Once upon a time there was a girl named Claire. She lived with her mother and father in a very nice part of Vancouver.
Claire’s best friend in the whole world was her dog, Abbie, a golden retriever who was older than Claire. Abbie used to guard Claire’s crib when she was a baby, and Claire grew up loving her, her big, golden fluffy friend. Then, one day, when Claire was 12 years old, Abbie died.
Claire was devastated. She had never known death before, and though Abbie was old, and her parents tried to prepare her for it, the loss of Abbie hit Claire like a body blow. All the happiness and joy that Claire had known seemed to be gone, and nothing her mother or father could do would ever make things better. Claire stopped going to school, didn’t
see any of her friends, and even stopped eating for a while. Understandably, her parents were really worried about her.
Nothing seemed to work, and Claire seemed trapped in a grey world of despair. Walking the streets of her city, visiting the parks where she used to run and play with Abbie, the whole world seemed pointless. Her father suggested getting a new puppy, but to Claire this just seemed like a cruel joke. What would be the point of getting another dog? It would
just get old and die, like Abbie did. Like everyone will.
Claire drifted through the days and weeks, back at school, but not really involved with things. Nothing seemed to make her happy, until a flash of brightly coloured fur caught her eye in the mall one day.
FLUFFIES FOR SALE, the sign read. ONLY $10 EACH. Below was a play pen full of baby fluffies.
Claire was curious. She had heard about Fluffies of course. About Hasbio and Peta, the mega-herds in America and the UN declaring that they were not animals. She’d even seen them on TV, chirping and talking in their silly baby voices.
Claire had ignored them, thinking them little different from a cartoon character, but now, pressed up against the glass of the playpen was a baby fluffy with bright red fur, staring into her eyes. It had a look of sadness and desperation for love that reminded her of Abbie.
“Mummah? Yu am nyu mummah?”
Claire was amazed. A talking animal! No, not an animal, a biotoy, but it could talk, and it was talking to her.
“Mummah?”
Claire wanted to look away, to retreat back into her sadness and its cold embrace, but something stirred inside her.
“Mummah? Yu wan pway wiv babbeh? Giv huggies?”
Other fluffies had seen her by now, a beautiful white Unicorn with the beginnings of a blue mane and tail fur was standing next to the red baby and starring up at Claire. In the background, various other fluffies were bounding over towards her, calling out to her, doing their little dances to attract her attention and reaching up to her for hugs.
“Mummah?” Asked the red baby once more, as if afraid that Claire would pick a different fluffy.
Without knowing why, Claire found herself leaning over the play pen, and gently picking up the red baby. It was soft and warm and wriggly, and squeeled with delight as she lifted it up.
“Babbeh wuv nice upsies and huggies!”
By now Claire was astonished, she stared at the red baby fluffy, cradled in her hands and was totally dumbstruck.
“Fwuffy wuv nyu mummah, fwuffy wiw be bestest fwuffy and awways wuv mummah.”
Claire nearly started to cry. Why would this strangle little creature love her so much, they had only just met?
“Nuuuu! Sissie!” Claire heard a cry from below.
The other fluffies were crowding around the white and blue maned fluffy, who was jumping to try and get picked up.
“Nuuu weave sissie behind! Nyu mummah can take sissie too? Wiw be gud fwuffy! Promise!” the white foal was crying.
“Is…” Claire croaked, having barely spoken in weeks, “Is that your sister?” She asked the red foal.
“Es, dat white fluffy be sissie of red fluffy. We had bruddah, but he goed away. And mummah, but she goed too…”
The red fluffy in Claire’s hands looked like it was about to start crying, and down below, her sister was gradually being submerged by a hoard of blue and brown and green fur. Without thinking, Claire reached down and picked up the white fluffy, and held her up with her sister in front of her face.
“Mummah!” The white foal cried with joy.
Claire looked at the two baby fluffies. The looked more like miniature piglets than ponies, they were warm, a little stinky from the play pen, and quivered and cooed at her touch. So tiny and delicate. Claire was in love.
“You’re fur is like strawberry jelly… I think I’ll call you Jelly,” Claire said, to the red fluffy.
“Jewwy? Fwuffy have name? Fwuffy am Jewwy? Jewwy am gud name. Jewwy wuv name.”
Claire laughed, how could these things be so damned cute?
“And you…” she said, looking at the white foal, you look just like a snowflake, your name is Snowflake.
“Snowfwake? Fwuffy wuv name! Fwuffy wuv mummah!”
“Claire,” Claire said, “my name is Claire.”
“CWAIRE!” the fluffies chirped in chorus.