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Not bothering to change out of her polka dotted pajama bottoms and old ratty t-shirt featuring a cartoon cat with a cursive Purrrfect underneath, Birdie jammed her feet into her tennis shoes, knotting the laces tightly.

“You up for a midnight stroll, girl?” Birdie asked.  “Or would you rather stay here?”

Stretching in the rumpled quilt, Sassy arched her back and kicked out her back legs, one by one.  Leaping off the bed, her tiny paws pattered up to Birdie and she licked her knee. Birdie leaned forward, touching her forehead to Sassy’s furry one.

“Oh Sassy,”she sighed.  “All I wanted to do was save the animals.  I never knew it would be this complicated.”

Sassy stuck her tongue up Birdie’s nose, making her giggle.  “You’re right,” she said, wiping her face and climbing to her feet.  “We’ve got way too much to do to sit around and sulk.”  Grabbing Sassy’s leash and clipping it to the harness, she started downstairs.  Suddenly, the slamming of a cabinet door made her jump.  Freezing on the step, she peered over the banister.

“Hello?” she called timidly.   “Is anyone there?”

The cabinet door slammed a second time.  Sassy growled and Birdie tensed.  “Hello?  Is anyone there?” Tentatively, she descended a few steps.  “I’ll call the cops,” she threatened.  “Show yourself!”

The kitchen door swung open, and Birdie’s mother’s head poked out.  “Oh, hello,” she said, arching her eyebrows.  “I didn’t mean to wake you, dear.”

“Mom, what are you doing here?”  A mixture of relief and annoyance flowed through her as she hurried down the steps.

“Well, we were having a midnight seance in one of the cabins, and I had this overwhelming urge to come home and make you come carob carrot cookies.”  Her yoga pants swirling around her thin knees, her mother stepped toward her and smoothed her hair back.  “Are you all right, dear?  Your aura is red and pulsing.”

Birdie didn’t know whether to laugh or roll her eyes.  “Mom, do you believe animals have a spirit?”

“Of course,” her mother said, her smooth face serene.  “All living things have a spirit.  The trees, the moon, the earth…”

“No, I mean…do you think animals and humans can ever truly understand each other?  Like do you think they can truly connect?”  Birdie took a deep breath.  “Like, almost in a magic sense?  Kind of like how the Native Americans communicated with animals, you know, took their spirits and power into them and everything.”

Leaning against the doorway, Birdie’s mother, the infamous Willow Lake, chewed on her lower lip.  “I believe every creature has a spirit, or soul, that gives them power.  How that power is used or manipulated is dependant on what that person or creature will allow or tolerate.  There are bad animals, just as there are bad people.  But I think animals and humans share a special connection that two humans and two animals can never share.  Look at you and your animals.  You heal them, save them.  In return, they make you smile and keep you company.”  Her lips stretched toward her ears in a sad smile.  “Your father and I never worried about not being able to give you a sibling because we knew you had more furry siblings than we could ever hope to compete with.”

“Really?” Birdie’s head swam.  “You never told me that.  I just assumed you never wanted kids and I was a accident.”

“Oh no, dear.”  Her mother reached out, her palm cradeling her chin.  “You were never an accident.  You were always wanted.”  A warm glow spread through Birdie, and she reached her hand up to touch her mother’s.  Sassy leaned against her leg and for a single moment, Birdie felt more at peace than she had in months.

“It’s funny, actually,” Birdie’s mother continued, her soft fingers stroking her daughter’s cheek.  “Right before I was pregnant with you, I came home and found this gray cat on our porch.  Your father never wanted much to do with animals; he’s always been into plants.  But I just couldn’t leave her–she was so thin and tiny.  So I fed her and talked to her and eventually, she began to come in the house occasionally and let me pet her.  The same time I realized I was pregnant, we realized she was pregnant as well.  She stayed with us to have her kittens, leaving soon after you were born and her kittens were old enough to be adopted by friends and family.”

Her mother paused, a single finger pulsing against Birdie’s warm cheek.  “But I never forgot looking in that cat’s eyes, knowing we were both going to be mother’s.  There was a strong connection there, one I’ve never felt since.”  She paused, her eyes boring into Birdies’.  “You have a magic with animals, Birdie.  A true gift.  Whether it’s a spirit or a connection of minds and hearts, I don’t know.  But I know when it comes to working with animals, you should never doubt yourself.  For you have a gift, a true, rare gift.”

Birdie gulped, fear clenching in her belly.  “Like Mr. Pemberely has a gift?”

Her mother shook her head.  “No.  Very different.  Mr. Pemberely is a brilliant, charming man.  But there’s such a disturbance in his aura, in his soul.  He needs a lot of yoga.  There’s a need in him that can’t be fixed, no matter how many animals he has in his shop.  You don’t have the same kind of hole.”

Letting out a sigh, Birdie’s shoulders sagged.  “I’m glad.”

Kissing her daughter’s forehead, her mother turned her by the shoulders and gently thrust her toward the stairs.  “Now why don’t you go back to bed?  I’ll make you the carob carrot cookies, and I’ll mix up some gingerbread pancake batter for the morning.”

“You’re going to stay?”  Birdie’s eyebrows shot up.  “You’re going to stay and make me breakfast?  Like, actually eat here with me?”

“If you want me to.”  Her thin, elegant mother, normally seen cooing to students as Willow Lake, yoga goddess, suddenly looked very shy and small.  “If that’s all right.”

Birdie smiled.  “That’s perfect.  Thanks, Mom.”  Running upstairs, she unclipped Sassy’s leash and kicked off her tennis shoes.  Hurrying to the window, she peered out at the black cat still sitting underneath, still as a statue.

“I’ll do it,” she whispered.  “I’ll do it.”

And then, wrapping herself in her quilt with Sassy burrowed in her back, she fell into the best sleep she’d had in weeks.

Stay tuned, Invisible Friends!  We have a delicious recipe tomorrow and a new Butterfly Dress story Friday!  Stay tuned!

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