As I looked around in wonder at the beauty before me, I heard a soft meow. Wait, I know that meow! Looking down, I saw the upturned face of my beloved pet who had left me years before. I reached down and scooped her up into my arms with tears of happiness flowing down my face. “I have missed you so much my sweet friend”, I told her. She seemed to nod at me and looked over my shoulder. When I turned to look as well, I saw all of the animals I’d ever loved and lost standing at the end of a brightly colored bridge. This must be the rainbow bridge, I thought to myself. This wasn’t exactly how I had pictured it, but it couldn’t have been more perfect. Each of them looked to be in their prime, with healthy, glowing fur. They slowly came towards me as I looked on incredulously. I had always believed that the rainbow bridge was real and that I would someday be reunited with my faithful friends, but I could still scarcely believe they were all there. I found a shady spot to sit and they encircled me. I’m so glad I have forever to become reacquainted with them and that we’ll never have to part again.

#RainbowBridge #Pets #Loss #Grief

In 2006 I was diagnosed with cancer and had to undergo chemotherapy. My hair was the longest it's ever been in my entire life, and I knew I would lose it. I decided it would be best to just get it cut very short and then maybe shave it, once it started coming out. I went to a JC Penny’s hair salon in south Texas and requested a hair-cut. When the gentleman asked me what I would like, I had a picture to show him, but I knew that I wouldn’t really like it because I didn’t want to cut my hair. So, I told him that I probably wouldn’t like it and that I was only getting my hair cut because I would be starting chemotherapy and it would come out. He was so kind to me and said that he never took walk-in clients, but just decided to do so today and that he had a wig he would give me if I could come back tomorrow to get it. True to his word, he gave me a very nice red wig (I’ve always wanted red hair). I didn’t know it at the time, but after buying several other wigs myself, I realized he had given me a very expensive wig. The kindness of this total stranger still warms my heart when I think about it many years later.

Today is the 100-year anniversary of our “coming out of the coffin,” so to speak. The great reveal was highly debated for years, then on July 16, 2019, the announcement was made. The early days were the worst, the death toll for both vampires and humans was staggering. Memories of those days haunt me still. The humans weren’t ready to know about us. There was already a great deal of conflict in what used to be the United States of America, with blatant hatred towards anyone who was different. We should have known it would be a disaster.

Vampires, or even those suspected of being a vampire, were hunted down, staked through the heart, beheaded and then burned to assure the didn’t come back. That’s not how it works, but the humans had no interest in learning the truth about us. They chose to believe the highly inaccurate stories told in their works of fiction and viewed us as evil incarnate. People flocked to their churches in hopes of finding protection from us. That’s how the hunts began. They were on some misguided mission to eradicate the evil in their midst.

We are not inherently evil, even though there are those among us who are; but the same can be said of humans. We are not undead and do no somehow magically come back to life after being killed. Some of their information was correct; we are much stronger and long-lived than humans, and we do need to ingest small amounts of blood to remain healthy.

The Vampire Wars raged for nearly 75-years, resulting in catastrophic losses on both sides. Obviously, we could have conquered the humans and ruled over them, but that is not what we wanted. What we wanted was to have the right to exist in the open and to be treated as equal. I finally have some hope that there is a possibility of this happening.

After the suspension of hostilities 25-years ago, we began attempting to make overtures of peace with the humans. Their governments and infrastructures were decimated by the wars, and there was no clear group to present our intentions to. On the other hand, our governing body has been in effect for thousands of years, and while we did suffer great losses, our way of life was not one of them.

We have sent forth envoys to offer to help rebuild their cities and assist with developing government. This was met with great distrust, but our continued efforts to help them make improvements have begun to soften their resolve. They seem to be developing some type of governance, and they have agreed to meet with us to discuss our offer.

The skeptical part of me worries that this is some sort of trap, but they do seem sincere. It’s clear they cannot continue on the way they are. Famine, disease and uncontrolled violence are rampant. I often think it would have been better if we had conquered them and gradually eased them into a peaceful lifestyle. My voice was not listened to on the matter, however. I will once again present this proposal to the elders tomorrow. I do not advocate subjugating the humans; I only want to suppress their violent tendencies. I truly believe that if we take control of the situation and provide for them fairly, that we can eventually work towards a common good.