From the moment he'd ventured back into the house the scent had sent him racing. His reflection in the cold brass struck him cold, his scurrying paws paused. Adrenaline, sudden caution, unbridled hunger, Maurice's heart hammered while his mouth watered. An excessive glob of fatty peanut butter called to him from atop its wooden platform. Something was wrong, he'd seen this thing before. Buried memories begged him to stop. Yet the smell, it serenaded him, lulling his reasoning away.
The salivating mouse had been pulled like a puppet, lassoed and captured, marionetted by the cruel hands of fate. Coursing through cracks in panelling, cruising along gaps of foundation, mazing around floor boards and wall studs, up ventilation grates to the corners of the kitchen. And there the strange contraption sat. Not on the counter, not in a cupboard, or the pantry he'd been raiding for the last week. A peculiar, imposing structure, coated in heaven. A forgotten smorgasbord, or perhaps, not so.
Maurice's misses rested curled and nested, safe at home. Cocooned in a cozy haven of insulation, cotton, and newspaper found in their forging. Their new sanctuary heaven sent. Warm, quiet, near ample food, and water. Right in time for their expected family. Their litter imminent, her needs more than met, it was only Maurice, and his insistence for the best that churned his inability to rest, or settle. A relentless zeal to provide, to prepare- all to his own detriment. He'd made countless trips back and forth, building and prepping, his excitement overwhelming any semblance of self care. One last take, he'd promised before he left. A find like this was astronomical, to squander it before the births, criminal.
Beyond the divine flavours, the sustenance of the treat alone could carry him and his Miranda until the birth of their children. Her joyful praise emanated from his daydreams, and tussled his fur. His whiskers twitched. A reward following venture after successful venture.
Yet, something still sat ill. To leave such divine food cast on the floor was out of order with the rest of the room. There was something wrong. He recognized the apparatus. He'd seen these before. Seen the trap. Seen their devastation on his friends, brothers, and sisters. These fickle devices maimed and murdered. Sometimes safe and dormant, other times not.
He circled about it. Smelling the fibres of wood, but the intoxicating wash of peanut's aroma overpowered. Maurice's eyes swam, and stomach sang. He knew it was safe when the metal was down. Though for the life of him he couldn't remember which side it needed to lay. Gentle, he tapped the wood to no response. No snap. Maurice ached. To risk injury would be as foolish as it was to walk away from the unguarded fortune. As if he'd turned his nose on a gift from God herself.
Maurice sat. Exhausted. Exasperated. Starving. A pawful. A morsel. A mouthful. A smackerel. A whisper. A taste, might bring enough of a gust to help him finish. After so many sacrifices, a surge of calories would allow him to leave the stores he'd collected untouched until everyone else in the family had had their fill. Could give him the strength he needed to persevere further to the pantry on this last trek. Clear his thoughts, focus on the final score. If he managed to grab the whole prize he and Miranda would be set for weeks.
But if things went south, if he made a mistake, there would be no one to take care of them. Miranda forever solitary. Alone when she needed him most. In the birth, raising their children, his promises of love left unfulfilled. There would be no one to help him, nor nurse him to health should he survive. Maurice hesitated.
His whiskers neared the tempter. Reason held her breath as he reached out a timid paw, and fate allowed a dot of peanut butter to grace the tip of his claw. His heart beat skittered even higher as his arm pulled back, safe with the taste.
Maurice's pupils dilated. The flavour ecstasy. He could hear Miranda's encouragement from the last days, begging him to rest. Internal greed argued away the memories, insisted there was enough evidence for a dud. The chance to get ahead, to prepare against weather and struggle, as impossible to ignore as the treat. So many families had played it too safe and floundered. Lost children for lack of food, lost family members for lack of opportunity. Providence's blessing placed a fortune next to their home. They needed but a little more.
He needed the win, the certainty that they'd be ok, Miranda comfortable. To prove her love, and faith in him correct. It seemed quiet, safe enough. Maurice knew the puzzle's mere existence marked a change regardless. More would arrive, from there, the poisons. If he walked away the doubt would antagonize him. Gnawing regret from leaving such caloric wealth and certainty, because of cowardice. Another paw pushed the trap again. No response. It had to be ok, things had been going so well, the fates must still be in their favour. His heart pounded, body ached, and stomach growled, drowning away reason. Focus quieted Miranda's caution. Time ticked. With a trembling jaw, wide eye'd Maurice was already trapped, between waiting for an answer- a path from mistake, and want.
Thanks for reading!
-Mr. Write