Cinnamon opened her eyes. She was still in the box. Voices were outside the box. She heard the clanking of metal and wire outside the box. She heard footsteps pounding closer, closer, closer, to the box. Cinnamon stood, rigid with fear. The box was kicked over. Cinnamon fell over, belly up. She fought to stand up. Suddenly, the box was tipped back upright.
Voices were outside. Cinnamon froze with fear as the top of the box was opened. She was given a bowl of food. "Yuck!" Cinnamon gagged at the smell, looking in the bowl.
That was rat food. And Cinnamon was a guinea pig. Did these people know nothing? Inside the bowl was a mix of artificial colored bits, seeds, and pellets. Guinea pigs were supposed to have plain pellets. Timothy hay based plain pellets.
Cinnamon was taken out of the box and placed in a small 3.5 square foot cage. It was twice the size of the fish tank. Better, but Cinnamon knew that she needed more space. In Petco, she'd heard about the legendary C&C cages. These cages were huge! They apparently gave pigs a lot of space to popcorn and run laps in.
Be grateful for what you have. Cinnamon's mother's scent overwhelmed Cinnamon's nostrils. Cinnamon remembered her mother had died in the guinea pig mill. She'd had little to no food. She eventually died giving birth to Cinnamon's stillborn littermate.
"I'm sorry." Cinnamon said. The cage was lifted in the air and placed inside a room. She was left alone. She hurried into a hidey. "I wish that I had a friend here." She thought out loud.
Cinnamon muttered under her breath. She was thirsty. At least there was a decent water bottle. She chewed on the tip. Clean, fresh, water flowed into her mouth. She silently gave thanks for the fact that there was water there.
Red things were tossed in her cage. She came out of her hut, and sniffed the red things. Cinnamon had never seen these things.
"Those are peppers, Cinnamon." Cinnamon's father's scent flooded Cinnamon's nose.
"You... passed?" Cinnamon asked her father.
"Went to a home that gave me veggies, but not vet care." Cinnamon's father said.
Cinnamon purred, amused.
"But bell peppers are good. Try some." Cinnamon's father encouraged Cinnamon.
"I've never had them before."
"I know. Try them. If you don't like them, then you don't have to eat them again."
Cinnamon heard her mother's voice. "Just take a small bite."
Cinnamon took a small bite. Juicy. Cinnamon swiped her tongue over her teeth. Pretty good. Cinnamon took another bite, the pepper making a crisp crunch ans she bit into it.
"I wish one of my friends, especially Rainy, was here to enjoy this with me." Cinnamon complained.
"Humans can be pretty new to guinea pigs, though. Especially when they didn't do any research beforehand." Cinnamon's mother's voice was filled with scorn and disgust. "I never wanted my children to end up in a place like this. Rat food, small cage. I wanted my pups to have a better life than me."
"This place is okay!" Cinnamon defended her owners.
Cinnamon's father nudged Cinnamon's mother. "I overheard the people talking. They said they're going to get you a friend, Cinnamon."
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