Goodbye, Voodoo...

[Guest]

When I first met you in Magnolia, you tried to escape from my hand with whatever means (well, almost...you never did pinch) you had at your disposal. I put you in the traveling tank and you investigated your surroundings as you and your sisters were on your way to your brand new home.I let you out of my sight for one minute, and you disappeared...like that. I fetched my mother to help scour the dining room to find you...mysteriously, you managed to scale an iPod jukebox box and made yourself comfortable on the corner of the dining room table. I learned then that securing the lid of the travel tank was probably a good idea.As you acclimated in quarantine, I noticed you and your sisters were all quite noisy...the biggest one especially toward the tiniest...you made it a point to put an end to the bullying. You appeared to be healthy and filled with vim and vigor. When I first took you out of quarantine, I marveled as you scaled a laptop cord the thickness of your tiny claw. You hung on and hung on, and would not fall...your acrobatics and daredevil shenanigans kept me entertained night in and night out. I needed not prompt you...you were a performer at heart, and loved to dazzle and shock.Until, one night, you seemed pretty burnt out...was the high-flying show of yours not fun anymore? I put you in quarantine but you pretty quickly let me know that you didn't want to be there...so I obeyed your wishes.And then, one day, you disappeared from my sight...again...but not for too long. When I next saw you, you had lost all of your color, and you were enjoying quite a feast of that which you yourself had once worn.But then you disappeared...once more...and didn't return until tonight...lifeless, eyeless, and though colorful and showing signs of good growth, there was no more spark in your limber body. The great performer had taken her final bow, and in her chance to grow, faced great trials that all of her heart could not overcome.As I look down upon you now, wondering who you're meeting, who you're playing with, what gossip you're chirping, I feel all at once sad and appreciative. Sad of course because no longer will I know your company...but appreciative that I got to know you in the time that I did. You had more pizazz and panache for taking risks in your tiny little nails than a lot of human beings have in their entire bodies.Thank you for your companionship, however brief, and I'm sorry that I couldn't do better for you.