We buried Ditto yesterday, in a pit between the two compost piles (I was a little horrified, but admittedly it's pretty much the only clear area in the whole yard, and the only place where he's unlikely to be dug up again by some animal).

I did not dig the pit, or bury him, because I don't think I could have handled it, but I did look at him before my mother picked him up.

He looked just like he was sleeping, on his side, except that he was covered in flies and he had no eyes anymore. Just withered black pits.

I wanted to pet him, except he smelled really bad.

I stood well back while my mother picked him up with a shovel (gently, she scooped up the debris underneath him so as not to damage his little body).

Then she laid him in the pit, and her and my dad started to cover him.

"He should be buried with canteloupe," my dad said at one point.

So my mom ran into the house and got a chunk of canteloupe (it was kind of rotten; I thought it was appropriate).

So now he's buried with a chunk of canteloupe. I thought about tossing in a couple coins, for his eyes, except he doesn't have them anymore.

I couldn't watch the whole time, because my eyes were filling up with tears, and if I cried my mother would want to hug me (and that's kind of weird) so I stared very hard at the maple trees above us, and the neighbours who were getting a cement truck in for some reason.

The maple trees' leaves were withered around the edged. I don't know why. Maybe it has an infestation of some sort.

There was a strap hanging down from the cement truck, from the great folded sled thing they use to distribude said cement, and they were trying to get it down from it's position folded on top of the cement truck. I'm sure the strap ended up hitting the car that was under it, but I didn't see.

After Ditto was all buried, we went inside to have a solemn piece of canteloupe.

It's all kind of....appropriate.

When I was young, Ditto was mine and I was his.

Now I'm leaving, and he's left.

At least I don't think he went in pain. He wasn't in a position that he would have collapsed into, or fallen into, it was very peaceful.

That's something anyway.

I miss him.

.

Rosie.

Before&After