Charron Follins

The Lady and The Rat





 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
It started with a meeting in the bedroom between the Rat and The Lady. After being evicted from a home that he’s known for the last few years he was forced to find a new one. No warning, no opportunity to gather his belongings just pounding and digging, uprooting him from the only home he’s ever known. As if that was not enough Mrs. Rat told him he needed to find another home and find one quick, so he did what any rat would do and move in next door. However, he had no idea of the woman that lived next door.
 
He had seen her around and would sit outside and just watch her without her knowing of course and definitely careful not to let Mrs. Rat know what he was doing but I digress. Mr. Rat knew what he had to do so he said goodbye to his wife and went next door to check out the house and the family who lived there. He noticed some young kids and thought they would be a problem and let Mrs. Rat know and of course her response was “Rat, I don’t give a $&#@ bout no damn kids we need some where to live so get’er done.” After that he went next door.
 
He waited for an opportunity and made his way into the house without anyone knowing and hid in The Lady’s room. He watched her while she set to the table and studied into the wee hours of the night. Later that evening a friend came by to visit her and because it was late spent the night in the other room. Finally, she got ready for bed again with no idea that Mr. Rat was watching her while she did this. She climbed into bed and fell asleep.
 
Later in the wee hours of the morning she heard a noise thinking that it was her friend coming into her room, which she thought what the hell—however it was not the friend but Mr. Rat. She heard the noise and then felt something fall on her bed next to her and looked over to see a silhouette of Mr. Rat. She did not scream but threw her covers and ran to the other side of the house where the friend was sleeping. She gently knocked on the door and said “something is in my room” he replied what do you mean? “Something is in my room she replied.” He came over to her room while she stood at the door ready to run if necessary because she had no idea what the hell it was. The friend began to inquire more and ask “what do you think it was” to which she replied “looked like a squirrel and made a weird noise.” He looked at her with doubt that she saw anything and thought maybe she was dreaming.
 
After examining the room he noticed droppings which would indicate that something was recently in her room, so she is not crazy or exhausted. She said “I am not sleeping in this house until you find something other than us in here.” He jumped on the bed and moved it around, nothing. Then he looked under the bed and then at her, nothing. Still not convinced she saw anything he still continued to look and she piped up and said take the mattress off the bed and check the box spring. After, checking on top of the bed she suggested looking under, so she went to the kitchen to get a flashlight and heard something in the pantry. She stopped and walked backwards with the same fear and shock as Roy Schneider in “Jaws” when he saw Jaws for the first time and said to the Captain “you’re going to need a bigger boat” she told her friend “we are going to need bigger traps.” He then believed her and chased Mr. Rat out of the pantry with a broom while she jumped on the highest part of the kitchen counter yelling “what the hell is a broom going to do?” A broom are you kidding me, what the hell are you going to do with a broom against a rat this is not a Tom & Jerry episode this is real life you need bigger traps and bullets.
 
At this point the adrenaline was flowing and it was about 4:45a.m., suffice it to say everybody was up and ready to seek and destroy this rat. The Lady and her friend decided that someone needed to go get some traps while the other stay here and keep an eye on Mr. Rat, so she went and picked up the traps and was ready to catch him and end this before it started. Well…little did she know that she was in for hell week with Mr. Rat. She would come home only to find the places he had been. He opened up her new bag of Doritos spicy chili nachos and had them all over the floor as well as chewed through a baked potato she was going to cook for her son.
 
When she shared the story with others they thought it was funny and gross at the same time. Each day she thought this would be the day she catch the disgusting vermin but again he eluded her snares. She came home that day hoping for an end to the uninvited guest but apparently, all she did was feed him snacks which she provided in the traps, which made her angrier. She’s still squeamish with the thought of him in her house which was obvious to her when while hanging her jeans in the closet the bottom of the jeans rubbed against the top of her foot and she jumped and ran out of the closet.  Again she became angry that this thing has come into her house and caused such turmoil and frustration not to mention fear and disgust. She is home alone for the week and on spring break from school and now has to try and catch a rat.
 
Since she’s home alone the lights remain on and towels are placed under her bedroom door so that he doesn’t come in again. The first few nights she barely slept for fear that he would come back and also she can’t sleep with the lights on. The anxiety was major with all the thoughts that ran through her head such as okay if the trap gets him who’s going to remove him from the trap? Also, what if he gets back into her room how is she going to get him out? So, suffice it to say not much sleep was had. When she woke that next day she carefully opened her door and looked around with the hope of a dead body only to find the opposite. He had passed over the traps and just roamed the house last night; she knew this because of the evidence found in her son’s room.  
 
Mr. Rat continued to toy with The Lady for about a week. She came home one day and during her inspection found that he had been in the window, I guess signaling Mrs. Rat and planning to use The Lady’s grandson’s remote control car to get outside. She put the car outside in the garage and thought to herself what if this was a ploy to get him in the garage so that he can escape under the garage door to freedom. Later that evening while her son was in the garage he yelled that there was a rat in the garage trying to escape. Thinking this would end this saga The Lady chase the rat outside and back next door as oppose to killing him and breathe a sigh of relief that it was over. Her son asked should he remove the traps. At that moment she felt like the mother in “Old Yeller” when she told her son, after he wanted to let Yeller out of the pen, “no let’s give it one more day sometimes it takes awhile to see the effects” She stated to her son no let’s leave them just to be sure.
 
Sure enough the next day she woke up to find that this was Mrs. Rat trying to hook up with Mr. Rat who was still in the house. At this point, this problem had been elevated to Defcon-1 with no survivors. All exits were plugged and Mr. Rat was trapped in one place and The Lady along with her son suited up for war. She made homemade spears and poison gas (bleach and ammonia) and was determined to end this terror tonight.
 
The next day she was awakened by her son who yelled “mom he’s dead in the trap.”  The Lady was elated and told her son to remove the body and take it to the end of the street and let the animals devour the carcass.  
 
Her freedom was restored and she was able to walk around the house without the fear of this disgusting thing lurking about watching her. To sleep without towels under the door and without the lights on at night it was wonderful. It was such a huge burden gone and a huge lesson learned.
 
 “DON’T FEED A RAT SNACKS WHEN YOU ARE TRYING TO KILL IT”!
 
The End
 
Charron Follins – Author @2012
 

Todos los derechos pertenecen a su autor. Ha sido publicado en e-Stories.org a solicitud de Charron Follins.
Publicado en e-Stories.org el 01.05.2012.

 
 

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