Squeak.
The sound of a mouse atop the last riser to the stairwell. Seeing mice in prison is nothing special. An odd, yet not completely out of place small box rests near the wall. One end open, the other attached to a taut string that travels toward metal bars and into the darkness of a cell.
Awaiting at the end of the line would be a virtuoso of trap making.
Along the base of the wall, that mouse scurries around the deceptive blockade. The manque maestros heart races. He waits, fervidly anxious. The cell dwellers enthusiastically join the hunt. The vermin audaciously darts toward the cell, then abruptly deviates down the mezzanine. Vanishing.
As intrigue dwindles, another mouse gingerly emerges where the other one had, on top of the riser. The trap’s artisan apprehensively clenches the line. Eager. The craftsman’s astute cellmate vigilantly perks his curiosity. The mouse travels in the opposite direction. Discouragement loiters in the minds of the cells’ inhabitants. The denizen focuses in the direction the mouse had gone. The adroit trap maker awaits his victory.
Suddenly, the vermin dauntlessly dashed between the feet of the denizen and into the depths of the cell! Expeditiously, the three begin a muss. The denizen launches for the light switch. The instant luminosity of the cell curtly blinds the trio. Then, the vivaciousness commences.
The three huntsmen simultaneously drop to the floor. One, in an effort to create a barricade. The others, in pursuit of the vermin. The mouse furtively vanished. Momentarily, a surreal calm spreads through the atmosphere in the cell. The dwellers sprawl their bodies across the concrete floor, idling, waiting to react.
Atop a bag, a foot away from the denizen, in the depths of the dwelling, the mouse divulges itself. The hunt instantly becomes genuine. The cell dwellers motionlessly whisper to one another to pretend they don’t see their prey. The mouse collectedly sits on its perch, observing the spectacle, contemplating its liberation.
Without warning, the mouse leaps towards the cell dwellers! Arms flail! Legs stiffen! The vermin tumbles and bounces as if its tiny limbs were springs. Swat! Swing! The dwellers try bare handedly to catch it. Miss! The snare virtuoso blocks the exit. The mouse takes a final victorious leap and sails through the air, over the dweller’s arms and through the bars, into freedom.
The vermin evaded the shrewd attempts of the cell dwellers in a surreptitious way. Ultimately, they were embarrassed, being outsmarted by a small rodent.
Perhaps the mouse daringly went into the cell to mock the cell dwellers’ strive.
The fiasco comes to its end, just as fast as it had begun. The perspicacious denizen and the would-be connoisseur of mousetraps were defeated, but the experience gave a great reward. Mirthful laughter. Which could be heard echoing throughout the woebegone cellblock. The mouse was not the only one to experience freedom in those brief seconds. Many times in prison, the little moments can engender a unique serenity of liberation. Sailing our minds beyond confinement. Even when it comes in the tiniest form of a little critter.
Contact Info:
Joshua L. Karr #1986551
Estelle Unit
264 FM 3478
Huntsville, TX 77320
One Comment
How about rats… are they also common in prisons?