Beginning
~Beginning~
Abner halted in his steps when he realised the homo sapien was staring at him. What amazed him though was there wasn’t any malice or hatred in the human boy’s eyes while he held the tiny snack towards the rat. They tend to play tricks so Abner had doubt while he drooled over the cheese piece.
“Pss! Abner, what are you waiting for?” his brother, Roscuro called urgently. He among the whole rat community was the conscious one, always worrying about being caught by the humans. Roscuro was hiding behind a cereal box on the shelf anxious his brother might not make it so he tried to stall the human boy.
He knew Abner was infatuated with the humans although they weren’t trust worthy. Who would trust someone who murdered their mother? Maybe a fool but not Roscuro.
“Come on!” he insisted and Abner broke out of trance then bolted and entered the hole. It was a passage their mama discovered while borrowing from the humans. The rats wouldn’t want to call it ‘stealing’ because they believe they’ll return the favour one day.
“Don’t do that again!” Roscuro complained but Abner wasn’t listening. His attention was on the human boy who was staring at the hole with hope that the rats might return.
“He is different,” Abner thought out loud and his brother frowned staring at the human boy leaving. He almost lost his temper that instant because Abner didn’t get it.
“Don’t trust them,” he warned, “they are the reason-mama-”
“I know Ros,” Abner cut in when he realised his little brother’s mood had oscillated to sorrow. “I’ll be more careful next time.” With that, they set off. On their way to the hideout, they met Mr. Whiskers, a mouse. He is the leader of their community but the tiniest. His size meant nothing to him though because even the small can do big things.
Abner’s physique is similar to Mr.Whiskers’ because he is also tiny with a long tail like a mouse’s so he’s an outcast among the other rats. They treat him differently. His brown-whitish coat makes him outstand them all.
“What do we have today?” the other rats gathered around the food stuff they’d collected from the human’s home.
“Oh you remembered the cheese!” they drooled while Abner hang onto the small cheese crumb he’d fished from the fridge. They could take the rest of the food but not his cheese.
“This is mine,” he said although the stronger rats wanted to take it forcefully. Abner loves cheese, mind, heart and soul. Although the coldness in the fridge was almost hard for him to bear, he didn’t give up so it was unfair to just give them his cheese.
“We want some cheese too,” Colton, one of those who despised Abner’s nature spoke up. He knew how much his physique intimidated the tiny rat so he stood straight on his hind legs and towered over him.
“No,” Abner begun to fret as soon as he saw the bigger rat. Luck was on his side, Roscuro came to the rescue.
“He said no so back off,” he asked angrily and the group set off causing Abner to sigh in relief before thanking him and sharing his cheese with him. Roscuro’s eyes twinkled and he vowed to do anything for his family.
~~
