I have a headache from crying.
Matilda has gone to earth in the garden apartment, probably back in bed and sorrowful. She always called Marcie, "My love." It was Marcie she picked originally and Prubs, the runt got scooped up after.
When Matilda held Marcie she liked to run up Matilda's shoulder and hide her face under Matilda's hair.
Guinea Pigs are weird. They're so dumb, but they still have such distinct personalities. Prubs is much more social, and came to the front of the cage eagerly to eat from your hand. Marcie was very grumpy about being picked up and chuddered with annoyance any time her butt got touched.
But Marcie was the one I'd hold on my shoulder in my old nerdhole, with the back door open. Marcie would lift her nose to the breeze and seemed rapt with the smells of the outside world. Prubs had no such interest.
And Marcie was a rare Guinea Pig who chirped and sang. I caught it on video a few times. Very pretty like birdsong. I think she sang out of longing for a mate that would never come. She was a very pretty pig, fat and glossy. Genuinely rather elegant (despite one eye that was slightly cocked and always looked alarmed).
She was a fussy, grumpy, elegant pig who sang with longing and yearned for the world. And she felt safe hidden under Matilda's hair.
I found a shovel in the back yard and found a corner I could dig up. JZ found a pretty bit of fabric to wrap her in. We'll place a flat rock over her grave and paint her name on it.