Charlie
As he munched on his hamster food, he stared at Bailey through the glass. That damn dog was always watching him. Ever since last year when Bailey had chased him through the house, Charlie knew the dog looked at him as a possible snack.
It didn’t matter that he’d been the one to convince the dog to knock over his cage. It had been the only way to make Logan stay longer and let the snow pile up. Those two certainly weren’t figuring out they were meant to be together. They’d needed the push.
He still couldn’t believe he’d done all that work, nearly been eaten for God’s sake, and he was still languishing in a hamster cage. Of all the damn animals to return as, he’d been reborn as a hamster.
As a lion, he would have eaten a hamster as a mid-day snack. So he’d eaten a couple of humans…that didn’t mean he needed to live as a hamster as punishment. He was so sure getting those two together would show the animal gods he deserved to come back as something else…anything else. Hell, even a bird. No, not a bird. They had to fly. Heights made him nauseous.
The newest addition to their little family, a ball of white fluff they call Buttons, came scampering into Clementine’s room and jumped on her bed. Buttons had been a giraffe in a previous life and he’d been sent back as a poodle. He was a little too “goody-goody” for Charlie, but whatever.
Bailey, however, wouldn’t let on what he’d been previously. He certainly had taken to being a dog, though, that was sure. And Charlie didn’t like the way Bailey licked his chops as he stared up at the cage.
Charlie heard footsteps and glanced at the door. Great, it was the love birds. They’d been together a whole year and still acted like they were on their honeymoon. Even now they were holding hands.
“Clementine,” they sang. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”
The little girl with her platinum blonde curls popped up in bed and smiled. “Happy Valentine’s Day!”
“Come on, we made you heart pancakes.”
“Yay!” She jumped off the bed and raced out of her room, Logan and Shawn laughing as they followed.
Buttons and Bailey looked at each other and quickly ran after the family, not wanting to miss out on the possibility of dropped crumbs.
Charlie glanced around his cage. He’d been given a bigger one at Christmas, and not that he liked to exercise or anything, but the fresh bedding in the corner was calling his name. He’d been awake for an hour. It was definitely time to nap. And dream of the time he could come back as any other animal than a hamster.
How long did a hamster live, anyway?