As for the brothers, well, life goes on as it always has. Of the two, Mim is considered the odd one out, what with his black and white fur and striped tale, and not to mention his odd shape whiskers of different sizes. But mostly it is his personality that gets commented on the most. Unlike his brother, Sim, who is practical, logical, and a very much down to earth mouse when it comes to life; Mim, on the other hand, is a dreamer, always looking ahead, not living in the here and now, not focusing his efforts on helping the colony. Mim has always been different, an odd cheese, as the saying goes, not quite fitting in with the norm. Of course, this attitude has annoyed Sim often enough, but Sim has a caring heart and is always looking out for his younger brother; keeping him out of trouble, even taking the blame for many of Mim’s crazy fur brain schemes. But Sim doesn’t mine copping the flak, after all he loves his brother very much, as does Mim likewise. And so it was on the day the dying rat showed up.                         

      Mim was sitting at his favourite spot, a mountain of trash that afforded one an excellent view of the lights of the long-legs city in the distance. Mim often came here to daydream and to ponder the thoughts that constantly ran through his head. The pressing one now for him, was what the world could be like beyond their home? Mim often thought of this, conjuring up all manner of imaginings, which is quite an extraordinary feat for a mouse to do. If truth be told mice are not renowned for their imaginations. The main concern for any up-standing mouse is their next meal and the survival of their brood family, or the colony. The rat that stumbled upon Mim, was a bull rat. Now rats in general were not fond of mice and the feeling was mutual, but a bull rat was the worst kind, big, strong, and wicked, who liked to feed on mice. The arrival of this unwelcome visitor almost sent Mim jumping out of his fur, in fact Mim froze at the hideous sight. The rat moved laboriously, breathing heavily, a festering wound in its side. Its piercing and unsettling black eyes bore into Mim.
     “Who are you?” a frightened Mim asks.
      “Rufus”, came the sharp, crisp reply, “I came from the city, bad, very bad things happening there.”
      “You’re injured,” Mim says, not knowing what else to say.
       “Rest, a moment, gather my strength.” Rufus plops his weakened body down. He has a long and hard look around at his surroundings, taking everything in, before once more training his deadly gaze upon Mim. “You here all by your lonesome?”
        Mim’s fur stands on end. There is a menacing undertone in the rat’s question. Real fear begins to grip the little mouse.
        “You’re a scrawny thing aren’t you,” the rat tells Mim, “not a lot of meat on your bones. What do they feed you I wonder?” Rufus sizes Mim up and down before continuing with his appraisal. “You really should eat more, you know, put some more meat on your bones. Oh well, slim pickings are better than nothing and then again, I’ve never been too fussy. In fact, you’re exactly what is needed for me to regain my strength.”
         The bull rat picks itself up and begins to move towards Mim with deadly purpose. A fearful Mim slowly moves backwards up the mountain of rubbish towards the top. In a sudden and surprising burst of speed, Rufus, increases his pace. Mim turns and runs, his little feet almost stumbling over the many obstacles in his path as bits and pieces of rubbish fly everywhere, threatening to hurl Mim off the edge at any moment. But Rufus is relentless, calling upon all his reserve strength he closes the gap between him and his dinner.
          With his heart pounding in his chest Min comes to a sudden stop at the top of the mountain and a dead end. There is nowhere else to go but off the edge, and to make matters worse the weight of the two rodents running up the mountain of rubbish has loosened its integrity as it begins to sway precariously and crumble from the bottom on up.
           “You’re mine now,” Rufus announces as he too reaches the top. “Don’t fret, I won’t even leave the marrow in your bones.” The bull rat lunges at Mim. The ground beneath their feet gives way. Without thinking Mim leaps off the edge as sharp claws take a swipe at him. Mim feels the wind of the claws behind him as they barely miss slicing open his back. The mountain of rubbish gives out, Rufus loses his footing and plunges with the garbage into the yawning abyss below.
           As for Mim, he continues to freefall, the darkness rushing up towards him.  Instinctively Mim stretches out his legs making his little body like a kite causing the on rush and updraft of wind to slow his descent and then through sheer luck he lands on a small outcropping nearby, and safety. The multitude of refuse continues to disappear along with the final cries of the bull rat. Exhausted, Mim collapses.
           When he awakens sometime later, Mim finds himself safe and sound in his own bed, made of soft, warm straw. Sitting opposite him watching, is his brother, Sim. Their home is made from an old packing crate which is just one of many such structures that resides in the small colony of Tambora. Light from the remaining stubble of a candle illuminates the room.
            A concerned Sim is filled with relief upon seeing his brother’s eyes open. “Mim, gosh you scared me. Are you alright?”
           “I’m fine,” he replies.
           “What happened?”
           The memory of recent events comes flooding back to Mim. He shivers. “Oh, Sim, you’ll never guess. It was a bull rat.”
            “A bull rat, here?” comes the shock reply from Sim.
            “Yes. It tried to eat me. It was wounded. It spoke about bad things happening in the city of the long-legs.”
             Sim thinks a moment before answering. “Are you certain it was a bull rat?” Mim nods. “Bull rats rarely venture out of the city.”
             “It’s an ill omen Sim, an ill wind that blows.”
              “Now, don’t go getting carried away, you know you’ve a habit of doing that.”
              “What should we do?”
               “Rest tonight and we’ll bring it up to the council in the morning. The main thing is that you are okay, and the colony is safe. You must stop venturing so far out before something bad befalls you. I do worry about you so.”
               “I’m sorry the way I am Sim. I don’t mean to be this way it’s just…oh I don’t know.”
                “It’s alright,” his big brother assures him, “get some sleep.” Sim extinguishes the candle and goes to leave.
                “Sim…I love you.”
                “Me too, now get some sleep.” Sim leaves to go to his own bed. Mim watches his brother disappear before he then settles down for the night. Very fatigued and drained from his encounter with the bull rat, Mim closes his eyes and is instantly asleep. Safe and sound in his own bed, all thoughts of gnashing teeth, sharp claws, black eyes, and spikey fur are gone; replaced with dreams of cheese.
                 Now, as to what happens next, whether real, imagined, or just a dream, will be a topic of debate throughout the rodent world for generations to come.

                   Copyright Peter Jessop © 2024