"That I was sick?" That surprised him.  No one had ever said anything and he had listened

when they thought he was sleeping. All he had heard them talk about

was how cute he was or how fast he was or how big he was getting.

      "No, not that you were sick," the lady said. "But you see, they chose tears.  

      "No, they didn't," the little Marlon argued. "Who would choose to cry?"

 

The lady gently brushed the top of his head with a kiss.

It made him feel safe and loved and warm-but he still worried about his mommy. 

      "Let me tell you a story," the lady said.

      Little Marlon looked up and saw other animals gathering around.
    

Cats-Starlight and Ariane and Manouli and Abby and little Cleo and
      Robin. Merlin and Toby and Iggy and Zachary. Sweetie and Kamatte and Obie.

 

Dogs too--Eleonor and Andi and Koumac and Ayleen and Bellona.
     

Even a lizard named Clyde and some rats named Saffron and Becky

 and a hamster named Odo.

 

They all lay down near the kind lady and looked up at her, waiting.

      She smiled at them and began:

      ********************************************
      A long, long time ago, the Loving Ones went to the Angel in Charge.
      They were lonesome and asked the angel to help them.

      The angel took them to a wall of windows and let them look out the first window

at all sorts of things-dolls and stuffed animals and cars and toys and sporting events. 

 "Here are things you can love," the angel said. "They will keep you from being lonesome."

      "Oh, thank you," the Loving Ones said. "These are just what we need."

      "You have chosen Pleasure," the angel told them.

      But after a time the Loving Ones came back to the Angel in Charge.
      "Things are okay to love," they said, "but they don't care that we love them."

      The Angel in Charge led them over to the second window. It looked out at all

sorts of wild animals. "Here are animals to love," he said.  "They will know you love them."

 

So the Loving Ones hurried out to care for the wild animals.

      "You have chosen Satisfaction," the angel said.

      Some of the Loving Ones worked at zoos and wild animal preserves, some just had

bird feeders in their yards, but after a time they all came back to the Angel in Charge.

      "They know we love them," they told the angel, "but they don't love
us back. We want to be loved in return."

      So the angel took them to the third window and showed them lots of people walking

around, hurrying places. "Here are people for you to love," the angel told them.

 

So the Loving Ones hurried off to find other people to love.

      "You have chosen Commitment," the angel said.

      But after a time a lot of Loving Ones came back to the Angel in Charge.

"People were okay to love," they said, "but sometimes they stopped loving us and left.

They broke our hearts."

      The angel just shook his head. "I cannot help you." he said.

"You will have to be satisfied with the choices I gave you."

      As the Loving Ones were leaving, someone saw a window off to one side and

hurried to look out. Through it, they could see puppies and kittens and dogs and cats

and lizards and hamsters and ferrets. The other Loving Ones hurried over.

      "What about these?" they asked.

      But the angel just tried to shoo them away. "Those are Personal Empathy Trainers," he said,

"but there's a problem with their system operations."

      "Would they know that we love them?" someone asked.

      "Yes," the angel said.

      "Would they love us back?" another asked.

      "Yes." the angel said.

      "Will they stop loving us?" someone else asked.

      "No," the angel admitted. "They will love you forever."

      "Then these are what we want." the Loving Ones said.

But the angel was very upset. "You don't understand," he told them.
      "You will have to feed these animals."

      "That's all right," the Loving Ones said.

      "You will have to clean up after them and take care of them forever."

      "We don't care."

      The Loving Ones did not listen. They went down to where the Pets were 

and picked them up, seeing the love in their own hearts reflected in the animals' eyes.

      "They were not programmed right," the angel said. "We can't offer a warranty.

We don't know how durable they are. Some of their systems 

malfunction very quickly, others last a long time."

      But the Loving Ones did not care. They were holding the warm little bodies and finding

their hearts so filled with love that they thought they would burst.

"We will take our chances." they said.

      "You do not understand." The angel tried one more time.

"They are so dependent on you that even the most well-made of them is not
designed to outlive you. You are destined to suffer their loss."

      The Loving Ones looked at the sweetness in their arms and nodded.
      "That is how it should be. It is a fair trade for the love they offer."

      The angel just watched them all go, shaking his head.

"You have chosen Tears " he whispered.

      ********************************************
      "So it is," the kind lady told the kitties, "and so each mommy and daddy knows.

When they take a baby into their heart, they know that one day it will leave them, and they will cry."

      Little Marlon sat up. "So why do they take us in?" he asked.

       "Because even a moment of your love is worth years of pain later."

      "Oh." Little Marlon got off the lady's lap and went back to the

edge of the pond. His mommy was still there and still crying.

      "Will she ever stop crying?" he asked the kind lady.

She nodded. "You see, the Angel felt sorry for the Loving Ones, knowing how much

they would suffer. He couldn't take the tears away but he made them special."

      She dipped her hand into the pond and let the water trickle off her fingers.

"He made them healing tears, formed from the special water here.

Each tear holds bits of all the happy times of purring and petting and shared love.

And the promise of love once again. As your mommy cries, she is healing.

In time, she will be less sad and she will smile when she thinks of you.

And then she will open her heart again to another little baby."

      "But then she will cry again one day," little Marlon said.

      The lady just smiled at him as she got to her feet.

"No, she will love again That is all she will think about."

 

She picked up Flic and Mus and gave them hugs,

then scratched Conny's ear just how he liked. 

      "Look," she said, "the butterflies have come. Shall we go over to play?"

      The other animals all ran ahead, but little Marlon wasn't ready to leave his mommy.

 

"Will I ever get to be with her again?"

The kind lady nodded. "You'll be in the eyes of every puppy she looks at.

And late at night, when she's fast asleep, your spirit will snuggle up close to her

and you both will feel at peace. One day soon, you can even send her a rainbow to tell her

you're safe and waiting here for when it's her turn to come."

      "I would like that." little Marlon said and took one long look at
      his mommy He saw her smile slightly through her tears, and he knew
      she had remembered the time he almost fell into the swimming pool.

      "I love you, Mommy," he whispered. "It's okay if you cry."

He glanced over at the others, running and playing and laughing with the butterflies.

"Uh, Mommy? I gotta go play now, okay? But I'll be around, I promise."

      Then he turned and raced after the others.