We came back from ten days away to discover that Joe's pet turtle was missing. It was a sad homecoming.
I filled the tank a little fuller than usual because we were going to be away. My best guess is that Turtle was able to climb over the side because the water level was higher -- and then not able to find water once she escaped. The friend who stopped by to feed her didn't see her and assumed she was hiding inside her hollow plastic log.
We came home to a foul-smelling house (big miscommunication about how much food a turtle needs) and a turtle-less tank. My husband hauled the tank outside and hosed it out. We searched and searched -- no Turtle.
There is still a nasty smell right at the entrance to our office, but I cannot track it down. How can a turtle disappear? A turtle's not like a snake -- that shell is big and rigid. Was Turtle a secret alpinist? a pole vaulter? Did she light upon a wormhole to Dimension X? Did she tesser off to Camazotz?
I hope it wasn't Camazotz. Maybe Aunt Beast is taking good care of her.
I have this crazy hope that maybe she's just lurking somewhere. Turtles hibernate, right? They shut down all through the winter and don't need food or water? I am wondering if she might have tried to go down in the basement, sensing the dampness. Could she have tumbled through the basement steps into the box of winter things below?
The three middle kids cried and cried last night. Joe said, "I wish we could at least bury her."
I do too.
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