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I once found a little silver otter in a box of handmade scarves, tucked inside a rainbow knit hat. Inspiration suggested to put him on the shelf where my little hedgehog was, amidst the little boxes. I started to do so, only to remember that three days earlier Little Hedgehog got a new home with an odd man in a long coat. So the otter went over by the collection of mis-matched-and-slightly-bent-or-melted army men, as he really didn't seem to belong with the boxes. Occasionally I'd walk by and see a barricade of army shaped plastic between Otter and the edge of their shelf. Sometimes they all looked inward, listening?, sometimes they all faced outward, defending. Once, they were all piled on top- not sure what was happening. He stayed there, shiny among the tan and green and grey, at least, until a young woman spotted him.
She had come in, glancing around. Obviously searching for something, but what? She sat in my compass chair, and got right back up without bothering to spin in it. She entered Belief. She giggled a little, then sighed, at Buddha's hat (it really does look funny). She skimmed the eye-level shelves as she passed them, pausing once at a pewter and brass urn, looking thoughtful. Glancing up from the urn, she spotted my Otter. He'd made it past the boundary the little damaged army men had made for him. A moment later the figurine was in her hands, the urn left on the shelf.
"Him," she said. "He's perfect."
"For what, may I ask?"
"My client's wedding cake."
Now this is nowhere near the strangest thing I've heard; I can even imagine the silver critter on a cake. However, I had to ask. "What kind of cake?"
"They haven't decided yet, but the one proposed to the other with this little hedgehog box, as it looked sort of like him, and now they need an otter as that's what the other one looks like. And now I've found an otter! And they'll both go on the cake!"
Hedgehog box? My Hedgehog? "Do you know where they got the hedgehog?"
"I don't, but they recommended I try here for any little odd thing and ideas for the wedding." She turned the figure over and over, examining it from all angles.
"Glad to know I'm recommended, then." Yes, I bet my Otter's found his Hedgehog after all! I have to see this!
"What do I owe you for him?"
I told her what I suspected of the origins of Little Hedgehog, and of Otter needing a place to be, so if she would be so kind as to take pictures of the two figurines, I could be sure it was my Hedgehog, and well, I wanted to see how cute they'd look on the cake.
She promised me three pictures as payment, then, with a cheery wave, headed out the door, Otter tucked in her pocket.
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The pictures came in the mail a few weeks later.
The first is a phone snapshot of my Hedgehog and my Otter, on a little plate atop a simple, yet elegant cake.
The second is a professional's candid, one man holding up a figurine in each hand, laughing, while another kissed his cheek. You can tell which man each silver critter represents.
The third tells the story of after: my Little Otter and my Little Hedgehog sit with a human skull on a mantle somewhere. The back has been labelled "Benedict, Martin, and Rory".
I am glad my silly little critters have found each other.