I awoke to the chilly yet calming breeze of morning. I lifted my head and wiggled my tiny nose in an effort to detect any unusual scents, but there were none. Just the warm, familiar scents of my mama and the tiny den I was birthed in. Its earthy smell and bitter tang of roots poking through the walls of the den always have their special way of calming me.

I've never seen the roots or the walls, though. I don't even know what my mama or daddy look like. All I know is their scents - my nose was my eyes.

The reason why I never saw anything but the darkness and my own dreams before is because I don't know how to open my eyes yet. They feel as if they've been glued shut, and each time I try to open them, pain shoots through my muscles making me cry out. I would only ever calm down whenever I heard the gentle, beautiful voice of my mother whispering gingerly in my ear, her voice sweet like honey.

"Don't fret, little one. You'll open your eyes when you're ready. Now dream, my dear."

I would always find myself smiling to her angelic voice as I cuddled against a large warm body that was my mother, her soft purrs and gentle licks lulling me to sleep alongside her ever so lovely scent of damp grass and earthy mushrooms.

I have always dreamed, and every dream I had consisted of what my surroundings and family would look like once I opened my eyes. They always seemed to look a bit different with each dream, but there was something each version had in common: their eyes. My mama's eyes were always a bright golden-green while my daddy's eyes were always a dark purplish-blue.

This always made me wonder: what do my eyes look like? Are they green like Mama's or blue like Daddy's?

This is one of the reasons why I long so badly to open my eyes one day and see the world, as well as learn what I look like.

And thankfully, that day came much sooner than I had thought - the day when I finally opened my eyes.

I woke up the next morning bright and early, excited to try once again to open my eyes and see the world. I was just dying to know what my mama and daddy look like!

Whimpering, I tried once more to open my eyes. The same pain shot through me again, but this time I didn't pull back. I was determined to finally learn what everything looks like, so I continued pushing myself.

At long last after what seemed like forever, my eyelids finally began pulling apart and I caught a small glimpse of what looked like... brown? Excitement racing through my veins, I pushed harder and harder and my eyes gradually opened wider and wider, and I could get a better look at what seemed to be the den floor.

I managed to open my eyes all the way and looked up. It was a brown wall with tiny rocks poking through, and the roots I've always smelled were there, too. They were stained with brown dirt, but underneath I saw they were blackish-brown.

Feeling myself grow more and more curious, I swung my tiny head to and fro, taking in all I could possibly see until it made me dizzy. I screwed my eyes closed tightly to try and rid the dizziness, and my ears perked up in surprise when I heard a soft and very familiar giggle. Mama!

I slowly opened my eyes and turned to look at her, and what I saw took my breath away. She was bright yellow hedgehog with white markings on her face and orange quills. She also had those same exact golden-green eyes I've always seen in every single dream I had of her. Just looking at those beautiful loving eyes brought a large smile to my face and I squeaked happily.

"Aww, isn't that just precious?" she giggled as she bent down to gently lick my forehead with her pink tongue. She smiled before gently kissing my nose, causing me to squeak and giggle. I then sneezed and rolled back before something soft broke my landing. Yipping in surprise, I looked up and saw a large and broad red hedgehog with darker red quills and purplish-blue eyes. I recognized his sent immediately. Daddy!

"Hey, now, no rolling away from your mama," he chuckled before picking me up by the scruff of my neck and padding back to Mama. He placed me next to her side and I snuggled into her warm fur, letting out squeaks of happiness.

"Isn't he wonderful?" Mama smiled, looking down lovingly at me as I buried my muzzle into her fur, trying to find breakfast. "He's playful, just like you."

"He's also beautiful like you, dear," Daddy replied, laying down next to us. "And look, he even has your eyes."

My eyes? I quickly looked up from suckling and gazed at Mama's eyes, almost becoming mesmerized by those beautifully gentle orbs of golden-green. I smiled widely, now learning my eyes were exactly like the prettiest I have ever seen.

"He seems happy for that, too," Daddy chuckled as he nuzzled my chin and belly, drawing squeaky laughs from me. "Aren'tcha, lil' dude?"

He let me up after a few seconds and I immediately went back to suckling on command of my hunger, but I stopped suddenly when I heard a different squeak - older than me, but younger than Mama and Daddy.

"Mama? Mama! Mama!"

Mama giggled and looked over her shoulder to her other side. "Yes, dear?"

"Lemme see, lemme see! Did he open his eyes yet? I wanna see him, Mama! I wanna see my baby brother!"

Brother? I have a brother? I stopped suckling and began the struggle of climbing over Mama's belly to the top where her quills are. After a few slips and stumbles, I finally made it to the top and looked down, and I squeaked in shock.

At the top I saw another baby hedgehog, but he was a bit bigger than me, which meant he was older, too. He had a dimmer shade of orange fur, brown quills, and green eyes than I did.

He grinned excitedly and climbed up Mama's quills with ease as if he's been doing it for years. He reached the top and immediately booped my tiny nose with his slightly larger one.

"Hiya!" he squeaked with a grin. "Ooo, your eyes finally opened! They look just like Mama's, only tinier and cuter!"

I heard Daddy chuckle as he padded over to us. He turned his gaze to me. "Lil' dude, I'd like to introduce you to your older brother Ecstasy."

Ecstasy? Somehow just hearing the very name filled me up with joy. I squeaked happily and pulled him in for a tight hug.

"He loves me! Mama, Daddy, he loves me!" Ecstasy squealed happily as he hug me back.

"Of course he does, sweetie," Mama cooed before blinking in realization and turning to Daddy. "Goodness me, I completely forgot! He still needs a name."

"Well, I named Ecstasy. Why don't you name this one?" Daddy replied.

"Okay, then. Let's see..." Mama turned to look back at me, and I saw her gaze shift between me and Ecstasy. "Hmm... You know, these two almost look like twins, don't they?"

"Sure! Once you get around the age differences and color schemes," Daddy joked.

Mama rolled her eyes in amusement before looking back at me, and after a few moments, she smiled. "How about we call him... Double?"

"Double?" Ecstasy squeaked before grinning at me. "I love it! I used to have a lot of fun on my own, but now with you at my side, we get to have double the fun!"

"Well, Ecstasy sure likes the new name," Daddy smiled. "But I don't know if Double does."

Well, it's not that I don't like it. It's just I feel something's missing from the name...

"Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!" Ecstasy bounced up and down. "How about we add something to his name?"

"Add something to his name?" Mama echoed, tilting her head off to the side in confusion.

"Yeah! Like... Maybe Double can be his nickname, but his full name can be another name!" He paused for a moment before grinning brightly. "Oh, I got it! When I was born, there was a lot of love going around, but now there's more love to be shared with Double when his eyes opened! It's almost as if it's double the love! So I vouch that his full name should be Double-Loved!"

"My goodness, you are a clever one, Ecstasy," Mama smiled. "But... I don't think-"

Oh, no, you don't! I love my full name! I cut her off by squeaking happily and hopping around, accidentally losing my footing on her and tumbling back down on her hind paw, causing the whole family to laugh.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I think he's much happier with this name," Daddy laughed.

"Well, if he's happy, then we're all happy," Mama smiled before using her leg to push me closer to her belly. "Our little Double-Loved. It rolls off the tongue quite nicely."

As I found where I could suckle again, I began thinking more and more about my own fur, my own eyes, and especially my own name. I absolutely love my new name. It has so much meaning behind it and Mama and Ecstasy both worked together to make it. I can't wait until I grow up so I can announce to the world my very own name.

Double-Loved Russell.