She spoke to him.

And he understood her.

What the girl said was “Ulysses. Come here, Ulysses.”

And without thinking, he moved toward her.

“It’s okay,” she said.

And he believed her. It was astonishing. Everything was astonishing. The setting sun was illuminating each blade of grass. It was reflecting off the girl’s glasses, making a halo of light around the girl’s round head, setting the whole world on fire.

The squirrel thought, When did things become so beautiful? And if it has been this way all along, how is it that I never noticed before?

“Listen to me,” the girl said. “My name is Flora. Your name is Ulysses.”

Okay, thought the squirrel.

She put her hand on him. She picked him up. She cradled him in her left arm.

He felt nothing but happiness. Why had he always been so terrified of humans? He couldn’t imagine.

Actually, he could imagine.

There had been that time with the boy and the BB gun.

There had, truthfully, been a lot of incidents with humans (some involving BB guns, some not), and all of them had been violent, terrifying, and soul-destroying.

But this was a new life! And he was a changed squirrel.

He felt spectacular. Strong, smart, capable — and also: hungry.

He was very, very hungry.