Cassidy the Desert Tortoise has lived with me about 10 years. He spends part of the year outdoors, but every winter is spent hibernating under Ma's bed. Springtime doesn't arrive at my house until he comes trudging out from Ma's bedroom to eat at the cat food dish in the kitchen.

When Cassidy first came he brought his best friend with him. That was Chester, an older desert tortoise who was blind. Cassidy would wander all over the back yard, but Chester was more comfortable walking along the fence line. He liked having that solid safety on one side of him all the time. Cassidy would make frequent stops, though, to tell Chester of all the other things that were around them.

Cassidy is still here, as I said, but Chester didn't last with us long enough. I buried him under the pomegranate tree.

I dreamed about him three nights later.

He was very happy. He was able to see and he was delighting in that fact. He showed me his eyes. God gave them to me, he said. They were bright and shiny and clear. They were diamonds. He told me that God had allowed him to pick out any jewel there was to make his new eyes. I would have chosen emeralds for you, I told him. You would look beautiful with green eyes, I explained. But he assured me that diamonds were, in fact, what he wanted. Then he was on his way and that was the last I saw of him.

All turtles go to heaven, you know.