July 23rd, 2021
I wrote a post last week about how sometimes people get to my stuff after I feel like it’s had its moment. A few of those people have picked up Theia lately, and it inspired me to pick it back up and thumb through it myself.
The character of Mittens came up in conversation, and I described the albino ferret as “the most selfless creature in existence.” When I reread his backstory, I remembered why he is the way that he is; I described what ferrets believe in, and I found that passage kind of beautiful.
“An animal’s faith is hard to describe. But each kind is different, if some not so different than others. Mittens believed in a kind of karma, which many ferrets believe in. They believe that the skills you possess during your life transfer into the afterlife. It’s one of the reasons ferrets are so cunning and quick to disappear; they believe they can use these abilities to fool Death herself once she comes.
And it’s the reason that Mittens always chose to be kind, even in the face of terrible abuse. He believed that if he could be skillful with kindness, he would bring that gift with him to the afterlife, and be able to teach it to any ferret who had passed without learning or receiving it during their lifetimes.
This ability to be kind almost killed him on countless occasions, and he never regretted it once.”
Mittens has an idiotic kind of deep wisdom and I love that so much about him.
If you want to read more about him and the rest of the shelter animals, Theia is available on Amazon and dennisvogen.com now.
The Den 