One night my sleep was rudely interrupted by shuffling noises under the bed. At first I thought I was dreaming but the noises grew faster and louder, the more they did the more petrified I became. My bladder’s threats to empty its contents further frustrated me. For the love of God, what if I placed one foot on the floor and got bit or dragged off to a little world I never knew existed under my bed? What if a night prowler had crept in and hidden under there when I left the door open to go empty the kitchen bin? What if? What if? Jeez it was as if 50 cent had invaded my head and planted his 21 questions syndrome. I had no option but to wake my knight who was gently snoring away beside me. I tapped him, gently shook him, nothing….called his name, shouted it….he just mumbled. The pinch I delivered to his thigh jolted him up and he sat there eyeing me like a bloodhound. I hastily explained the situation, all this while the invader had gone silent. He dismissed me blaming the noises on the gecko that lived behind our fridge. With that I reluctantly tip toed to the washroom then dashed back and dived onto the bed.
The noises continued for a day or two, this time the culprit becoming brazen, going on with his noisy business even during hours when we were wide awake. My son’s diassembled crib and mattress lay under our bed and i figured whatever rodent was there had found refuge underneath them. Owing to the fact that I am a scaredy cat, I could not bring my shaky hands to pull them out. So I opted to wait on hubby to return and do it himself. Unfortunately that evening we had a slight falling out before I could mention the elimination. Being the drama queen I am, I magnified the disagreement a wee bit and found myself yelling that I would pack up and leave. He seemed unfazed, probably because I have issued that threat ever so often, even at the slightest of faults. Problem is I always wait for an apology, grow impatient and blurt the ‘I’m leaving threat’. Pray do tell, why is it so hard for men to say a simple Sorry? Anyway another day gone.
The following day saw me inviting a friend, Winnie, over for lunch. We whiled the rest of the afternoon away catching up before I mentioned the noises that had been keeping me up. She casually stated that my description was synonymous to a rat’s doing. Seeing as she was not afraid of rodents, she offered to help me get rid of it. We armed ourselves with a broomstick, pipe and metal rod. Immediately Winnie pulled out the crib I spotted a chubby furball scurrying across the room. I let out a long bloodcurdling scream and became an acrobat, jumping over racks and doing a triple flip onto the bed.
My neighbour heard the screaming and rushed to check on us. He joined Winnie in chasing after the evasive rat. In a few minutes the entire room looked like a tornado had ripped through. The rat eventually ran to the living room and the dragging of furniture began. All this while any sighting of it was punctuated by my now hoarse screaming (read croaking). The living room too took a whacking that even a vase broke in the process. The furball ran back to the bedroom and jumped into one open suitcase. Winnie shut it and with the neighbour’s help carried it outside.
We had been too engrossed in the rat attack to notice how fast time had flown, the sun was already retiring. My neighbour finally caught the rat, killed it and went off to dispose of it. Before we could carry the suitcase back in I heard my hubby’s voice behind us, “Honey I’m so sorry! Please don’t go.”
Winnie quizically eyed me just as he grabbed the case and dragged it into the house. He came back out barely a minute later with shock clearly plastered on his face. Evidently he had loads of questions regarding its state, questions that were answered when our neighbour walked up and proudly announced, “Nimetupa hako kapanya Mama Ayden.” I just laughed hysterically when it dawned on me that I had even forgotten my ‘I’ m leaving’ threat.
She is a young Kenyan lady; a wife,mother,friend and a lover of life. She believe in the ability to transcend to a beautiful imaginary world through the power of the written word. Live,love,laugh and learn through my experiences.
