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Zack Mercer took a deep breath and gazed at his reflection in a puddle. Staring back at him was the face of a sad yet handsome 21 year old albino ferret college student. His fur was soft and white as snow and his eyes a brilliant shade of ruby red. His muzzle was a longer than that of an average ferret, almost twice as long and pointy and he had a cute pink nose on the end of it. The only articles of clothing he wore was a pair of jean pants with a black belt, a silver heart-shaped wristwatch and an open, sleeveless red puffer vest that almost matched his red eyes, much like the same vest that Marty Mcfly wore in Back To The Future. Zack wore the vest because it felt comfortable and he liked the pockets, his arms were thin and he hardly had any muscles to show off despite going sleeveless. Nonetheless, his vest only enhanced his pretty boy looks.

Many thoughts ran through Zack's head. The two relationships he thought he had fell apart. Vanessa, an otter had dumped him because she thought he was too soft and she was a bit rough with him during sex and Phil, a rabbit had cheated on him just because he thought the ferret was boring. Zack was bisexual and he believed that he could build a relationship with anyone he wanted. He was a hopeless romantic, blinded to the core and he would often spend many nights alone watching romance movies as tears streamed like rivers down his face. He was often nicknamed "Sad Sack Zack" because of how much he cried for a guy.

Zack was as soft as they came, he'd even choke up over sappy ballads from the 80s and slept with a large mass of teddy bears. He would write short romance stories in red ink and although he was very book smart, got straight A's in English and B's in math, handsome and kind, he lacked street smarts and physical strength. He was naive and easily taken advantage of.

In fact, he was very sickly as a kid. His albinism made him sensitive to sunlight and he would often wear sunglasses during the day to cut down on the glare. On top of this, he suffered from motion sickness and refused to go on rides at the fair due to his weak stomach.

The moon shone brightly in the night sky as the albino ferret made his way through the graveyard. Zack was terrified, he was a total scaredy cat at heart but he knew he had to brave the cemetery to see his dearly departed mother.

He hugged himself for comfort, his heart racing in his chest. Not even his puffer vest and white fur coat could stop him from getting chills down his spine. Hot tears stung the edges of Zack's brilliant red eyes but he blinked them back and sniffed.

It wasn't long before he stood at the grave of his mother. He took a flashlight from his bag and shone it on the grave's inscription: "Here lies Karen Mercer, mother, provider, caregiver."

A tear slipped down Zack's soft white cheek as he remembered the fateful day she died in that car accident. The ferret was only 8 years old when it happened and he kept bugging the teacher why his mother wasn't coming home. What made matters worse is that he lived in a single parent household. His father, Marc was locked away due to severe schizophrenia so poor Zack wound up in a foster home owned by a couple of porcupines, Brandon and Stacy.

Trying to quell the storm of tears, Zack spoke to the grave, "Hey, mom. It's me, Zack. Sorry to disturb you but the last few months have been awful for me. They say it's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all but every time I've opened my heart to someone, it winds up broken. Am I doing something wrong, mom? I wish you were still here for me...."

The ferret choked back a sob and wiped his nose on the back of his paw, "It's just so hard....having to go through all this. Vanessa dumped me and Phil cheated on me. I've never did anything to deserve all of this. I watch all those romance movies and they warm my heart and break it at the same time. It's so hard to describe all these mixed emotions. All I want to do is feel loved....."

"Someone to hold me, someone to make me laugh, someone to lick all my tears away when I cry, someone to share my very heart and soul with. So, where did I go wrong?" Zack peered down at the grave as if waiting for an answer. There was no response as he let out a deep sigh.

The ferret knew it was only a matter of time before he broke down so he tried to change the subject, "Do you remember that willow tree we planted when I was a kid, mom?"

Zack forced a smiled at the sweet memory, "It's all grown up and every day on your birthday, I go see that tree and sit under it. The family that lives in our old house now is real nice so they let me come over and see it."

The albino's eyes began to water up as he hung his head, "That tree reminds me of the good times......So many precious memories......." It was no use holding back any longer. The ferret burst.

"I just miss those days so much." Zack sobbed, closing his eyes, his warm, salty tears rolling down his muzzle and collecting at the tip of his pink nose. One by one, Zack's tears glistened in the moonlight as they dripped off his nose like rain and hit the marble grave inscription. Sobs wracked his slender mustelid frame as he fell to his knees and clutched the grass beneath him. He was expecting it to start raining any minute with the icy rainwater mixing with his hot tears but instead there wasn't a single cloud in the clear night sky.

After about 14 minutes of weeping, Zack pulled a handkerchief out of the pocket of his vest and blew his nose on it, coughing a bit. A few more tears trickled down Zack's muzzle as he got up and stared down at the grave.

"Sorry this meeting had to be so short, mom." Zack said as he knuckled a couple salty tears from the bridge of his handsome muzzle with his index finger, "But my foster family worries if I stay out too late. I can't really hug them since they're covered in quills and all, though."

"You really should look into grief counseling, Zack." A voice spoke to him. The ferret spun around and saw a male porcupine with hazel eyes wearing a white suit and blue tie smiling at him, "You can't live in the past forever."

Zack sniffled and tried to grin, "Oh, hey Brandon."

Brandon placed his paw on Zack's shoulder and smiled back at him, "I see you're still calling me by my first name."

A blush crept across the albino's snowy white cheeks, "S-s-sorry about that....."

The porcupine shook his head, "No, don't worry about it. You don't really have to call me dad if you don't want to."

Zack blinked back a few more tears and smiled sadly back him, "So, I guess it's getting late, huh?"

Brandon nodded, he could tell from the wet lines on Zack's muzzle that the ferret had been crying a lot recently, "Yeah, it's time to go, kiddo."

The ferret nodded wordlessly and followed the porcupine to his car which was a green jeep. Zack opened the door and got in the right-handed passenger side. A pine tree air freshener was hung from the car's mirror and he took a deep breath.

Brandon stepped in the driver's side, "I'm pretty sure you'll be excited that we're having cheese pizza tonight, aren't you?"

Zack nodded, trying to smile but his ruby red eyes were still sad, "Yeah. I only want one slice, though. Don't really have much of an apetite at the moment."

Brandon smiled at Zack, "All right, then. You can have the largest slice in the box, then."

The albino ferret nodded, "Thanks."

There was a long, awkward silence between the rodent and mustelid before Brandon turned they key to the jeep and they drove off into the night. Zack stared out the window the whole time, a sadness in his half-lidded albino red eyes. He thought about his mother's death, Vanessa's break up and Phil's cheating. He felt like an empty shell yet the romantic clung to the feeling that someday, someone would take him and sweep him off his feet and hold him close, never to break his heart.

Letting out a deep sigh and exhausted from so much crying, Zack shut his eyes and gently drifted off into sleep. He knew he was going to wake up by the time they got to the pizza place to meet up with Stacy and have dinner but however short the nap was going to be, he was sure to enjoy it.

The end.