Noel and Toby felt helpless as they watched in silence as Kyle suffered a seizure in the corner of the cage. He was really bad this time, and they didn’t know what they could do.

“Hey, fur-bombs, it’s time for your medicine!” the strong voice bellowed when he came into the room.

Noel and Toby glanced at each other, relieved. “It’s Daddy! He’ll take care of everything.”

Daddy bent down to pull Kyle and Noel out of the cage for their evening doses of prednisone to treat their insulinoma. Something was wrong. Daddy pulled Kyle out of the bottom of the cage and sat him on the floor. Kyle continued to seize and shake uncontrollably.

“Honey!” Daddy called out. “Honey! Get in here! Something’s wrong with Kyle!”

Suddenly Mommy rushed into the room. “Mommy will help,” Noel told Toby. “She knows what to do.”

Mommy rushed back out of the room. She returned a few minutes later with a large bottle in her hand.

“Here, Kyle. Come on, baby. Just a little syrup.” Mommy dipped her finger in the bottle, pulled out some sticky-looking stuff, and put it to Kyle’s lips, coaxing him to lick it. Kyle began to lick just a little.

“It’s not working,” Mommy sobbed. Daddy locked the cage up so Noel and Toby could not get out, then Mommy and Daddy rushed away with Kyle snuggled tightly into Daddy’s arms.

Noel and Toby waited there in the cage, with the air conditioning blowing softly and the hall light glowing to help chase away the fear they felt. They looked out the window and thought about Kyle and wondered if he would go to the Bridge tonight. They had heard about the Bridge before, when Mommy whispered about it to Gizmo and to Slinky. They knew that their brothers and their sister, Sandy, were waiting at the Bridge, playing in the sun, healthy and whole and happy.

Suddenly, the hall light went out, and the air conditioner stopped blowing. And Noel and Toby knew that Kyle had gone to the Bridge.

* * *

At the Bridge the ferrets were dancing and playing and enjoying their health and their freedom. Suddenly a voice called out: “Slinky, Gizmo, Sandy! We need you front and center!” It was Sandee, the ferret that watched the gate and prepared new arrivals who unexpectedly found themselves in a new place.

Slinky, Gizmo, and Sandy rushed forward, excited yet nervous. Who could it be? Who was ready to come to the Bridge? Gizmo was especially curious, as he had not heard his momma calling out to him this time, asking him to meet the ferret that was coming.

The crowd that had gathered parted, and the three ferrets stepped forward into the circle. There, in all his radiant beauty, was brother Kyle!

Slinky gasped and ran forward and wrapped his little brother in his arms. Then he leaned back and ruffled the fur on Kyle’s head, which Kyle had always hated. “I’ve missed that, big brother,” Kyle whispered with tears in his eyes.

“I’ve missed you, too,” Slinky said and hugged his brother again.

Then Kyle turned to Gizmo. “Hey, old man! You’re looking good!” Kyle snuggled into Gizmo’s long arms and sighed. Giz had been gone so long. It was wonderful to be with him again.

Then Kyle turned to the third ferret. “Sandy, I don’t know what to say. I treated you horribly when you were around, yet I missed you when you were gone.” Another tear started to leak from the corner of Kyle’s eye.

“It’s OK, Kyle,” Sandy said, tears welling up in her own eyes. “I forgive you.” And she leaped forward to envelope Kyle in her soft little arms.

“So, Kyle,” Slinky wrapped his arm around Kyle’s shoulders and walked him through the crowd. “Are you ready to check out the Bridge?”

“Absolutely!” Kyle began jumping up and down and chittering. “I haven’t felt this good in ages!” He began to look at his arms, at his legs, and even twisted himself around to look at his own back. “My fur. It’s back!” he said in amazement.

“Yes, Kyle,” Gizmo broke in. “Here at the Bridge, you are healthy again. So no more hair loss. No more prednisone doses. No more upset tummies. And especially, no more seizures.”

“Wow!” Kyle got even more excited. “I can run again and jump again and roll around and feel good again!” He bolted back and forth through the meadow like a maniac. Slinky and Gizmo snickered as they watched him behave as he had when he was just a kit.

“He’s a nut!” Sandy laughed out loud and ran to join her brother.

Suddenly, a large mountain loomed in front of Kyle. He stopped running and gasped as he looked it up and down. It was a whole mountain of socks! Kyle’s favorite thing in the whole wide world and there was tons of it!

“OK, buddy, before you get into that, you need to come see one thing first,” Gizmo took Kyle gently by the paw and led him over to a silvery, shimmering pool of water. “There are two people that are very much upset that you are here. Look….” And Gizmo tipped Kyle’s head forward so he could see into the pool.

There in the water was an image he recognized. It was his own room! And his own parents! And his brother and sister!

“Giz, I don’t understand. What are they doing in there?”

“This is a reflection pool. They are not really in the water. They are back home on Earth. But you can see them in here anytime you want. Anytime you might be missing them or feel lonely, you can look in here. They will always be here when you need them. Just keep looking for a while.” And Gizmo left Kyle to stand at the bank alone.

Mommy and Daddy were standing in the middle of Kyle’s room. Mommy was holding on tight to Toby, and Daddy was cuddling Noel. They were whispering words of love and caring. Kyle heard his name mentioned. His Mommy and Daddy had said that they loved him so very, very much, and while they had not wanted him to go, they knew he had to. They knew that the Bridge was a much better place for Kyle because he would never be sick or hurting again. Mommy kissed Toby’s head, and Daddy kissed Noel’s head. Then they traded ferrets, kissed heads again, and returned the ferrets to the cage.

Kyle sighed and turned back to his brothers and sister with tears on his cheeks but a smile on his lips. “They love me,” he choked out.

“Yes, Kyle. They love you so much. They love all of us so much.” Sandy looked around at her brothers as she spoke. Then she rushed forward to hug Kyle. Slinky and Gizmo enveloped them, and they all stood that way, holding onto each other and their parents’ love while the sun shown down and the birds sang and everyone felt good again.