Mountainous, Parched, Field Mouse, Time Travel, and Black Forest Gateau
This was, by far, the most random writing prompt I’d ever come across. But basically, the challenge was to write a story using these words.
Here goes nothing.
Deep in his burrow, he cracked one eye open. The faintest of light rays made their way inside his cavern, signaling the start of the new day.
Fighting the urge to go back to sleep, Field Mouse turned over, waking up with the biggest of yawns.
It was 5am; that much he knew. He also knew that the bowl of berries waiting on top of his kitchen counter started calling for him.
With a slap on the face, he finally got up for breakfast. After all, he had a Very Important Job To Do. New neighbors would be arriving soon, and he was the Project Supervisor for the excavation of their new home.
Now satisfied, he got ready for work. He put on his safety helmet, fumbled with his cheese-patterned necktie, and grabbed the site’s blueprint. Finally, he was out the door.
Where Field Mouse lived was a fairly mountainous area. However, he had to crawl through a series of tunnels for around 30 minutes, before reaching the evacuation site.
He surveyed the place, noting that the terrain was flatter. He was confident that he could finish the job in almost no time.
He went around the different designated areas, delegating each of the Worker Mice with all kinds of tasks. They immediately got to work, moving seamlessly like a well-oiled machine.
This is going to be a great day, he said, trying to psyche himself up with random affirmations.
Until a female voice interrupted his thoughts.
“Excuse me?”
Field Mouse turned around. To his shock, there she was: the least likely of clients, of mice, appearing like a vision.
Dream Mouse.
Almost instantly, he felt sucked into some kind of cosmic hole, as if he’d gone time traveling. In rapid fire motion, he saw a highlight reel of playtime with his childhood best friend; shenanigans when they were teenagers; then his heartbreak when she and her family moved away.
Once more, her voice interrupted his barrage of memories. “You’re the Supervisor?!”
He cleared his throat, suddenly parched, palpitating, and feeling every other symptom of nervousness. “Uhhhhh… yes, I am. I had no idea you were the one moving here!”
“Yes! Well, me and my daughter. My mouseband chose not to come.”
Field Mouse’s eyebrows shot up. But he chose not to probe any further. He figured she’d talk if she really wanted to.
True enough, she did; with a smirk, he realized that he still knew her after all this time.
“I know what you’re thinking. Yes, I did get married. But when it was time to start over, I knew I just had to come back here. Best Memories Ever!” she said lightheartedly.
Field Mouse had to laugh. “They sure were.”
“Hurry, sweetie! Your room’s waiting for you!”
It was finally Moving Day, and Dream Mouse tried to make it a day to remember. Even if her little girl dragged all four paws and tail, with every pull of her suitcase an act of Herculean effort.
“Yeah, yeah… coming…” said Little Mouse begrudgingly.
Dream Mouse wasn’t naïve; she knew her daughter missed her dad. But Dream Mouse also knew in her heart of hearts that someday, Little Mouse would come to love this place just as much as she once did.
She looked around her new home with pride. It wasn’t much; it was certainly a bit smaller than the one they came from when they were a family of three. But she was looking forward to adding touches that would make it homey and uniquely theirs.
He did a great job, she thought to herself. She took in all the details: the open plan that allowed their dining area to seamlessly connect with the kitchen, the living room, her master bedroom, and Little Mouse’s room. She couldn’t believe that her childhood best friend was in charge of this.
And that it took how many years for them to reconnect, under these circumstances.
Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door.
Standing on the other side of it was Field Mouse himself. “Just checking to see you’ve settled in?”
“Do you do this for all your clients?” Dream Mouse just had to say so, one eyebrow raised.
“Uhhhh…” he shrugged.
“I’m kidding!” she laughed at his discomfort.
“Whew! For a while there, I felt like there was a cat closing in on me.”
“Sorry about that. It’s been a day.”
“That’s why I come bearing a gift.” He brought out a box, which he’d been hiding behind his back.
“Consider this your housewarming present.”
“What?! You didn’t have to. I mean, you already did this,” said Dream Mouse, with a dramatic wave of her paw, sweeping against her home.
“C’mon, just open it. You can unwind with it.”
“Fine,” she relented. She pulled the top portion of the box open and peaked inside, bursting into laughter. “I can’t believe you remembered!”
Inside the box was her favorite cake, a Black Forest Gateau. It had seen many a childhood birthday, a late night movie sobfest, and the one thing she requested the same day her family left their wonderful life (and him).
(She even had one custom-made for her wedding, not that Field Mouse had to know about that.)
“Mom! Is that what I think it is?!” Out of the blue, Little Mouse ran towards the front door, her nose picking up that distinct combination of chocolate sponge, cherries, and cream.
“You bet!” Dream Mouse smiled, seeing her daughter perk up at this. “And meet the one who gave it. We knew each other from so long ago. In fact, he was the one who constructed this burrow!”
“Cool,” said Little Mouse, caring much more for the cake than her mom’s past. She scooped a palmful using her right paw.
To Field Mouse, it was as if he was looking at the smaller version of Dream Mouse; almost exactly like she did all those years ago.
And as mother and daughter started to argue about who would get the last slice, he wondered about the future. Because if his present consisted of a childhood friend, who was MIA for years, who ended up coming back as a home renovation client… who knows what could happen next?
/end
