The Trials of Alar

1

Adam looked out the bedroom window and sighed. It was going to be a lovely day, he could tell as he watched the rosy red dawn rise above the trees to the east. The buttercups were beginning to bloom in the pasture to the south as well. He hadn’t seen a spring this beautiful in quite a while. Truly he was a blessed squirrel to live in such a place, and he thanked his creator with a quick but sincere morning prayer.

But his greatest blessing was not the flowers, nor the woods, nor even this well-stocked and maintained house on the hill. Rather, his real treasure was the big, sturdy squirrel who still lay peacefully sleeping in the bed to his right. Alar, his childhood friend and husband of almost ten years, was without doubt the greatest thing to have ever come into his life. It was he who had always been there for him, it was he who had gone on that quest all those years ago from which he had earned both this estate and the wealth to maintain it, and it was he whose love for Adam had never waned. Indeed, if anything, their bond had only grown stronger with the years now behind them. Normally Alar would have been up and about long before now, but he had been so exhausted from the previous day’s labors that he had decided to sleep in a bit. And after all he’d done, Adam could hardly begrudge him that.

The slighter, more gracefully built Adam wrapped his tail around his waist against the slight morning chill as he looked once more over the land they called their own. Yes, it was a grand estate, though it had not always been so. The first couple years had been rough for the two young red squirrels, who had lived their entire lives in an urban slum. Only with great difficulty had they learned the way of the farmer, mostly through trial and painful error. More than one winter they had nearly starved. Had it not been for their youthful constitution and the invaluable advice of their chief hired help, Kendrick, they just might have. But they had come through, as they had with so many hardships before, and were now positively prospering. They even made a modest profit off their yearly harvest by selling their surplus in the market town of Helion to the north.

Yes, they had done very well for themselves. And yet, he couldn’t help but feel that there was something missing. Something that would make their toils all the more worthwhile.

Tea would be a good start, he decided. He was just about to go make some when there came a stirring from the bed. Adam watched as Alar stretched his tall, muscular body with the usual grunting and groaning. Suddenly his gaze met that of his mate.

“Up before me, eh?”

“When am I not?” replied Adam with a grin.

“See anything new out there?” Alar continued, sitting up on the edge of the bed and twisting until he heard the satisfying pop of his spine in each direction.

“Nope. Just another perfect day in the offing.”

Sensing the wistful tone in his husband’s voice, Alar asked outright, “Something bothering you, hon?”

“Oh no, of course not. Just haven’t had my proper wake-up tea yet.”

“Well, neither have I, but that doesn’t answer the question. Come on, mate. What’s eating you?”

Adam hesitated. But there was no escaping that questioning look from Alar. The two knew each other too well to hide anything for long. So, heaving another sigh, Adam relented.

“All right, I admit, there is something. But it’s really nothing to worry yourself about.”

“Of course it is,” replied Alar, rising to join him by the window. He kissed him on the cheek and took light hold of his forearms, then looked directly into Adam’s lively green eyes. “If you’re not absolutely happy, then my work’s not done.” He kissed him on the other cheek and gently ran a paw through the fur tuft between his ears.

Adam smiled and placed a paw on Alar’s scarred but still handsome muzzle as he replied, “I never said I was unhappy, my love. How could I be with you around?” He kissed him on the lips to prove his point. “I just think our life could be happier still.”

“How?”

“Well, I’ve been thinking lately how nice it might be to have some young ones around the place.”

“Oh,” said Alar, sounding almost disappointed. “Still on about that, are you?”

“Of course! I’ve always wanted to be a father at some point, you know that. We had to find our feet first, of course, but I think we’ve done that and then some.”

“But everything is perfect as it is. You said so yourself. Why risk it by bringing kits into the mix?”

“Come on, hon,” said Adam, stroking Alar’s whiskers playfully. “I think we’d make great dads. Remember how you used to play with the little street urchins when we were younger?”

Alar shrugged. “That was a long time ago. And I only had to look after them a little now and then; not raise them.”

Adam sighed and rested his paw on Alar’s solid chest. “Such a humbug you’ve become. Where’s that adventurous squirrel I married? The one who wanted nothing more than to see what the wide world was like.”

“But he did want something more,” said Alar, lifting Adam’s paw and kissing it. “And he found it. Now he doesn’t want to do anything to put the precious thing he’s built in danger.”

“You think having kittens would endanger our marriage?” Adam chuckled.

“Well…”

“Oh, stop it, you silly!” Adam gave him a playful shove. “I love you, and I think it’s safe to say that nothing on earth is going to change that.” He threw his arms around Alar, who returned the gesture in kind.

“Oh, Adam,” he sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe you’re right. Maybe a little change would do us both good. But honestly, where would we even start? How would we get young ones even if we wanted them?”

“We could always find some poor orphaned kit to call our own. There’s no shortage of them, as you know. Either that or…” Adam grinned cheekily and leaned in close to Alar’s ear as he whispered. “We could try for some right now, if you’d like.” He pulled back enough to look Alar in the eyes again, giving him a wink and a playful twitch of the tail.

“Aye,” replied Alar with a knowing look. “I reckon we could.”

He gently pushed his husband so that he fell backward onto the bed, then bent down over him. The two were about to kiss again when there came the sound of hooves on the path outside, followed by a rapid knock on the front door.