The Mouse Story by Suzanne
The Mouse Story contains language not suitable for young children. Parental Discretion is Advised.
Chapter Eighteen
“WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MY MOTHER??????????”
Morty Mouse sat down in the tall grass and began to sob.
“Someone… someone please help me. I need to find my Mother! ”
Morty watched helplessly, as the humans quickly carried out box after box, and sat them down in the grass next to the old truck. He watched, as the large man with the bright orange shirt picked up the boxes and stacked each one of them neatly inside the truck.
“Mother…. I’m sooooooooo scared,” he whined to himself. “I don’t know what to do... don’t know how to find you.”
Morty stood up and swiped away at the tears that were quickly trickling down his face. Then very slowly, he walked across the front yard; making his way towards the man… and the old truck.
There were boxes everywhere… and Morty sat down once again to think. As he thought, he curiously watched the man with the orange shirt, and couldn’t help but notice just how carefully the man was packing the boxes into the back of the truck. It almost appeared to Morty as if he were attempting to put together some kind of a giant jigsaw puzzle, as he stood there sizing up each individual box… hoping to find the best possible fit.
It was then that Morty got an idea. “If I can chew a hole into the side of one of those boxes… I could crawl inside. Then the man with the orange shirt would lift me high up into the truck and take me to Little One’s new house.”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m going to do,” Morty whispered to himself as he stood up.
“But… where is Mother Mouse? Where is Little One? Where have they taken them?”
It was then that the tears began to fall again. Morty tried very hard to ignore the tiny sobs that kept sneaking out from behind his throat. He nibbled away at the side of a box as quickly as he could, only stopping every now and then to wipe away a few more tears. As the hole became larger and larger, he found himself chewing faster and faster… and more frantically.
Just as he was about to slide himself into the hole, the box began to sway from side to side. Morty started to panic, and quickly tried to shove his head and shoulders through the hole.
“OH NO…,” Morty squealed as he frantically wiggled from side to side. “I’m stuck!!!!
As the box continued to sway in mid air, Morty pushed and pushed and wiggled and wiggled with all his might. Yet, no matter how hard he tried… he just couldn’t seem to push himself all the way through the hole. The hole just wasn’t big enough to accommodate his chubby little belly.
Morty could feel himself falling….and falling…. and falling… and then all at once, everything went completely black.
Mother Mouse covered both of her ears to block out the sound of the screaming baby. She really wanted to do something, but she knew that there was nothing she could do to help him, and she knew that her best chance of getting back to Morty was to stay right where she was; inside the pocket of the baby’s diaper bag.
“I’m sorry Little One,” she cried. “I’m so sorry that you are stuck here with that horrible old woman. So sorry that I can’t do something to help you.”
As Mother Mouse sat there curled up in the corner of the musty smelling pocket, her thoughts raced back and forth between Morty… and the baby. She was so relieved that Morty wasn’t there to hear the abuse, but a part of her was so worried and frightened because she had no idea where her son was. Every time she closed her eyes, she could see her hand reaching down towards Morty… and see the panicked look on his face as she was quickly pulled away from him.
“Poor Morty,” she thought to herself. “How am I ever going to find my way back to him again?”
“Where am I,” Morty whimpered as he opened his eyes. “I can’t see anything!!!!”
He very carefully reached up and touched both of his eyes with his hands.
“Oh no…..,” he whispered softly. “My eyes are open… BOTH OF THEM… and I can’t see anything I can’t see anything at all!!!!!”
Morty quickly sat up and waved both of his tiny hands in front of his face.
“HELP!!!!!!!,” he shrieked loudly. “SOMEBODY HELP ME! I’M BLIND!!!!!!”
Suddenly Morty could feel the earth beginning to move right under his tiny little feet. The next thing he knew, he was quickly flying backwards… backwards into nothing… nothing but darkness.
“Oh no…. maybe I’m DEAD,” he thought to himself, as his body quickly flew backwards into mid air. “That’s it…. I am dead. I really am dead.”
Morty landed on his back with a giant thud. He groaned, as a sharp pain shot through his entire body.
“Owwwwwwww…… that really hurt,” Morty thought to himself as he rubbed his lower back. Then Morty started giggling. “Well… at least I know that I’m still alive… because if I was dead… really dead… I probably wouldn’t have felt that at all.”
Morty sat up and reached both hands straight out in front of him.
“Ahhhhhhhhhh….. it’s a box,” he said as he turned to reach out in another direction.
“…and there’s another box…. and another… and another,” he whispered to himself.
“I’M NOT DEAD,” he giggled loudly. “I’m on the truck!!!! I did it!!!! I’m on my way to my new home!!!!
All at once, the giggling stopped and Morty could feel the tears beginning to slide down his cheeks again.
“But… where’s my Mother… and where is Little One?,” he cried to himself. “…And how am I ever going to find them again?”
Morty whimpered quietly to himself as he started gnawing a hole into one of the cardboard boxes. He chewed and chewed and chewed… as the old truck bumped along down the road. Finally, he was able to chew a hole that was large enough to slide his entire body all the way through. He very quickly climbed down towards the very bottom of the box and burrowed himself deep inside a huge stack of winter clothing.
“Well, at least I picked a cozy box to hide in,” he said as he laid down to rest.
Morty closed his swollen eyes, and quickly drifted off to sleep. As he slept, his dreams took him back to the old house; where he could clearly see the image of his father sitting on the living room sofa. His father was smiling at him as he peered up over the top of the newspaper and winked. Morty could hear himself giggle out loud, knowing very well what that quick little wink always meant. He knew that it was just his father’s sly way of saying, “Shhhhhh… don’t tell your mother that I’m sneaking out to go check on the human baby again.”
In his dreams, Morty could always see that little twinkle in the back of his father’s eye. That little twinkle that always reminded him of how lucky he was to have been blessed with such a sensitive and caring father. As the dream continued on, Morty’s world seemed so perfect… and so complete.
That is, until IT started to happen again. IT being, the screaming… and the crying… followed by the fierce snarls of a very angry dog. Morty stood by watching in horror, as his father’s image quickly disappeared from his sight.
It was then that Morty woke up crying, and realized that this was just another one of those really bad dreams. There were no human’s fighting, no babies crying, no angry dogs, and there was definitely no Father Mouse. Morty could feel the tears returning, and he had never felt quite so alone in his entire life. Everything he knew, and everyone he loved was completely gone. First his father, then his mother… and then Little One.
A huge sigh escaped from Morty’s mouth, as he reached out and gently pulled a piece of clothing up over the very top of his head. Then he closed his eyes as tightly as he could. As he laid there alone in the darkness, he began to search his mind from one end to the other… hoping to once again see that calming image of his father’s twinkling eyes.
