A choice between the living and the dead

I was walking along the sidewalk staring at the barren trees which had burried the dried grass beneath their brittle leaves.

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a lonely squirrel staring at the street, wondering if its worth the risk, but as I aproached him I discovered a terrible tragedy. He wasn't debating on crossing at all! He was morning the loss of a friend lying lifelessly in the middle of the street.

I stood there as if the fridged winter air froze me in my place. I watched as the squirrels body relaxed as if he finally came to accept the fact that he had to return to the trees alone.

As that squirrel slowly turned around are eyes crossed paths, but he didn't run or jump in fear. Instead he slowly hopped up onto the curb and slowly worked his way up the tree. He stopped to take one last look at his little friend lying in the street alone. He looked back up at the tree trying to determine if hanging on to him or moving on with his life was the right choice.

When all of a sudden I heard squealing and rustiling further up the tree and I discovered he had other friends and loved ones up there waiting to live the rest of their lives with him. I think at the moment as he headed further up the tree; he realized his best friend would want him to live his own life and be there for his living loved ones.

So in the end he returned to his tree, but unlike I assumed he didn't return alone. He had loved ones waiting for his return.

The moral of the story isn't neccisarly that we have to choice between our lost loved ones or our living ones, but it is important to remember not to hang so tightly that your soul is lost too.