The Artist's Lament

Raisins

Knowing that he was a bit safer now, Alex made his way back to the park once he was out of the police station. Tired, hungry and in pain in several places, he laid down on the ground by a tree. For the first time in a while, he was able to fall asleep with little worries. He was woken up by a quiet squeaking nearby. He rubbed his eyes as he sat up, holding his hip. "Ff... What..?" He started looking around for the source of the sound.

The squeaking continued and Alex kept looking around. The squeaking was frantic, distressed. "I know, buddy. I know. I'll find you. Don't worry!" He kept looking until he spotted a crevice in the tree he was sleeping under.

He laid on his stomach and looked inside. There was a small nest with a smaller little pink creature laying inside. "Oh no..." He pulled it out after checking for signs that it was used recently aside from it. "Okay... Okay, come here... I got you..." He cradled the baby rodent in his hand and started looking around. "We'll get you some help... C-Come on." He gently set the baby in his pocket and began running.

He made sure the baby rodent stayed inside his pocket as he ran, trying to find the nearest vet. He smiled slightly once he spotted one and he grew faster. He bolted inside and ran to the desk, panting heavily. He carefully lifted the rodent from his pocket and held it in his hands as he showed the woman at the front desk. "You gotta help him! I... I think he was abandoned by his mama..." He was already crying. The woman stood up and nodded slightly. "Okay... I'll get the paperwork started. Head into the room over there and don't let him out of your pocket. He has no fur to keep him warm.

Alex did as he was told and took the baby into the room he was directed to. He was unusually calm despite the situation. "I'm here for you, buddy... You're gonna be okay..." He smiled softly and pet the baby in his hands. "I'll keep you safe from the world... This horrible horrible world..." After a few minutes of waiting, he started nodding off. He gently adjusted his shirt so he could cradle the baby while he fell asleep.

The vet woke him up when he stepped into the room. He jolted awake, holding his hand over the baby. "I'm not going to hurt you two... Here." He turned on a heat lamp on the table meant for reptiles. "You can set him there." Alex was a bit hesitant to do so. "You can watch everything I do..." After another moment of thinking, Alex set him on the table.

"God, he's so weak..." The vet softly pet the baby's head. "Here... Watch how I feed him. You'll need to keep up with this." Alex set a finger under the baby's head as the vet fed him. "Where did you find this little guy? People don't usually find hamsters in the wild..."

"He was in a tree in the park I... I was walking in at the time." He fumbled over his words a little bit. "I heard him crying for help... It was so dark and cold in there... And it looked like he'd been there for a little bit..." Alex's eyes teared up a bit. "Is he gonna be okay..? I... I think I wanna keep him..."

"As long as we keep him warm and keep up with his feeding... He should be fine." Alex's eyes lit up as the little hamster let out a loud squeak. "Someone's already getting his strength back... And he's so small. What a fighter." The vet turned to Alex with a soft smile. "Here... Let's see how you do with feeding him."

Alex kept his head propped up and did just as the vet was, down to the rate he was feeding at. "There you go, big guy... Eat up..." He stopped when the baby wasn't taking any more of the formula. "Good job, buddy..."

"I've never seen someone catch on that quickly... You said you wanted to keep him?" The vet smiled at the fact that Alex was to preoccupied with the hamster to respond to him. He set a hand on his shoulder, making him flinch a bit and look over at him. "So what's his name?"

Alex looked back down at the hamster for a little while as he thought about it. "His name..." A small smile stretched on his face as he pet him. "Raisin."