward, Mamma cat, Fluffy, and Nishba ended up here in the alley. It seems there was a big supply of cats and kittens and not enough people wanting them. The third kitten, Gwen, wandered away before the Animal Control incident.

“Oh… that’s pretty sad,” sighed Socks. He padded away with a determination to find Oliver with a new urgency.

“Well I have to get on my way, said A.C.  Will you be all right by yourself Socks?”

“Guess so,” answered Socks reluctantly.

 Suddenly the fog became thick and rays of rainbow colored lights appeared as the cat felt herself being lifted higher and higher.  It was as if gentle hands were embracing her like a mother gently carrying her by the scruff of her neck.

The fog gradually lifted and the sun shown through a blurred yellow-orange sky as Miss Polly and A.C. arrived in Rainbow Bridge.  The color of the sky changed from deep yellow to brown and orange as they walked on a path of palm trees surrounded by flowering magnolias shrubs. Occasionally a cloud floated by sinking a few feet as if to wave to every new arrival.

Startled, Polly asked A.C.,” Where am I? Is this heaven? And if so, where are my persons.” A.C. looked back at her with a blank look as cats often do and continued to walk toward a large medal gate wrapped with ivy and beautiful blue morning glories. They followed a large longhaired Manx through a gate and under a sign which read “Tri- County” SFPHC.  (Society for the Placement of Heavenly Cats).

Two staff members were interviewing adopters. Under the eves of a thatched hut they talked softly as a childless couple entered the room. “Welcome,” said a soft, soothing voice inside the gate. The first evaluator asked, “Have you had any animals before?”

 The woman dressed in jeans and a shirt printed with the words “University of Stupidity” answered.  ”Once when I was younger, I had a white cat, but I went off to college and left her with my mother. I never saw her again.“

A.C. departed back to earth leaving the couple discussing adoption and Polly busily nursing her newly assigned kittens while a montage of cats lounged on cloud-like pillows suspended in space.

Back in the alley Nishba and Gwen, sat at the bottom of the steps discussing Krystal.  Nishba flipped his tail and brushed his head against Gwen’s head while A.C. and Socks observed.

“When this girl went off to college, her mother took her to Animal Control since they did not want to be bothered with feeding and changing the cat’s litter.  She was euthanized there within four hours of her intake,” whispered Nishba to Gwen.

“I did not know they would do that,” replied Gwen.

“They can. Animal Control puts down cats surrendered by owners immediately. That’s the word from the alley cats anyway” 

Hoping to get clues about Oliver, Socks was particularly interested in Gwen.  Through his extrasensory abilities he was able to flash back in time.

What he saw was a man, Mr. Schmidt a middle age businessman, walking from the annual animal fund-raising campaign for the Humane Society in the very same alleyway behind the Chinese Restaurant.  He was just awarded a plaque for his philanthropic contributions; he wore a smug look on his face. A cigar hung from his crooked mouth, the smoke encircling his ego like a tornado circles the ground. Gwen a gray kitten, with a stub for her tail, stumbled into the alleyway and made her way to the street corner.  She rubbed up against the man's leg and gave a pathetic last cry as the man walked away

Mr. Schmidt unfortunately suffered a heart attack on his way home that evening. Only hours after he arrived in Rainbow Bridge the train arrive at the SPHC. This was the last stop that would determine which road he would take in completing his journey to heaven with or without an animal.

At 11:00 am, Mr. Schmidt arrived at the adoption center while a couple waited on a couch in the waiting room.

“Have you owned a cat before?”  The evaluator asked politely as Mr. Schmidt looked at his watch several times out of habit.

 “Mmmm...  No, But you have probably read about me in the Daily Times and my philanthropic contributions to animals over the past years.” the man said, not looking into her eyes and fidgeting with the cuffs on his shirt.

“And what kind of cat do you have in mind?” asked the intake angel.

 “That one, the gray and white spunky kitten with shiny eyes playing with two other kittens reminds me of my earth days and a kitten I once knew,” he said to the evaluator. He glanced over his shoulders and stared into the eyes of the kitten.  The kitten turned away and slunk under a cool tree.

“ Oh, I am sorry, sir, but that one doesn’t seem to want to go with you.

“If you will stay around, perhaps you could volunteer your time and get to know the cats better.  We are a little short-handed some days,“ said the intake woman to Mr. Schmidt kindly.

 Mr. Schmitt thought for a moment. “It is peaceful here and really there isn’t any reason to rush off. Yes, I think I just might do that.  After all, I am in no hurry.” He was immediately put in charge of painting the bridge and feeding the cats.

A.C.’s arrived back to the alley way with a beautiful pink Cadillac to gather up Miss Polly’s kittens. Socks was off hunting for Oliver, tracking down a lead from a new Tomcat that showed up at the feeding station behind the restaurant. The three kittens, Nishba, Fluffy, and Gwen and the cat Krystal boarded withoug hesitation with the help of A.C. Contented meowing sounds came from the back of the pink Cadillac and it quietly disappeared into the sky. It left a white dust of soft clouds and the smell of chamomile and heather trailing behind. Through the purplish diffused light and golden rays, the car reached Rainbow Bridge only minutes later.

In Rainbow Bridge, the kittens and cats played under the trees, hung from the branches, and chased one another.  Some munched on tasty morsels of kibbles growing on bright blades of grass.  There were golden bowls filled with tuna.  A cool mist hung over the sky and the air was filled with the electricity of love and anticipation. The cats took in the sunlight and listened to the blades of grass rustle under heaven’s loving arms. The optimism each cat felt was contagious.

When the kittens saw their mom, Miss Polly, they dashed toward her. She cleaned them from head to toes with her rough tongue and gave Gwen a few extra licks.

Under a tree between two fences, the couple continued with the application process for a new cat. An intake angel returned with a white cat in her arms.

      “We have a cat called Krystal. We think you will be pleased with,” said the intake angel, after a few minutes.

      Another intake person came back with a short-tailed gray manx cat and put Gwen into the arms of Mr. Schmidt

Heaven is a forgiving place and once a person agrees to mend his ways and make a new commitment, all sorts of wonderful new adventures are in store. The couple agreed to take the cat on the conditions that the cat would have a forever home no matter where they moved. Mr. Schmidt agreed to give Gwen all the love and attention she needed as his priority and put his pride in his accomplishment second to the needs of the cat.

 The couple and Mr. Schmidt walked out of the shelter with their cats wrapped up in the love, their faces wearing a smile and the cats purring like motor boats. They boarded the train to heaven.

At the intersection of the tracks, the train came to two signs. One read “Pets and Humans” and the other sign read “Humans Only.”  The train continued on the track that read “Pets and Humans.”

That is the way cats of the alley met up with two people in heaven. Miss Polly, her kittens, and other cats from the alley eventually found new homes with people who always wanted cats but could never have one for one reason or another. More cats and kittens arrived daily but here was always room for one more cat at Rainbow Bridge. The Bridge got painted that year and all the kittens under Polly’s care thrived, grew up to be happy adults, and were adopted. Miss Polly stayed on for several years nursing new kittens. Ironically, Socks found Oliver at Rainbow Bridge under another identity. After identifying him, Sock’s mission was over. Socks made the ultimate sacrifice and decided to stay on at Rainbow Bridge and take Oliver as his assistant. The two cats looked forward to the day all animals and people would live on earth with mutual respect and understanding so they, too, could give up their jobs and go the heaven with a human of their own.

"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad" (II Corinthians 5:10).[1]

 

 

 

To be continued… (Rainbow Bridge II – Socks and Oliver Return to Earth.