I had two guinea pigs when I was 12. One was named Edith, the other was Edgar. I was playing with them in the backyard one day and got distracted. Next thing I knew they were gone. A few weeks later I saw them in the neighbor's yard, in their vegetable garden eating the lettuce. I got so excited. I tried to catch them, but I couldn't.
I went back, looking for them, at first every day, then less and less often. I would see them once in a while. I stopped trying to catch them. I just liked seeing them. Watching them eat. They looked happy. I imagined they missed me a little bit, but were mostly happy to be free.