Four of the longest, most difficult, laborious months had passed by; and finally....
Finally!! Cheesy was starting to resemble us in size.
In our last week of the fourth month, he was doing the usual routine, but we refused to leave it as is. We turned up the heat even more, the forty push-ups were now fifty, twelve laps turned into twenty, and three climbs were ten. Every day at the end of it all he collapsed into a pool of fur, sweat, and pain, barely being able to move any of his joints. Mother still flexed his muscles at the end though, seeing that we weren't willing to do so.
He had to suffer. And, quite sadistically, it was a way of satisfying my sick revenge.
I hadn't forgotten what had happened in the Kitchen. I still felt how hard my heart was beating while I scanned every corner, every inch of the living room looking for him. I still remember how sore my throat was from calling out for him and hearing no response.
Thinking about it, a sharp pain stabbed me in the back of my head.
I still had headaches for how hard I was knocked back into the wall from dragging Chessy's behind off of that mouse trap.
Every. Inch. Of. Pain. He would receive back...
What made it worse was that we completely eliminated Cheese from his diet. Since that night Mother had refrained from giving in to her "Motherly Instinct" of spoiling him. At dinner time, the fragments of Cheese became smaller and smaller, until eventually, the Cheese vanished from his plate altogether.
During training, whether it was running laps, doing his upper body work or whatever, Cheesy would say the same thing over and over again, nagging us about it day after day. I wanted to blow my brains out, but I wouldn't. I was so close. Victory was right there.
So I tuned him out. I didn't listen, I didn't give in. I may as well have been considered a deaf rodent at that point.
"But Burrow, you promised. Look at how hard I've worked. I can run, climb, jump, I can dance even. Woohoo!! look at how skinny I am now" He would get up, waving his hands as he turned and twisted around, his tail up in the air.
"I've done everything that you two have asked me to do. All the push-ups, all the climbing, all the running. I've done it all!! I haven't missed a beat. You guys have seen my journey. I've come a looonnng way...Therefore why can't I indulge myself a bit???Why can't I, Cheesy the hard-working rodent, have some Cheese???" He glared between me and Sharp with hate filled intentions, no longer having the strength to put on his charade of weakness. He realized that no amount of buttery words or batting eyelids shook us, so he stuck to spite. Especially me. I saw Sharp have moments of empathy for him, but never did I.
''Moments of self-indulgence often lead to self-destruction. And with that attitude you'll never see another piece of Cheese again; I promise you that'' I commented. Cheesey's mouth was wide open, he rested his hands on his hips and looked at me in shock, sighing and continuing his eighth run. This went on for three weeks. We got up and he took his laps around the kitchen counter, with no cheese. He climbed the cupboards, with no cheese. Mother had cut his meal size down to veggies and fruit scraps, him still eating it as the day's activities exhausted his energy.
His double chin reclined, his belly subsided gradually, his underarms were no longer flabby.
He was one of us.
Cheesy had slimmed down two sizes, now he would have an easier time slipping through cracks, going under doors, squeezing himself through holes in the cupboard. Most importantly, his skills had improved exponentially.
Sharp and I were ecstatic to show Mother how far we had come with Cheesy's progress, so one night while we were having super, we got the weight rope and measured him in front of her. Even though it was obvious how much he improved, we wanted to show her in real time that we went through with our promise, and that we were ready to go outside.
The difference to then and now was astounding. A few months back, the bitten indentation on the mid-section of the rope where we marked Cheesy's size was big enough to wrap around Sharp and I from the last time we measured hiim; now she had to see how much further than that mark he had gone.
Sharp held the rope from its beginning, and I held the rope from its end, Cheesy in between us as he watched me going around and around him, tying it around his waist. I passed the indentation to the right edge of his waist while Sharp eased it into my hand, and I continued.
Carefully we wrapped the rope around his waist once, and then went around him another time, making sure to stack them on top of each other until it reached the red mark. Going around for the third time the rope finally reached the red indentation, ending right at the top of his belly.
"One..two..three" A smile of accomplishment spread across our faces, mine being the brightest. The rope, that could only be wrapped three times around Cheesy's body, could now be wrapped around him six times, which meant we had melted him down six times his size.
Seeing this, Sharp and I exchanged excited looks, me rubbing my hands together as I turned around and moved out of the way for Mother to see. She was sitting comfortably by the table, curious as to what it was her sons wanted to show her.
"Mother" I said, afterwards pausing for dramatic effect.
"We have an announcement to make. Brother Burrow and I are pleased to inform you, that after five months of training, Cheesy has shrunken down six times his size and is now trained and ready to go out into the world. Congrats to Cheesy!!! You did it bro" Mother Mince clapped and jeered happily, getting up off the floor and bringing all three of us in for a hug. She came out of the circle and looked at all three of us, her normally bulgy, jubilant eyes filled with tears while she covered her mouth. The three of us stopped, looking between ourselves curiously. Cheesy placed his hands on her shoulder and faced her directly, asking her why she was crying.
"It's just to see the three of you working together like this. Seeing how both of you came together as Brothers because you were worried about Cheesy. And now you've accomplished your goal. A Mother wants nothing more in this world than for her sons to work together in times of need..." the emotional mother ducked her head into her paws, not wanting her sons to see her in this vulnerable state. Sobbing noises began to escape from between her hands, she realized that there was a profound admiration for these three little rodents that she gave birth too, and she couldn't hold it back anymore.
"Now remember this. Love and Faith is all you bucks need in this world. If all else fails, once you have love for each other and Faith beyond what you can see, anything is possible" Mother grabbed us and enveloped us in her arms, kissing the top of our heads and rubbing us gently, as if we were newborns all over again that she had held for the very first time.
Sharp rolled his eyes and awkwardly patted her back, forgetting how soft Does could be. Cheesy had two of his hands fully swaddled around her waist, his eyes closed and a warm smile covering his face. I watched the both of them in their opposite reactions, a tender feeling stirring about in my chest.
Hmmmmm. Emotions were beyond me, but maybe, just maybe. I should embrace this moment...rising my paws above my head I wrapped my arms around Mother, closing my eyes and feeling the warmth and love that surrounded me. All four of us stood there in a huddle, wiping tears of joy from her face.
.......................
Night came down and Mother had gone fast asleep, but we stayed up; restless and elated about the day ahead of us. She promised us that once we had gotten Cheesy into shape we would go outside the very next day, and that had happened to be in the next few hours.
"The moment we step outside I'm going to find the biggest, tallest tree ever that's nearby, and I'm going to climb it! I mean to the very top, I'd touched the heavens if I could. And then I'm going to look out and everything under me will be way smaller than I am. Everything will look like Ants or little flies in comparison, so that would make me the biggest rodent in the world!" I clarified explicitly, standing up on my two feet and broadening my arms to show Sharp and Cheesy just how large the gap would be. They both exchanged looks and began to giggle softly. We were all trying to keep it down, to not wake Mother up.
"No its not like that Burrow, you'd still be a tiny little rodent no matter how far up in the tree you go. Besides, why would you want to go up in a tree that tall anyway, wouldn't you be afraid of falling down??" Cheesy asked. We were sitting in our cotton nesting's side by side of each other, Sharp and Cheesy sitting down while I stood in front of them.
"All our lives what has Mother said? That we are the smallest species in the world, that we are tiny and we should be careful. Well for once, when I'm at the top of the tree I will be the bigger one. I'll get to see all the places I can travel to next from there, and there are sooo many places to go, things to see and adventures to have! Aren't you all tired of rotting away in this huge prison of the giants?" I inquired. Cheesy and Sharp were happy that we were going out for once, but I got the undeniable feeling that I was ten thousand times more excited than they were. The two of them kept looking at each other and smiling.
" While you'll be climbing trees, I'll be out in the forest kicking butt!! These stories of fanged up hungry cats and birds that glide through the air with huge claws don't scare me. If anything, they excite me for all the victory I'm about to have!'' Sharp flexed the muscle on his left arm, rubbing it gently and kissing it.
"Can you imagine me taking down some nasty creature that's a hundred times my size? I'd have Does from left to right wanting to be with me. The ladies love a warlord. "
"Anywhoooooo-"I interrupted Sharp, shoving my hand over his mouth from scarring Cheesy's innocent ears.
"I'm tired of sticking in one place you know. I want to be free and soar and have the choice to go wherever I please. I've been wanting to step foot outside ever since I was a child. What's the first thing you'll do when you go outside Cheesy?" I asked. Cheesy scratched his head for a second, rubbing his chin. And then he smiled, putting up his finger readily, to give a response.
"I'll answer that for Cheesy." Sharp interjected, taking my hand from over his mouth and speaking out of turn.
"Let me guess. Your gonna climb to the tree with the juiciest, ripest, biggest fruits you've ever seen in your entire food filled fantasies, and then your gonna take a mouth filled chunk out of it. No?" Cheesy's mouth was still wide open, wordlessly, his finger pointed in the air.
"That's where your wrong Sharp! Therefore, you don't know everything after all. I wasn't planning to do that at all"
"Well what were you gonna do then?" Sharp queried, grabbing my curiosity as well. I was sure that that was exactly what Cheesy would have done, and I would've guessed the same thing. We both looked at him for the answer as he squirmed, twisting, and entwining his fingers together as his eyes moved from the ceiling to the floor.
"Uhh! Well..but uhm-" Cheesy muffled over his words, desperately grabbing for a lie on something else to say he would do.
"Well so what if that's the first thing that I planned to do when I go outside!! I've always wanted to taste fruit from off a tree. It's what I've dreamt of.."
"I knew it!! Ya greedy Buck" Sharp taunted, poking Cheesy in the side and laughing at him. Cheesy fanned his hands away and smacked him so hard it clapped.
Mother began shuffling in her nesting at the noise, her nose tweaking. Sharp slumped back into his bed and closed his eyes, Cheesy dived to his right beside Sharp's and closed his. I ran and ducked into my nesting, rolling on my side, and hiding my face away from the other two.
I waited. We waited. There were a few shuffling noises of her turning on her side and facing the wall away from us, as she routinely did at a certain time in her slumber. After that five minutes went by, then ten, and we got up again, sure that she was asleep this time.
"Keep it down this time why don't you??" I whispered, the three of us huddling together even closer this time. Sharp picked up the conversation from where he left off.
"So one brother wants to climb to the highest tree to feel like he's bigger than everything else. The other one wants to climb a tree to find the juiciest fruit. What a dilemma." Sharp shook his head and chuckled under his breath, wondering if him and his brothers were cut from the same cloth.
"Don't you two nimwads get it! Life isn't about climbing trees for being bigger or- eating fruits!!" Sharp switched his glare between me and Cheesy, looking at us wildly.
"Its about conquest!! War, strife!! This is the jungle. It's a jungle out there, and there isn't enough of everything. That's why we have to go out there and fight!! Take them down a notch and show them which species is really superior around here" Cheesy and I glimpsed each other's annoyed expressions, gazing back at Sharp and listening to his war obsessed notions.
"As far as I see it, Life is a game...of war! And the playing field isn't levelled right. So, when I go out there tomorrow, I'm picking the biggest, most frightful creature out and I'm taking him down!! It's the rule. You find the biggest, baddest one and you make an example out of them. Then, you know naturally as attraction goes, the Does will flock to me, and I'll make plenty plenty...a lot! Of sons and daughters to tell my tales of bravery for generations. As it should be" I continued staring at Sharp in disbelief of how proud he was of himself, almost wishing that I had that level of confidence.
"You do know that it won't be that easy right?" Cheesy asked rhetorically, Sharp looked at him with a scornful grin, folding his hands together pushing up his snout in the air. Then, Sharp did what Sharp always did, opening his mouth and shooting out garbage without even a slight thought of the repercussions of his actions.
"Oh hush! If it wasn't for me and Burrow, you wouldn't even be able to go outside" just as he said that Cheese's eyes widened, he rose slowly in disbelief, glaring at Sharp with the most hurtful expression. I sprung in between the two, holding Cheesy gently by the shoulder and pushing him back all the while.
'' What he meant to say..." I turned around and glared at Sharp for a moment, turning my attention back to Cheesy.
"We all came together as Brothers, we work together, eat, sleep and train together because we are a team!! We go as one into the jungle, and even though we may have our different agendas. War, food adventure, what matters is that we stick together. Right Sharp?" I turned around and flashed him another threatening look, he sighed and rolled his eyes, nodding his head nonchalantly.
"Yes, of course we stick together. No matter what" he looked up at Cheesy and gave a half grin, bowing his head and giving a thumbs up. Sharp only wanted the best for his Brothers, though he had a rough way of expressing his love in his catty, aggressive attitudes, he didn't want Cheesy to feel he was discouraging him, or even putting him down. He replayed how harshly that comment had come out and instantly, he was sorry for what he said. At that moment I sensed that Sharp became aware of how his words came across to Cheesy, deciding instead to lighten up and let him know that he was on his side. Cheesy's scowl softened, and he nodded his head in return, stretching his arms and yawning.
"My Brothers, we've stayed up long enough. I am sleepy" Cheesy broadcasted.
"I agree with you on that one Cheese miser. Let's get some sleep. Plenty of fruits on those trees tomorrow, and you'll need the energy" Sharp chimed in, putting his arm around Cheese's neck and ducking it under his arm, playfully rubbing his head.
"Goodnight Sharp. Goodnight Cheesy" I saluted. We went back to our separate nesting's that were lined up one beside the other, lying in our beds and going straight to sleep.
..............................................
THE NEXT MORNING
"Alright my Champions!!!!It's breakfast time. Can't conquer the World on an empty stomach!!" It was the morning for us to venture out into the wild, all three of us were seated at the table while Mother served us left over Bacon scraps, Tomatoes, and Bread.
I was rocking back and forth in my chair, beaming excitement. I was so giddy that one would have sworn I was a child being rewarded with candy.
I couldn't believe that this was happening. Here, right now, at this very moment.
Mother Mince was finally letting us go outside. After all this time had passed from us being babes, to us being grownups, she was finally allowing us to go into another world, to have another experience, one that I never had before.
One that I always dreamed of having.
"Now, I want the three of you to listen to me very carefully as I say these things'' Mother sat down at the end of the table, her paws clasped together, her lips disappearing into one, tight line. Miniscule holes began showing themselves above the two spaces at the top of her clenched eyebrows, her whiskers fluttered.
Those pair of warm, sympathetic, honey hued eyes that made me want to give her nothing but love and affection, were gone. They were replaced by dark, worrisome spheres of solemness. She was silent, doing that annoying thing she did where she shook her feet below the table, nervously.
We stopped eating, giving her our undivided attention.
"That world you are about to face outside of these walls is amazing. It's beautiful, grandiose. Frankly, it's the most magnificent thing that I had ever seen. And it probably will be the most amazing thing that you will have experience. But know this" She positioned herself forward, leaning off the table and standing up above us.
"The outside will teach you some of the hardest lessons in life that you will ever learn. You'll be beaten at every corner, battered, knocked out, lost, hungry even...there will be days where you think you'll never see the rise of sunlight, or taste food ever again, cowering from those who are a hundred times stronger, faster, and better than you. But you will get up. Because you must live by Faith. By hope. By togetherness, by love. And if you don't, you won't survive." Something pinned me in the bottom of my stomach when Mother said this, an unpleasant, unsettling feeling, like my food hadn't quite lodged itself into my stomach. My eyes wandered to my brothers' whose looks of worry matched mine.
Mother had never been this serious before, her tone sounded so .... gravelly, like this would have been a life-or-death decision. It was.
I didn't care though. She tended to be traumatic about almost anything, as I supposed was a natural thing for a mother to be. Besides, this was the first time we were stepping foot into the world. We were broadening our horizons, expanding our boundaries, daring to press forward, this was to be a time of joy and fulfillment! We wouldn't spend the whole day outside; she was just taking us out for a moment.
She made it seem as if things would go catastrophically, terribly wrong, and that the world would end if we were to even so much as breath in the outside world.
"Everything's going to be perfectly fine Mother. The three of us are looking out for each other, like you taught us too" I assured her. She smiled, and with all those things said we finished up eating, washing our hands, and gearing up to go out.