Meanwhile, Sharp trudged through the peephole, his head held high, the mint bush snuffed between the two incisors of his mouth.
"That's right. I got the bush this time, I'm the one who's going to help Mother. I'll show that cocky prick he isn't the only one who can get things accomplished around here..." Sharp affirmed to himself quietly. He placed the mint bush down, washing his hands in one of the water buckets, and made his way over to the biggest cotton padding where Mother was nestled on, resting peacefully.
Sharp took his paw, turning the back of it and pressing it gently across her head. She was feeling even warmer now, her temperature increasing since they left her this morning. Suddenly, he realized something.
"Cheesy??? Where are you?" Sharp swiveled his head, turning around and looking for his brother. He wasn't there.
"That irresponsible cheese snubbing bastard left her by herself?? I told him to stay here until I get back" he hissed. His anger flared up, having the mind to march back out and grab Cheesy by the throat. What if something had happened to her? What if she needed something?? She would be left to fend on her own.
"That damned idiot...tch. I'll show him when he gets back" He shook his head deciding to push the issue to the back of his mind until the both of them got back, focusing on the treatment of Mother .
Taking the Mint bush, he crushed it up into his hand, tearing and ripping it into such small pieces that it was chewable for consumption.
Sharp scurried his way over to Mother with the crushed leaves, sitting down quietly by her side.
"Mother, you can stay exactly where you are. I'm giving you the mint bush now. Everything is going to be just fine" he reassured; The sleepy Mince answered with a mindless mmmhmm, sighing deeply and nodding her head.
Sharp took his hand and slipped it underneath her chin, lifting her head gently and resting it on his lap. He felt how hot her chin was and was happy that he got back in time to give her the bush. Hopefully her ingestion of it would cool her down, else she'd die of overheating.
"Don't worry Mother, I'm your son, Sharp. I'm here for you too, and I'll make you feel better" he whispered, gently stroking her forehead.
"Open wide now, please" he spoke softly. She followed his instruction, her eyes still closed, only barely conscious.
The sick Mother barely opened her mouth, Sharp taking a smidgen of the crushed-up mint and placing it on her tongue. Mince took her time in chewing it and as soon he got the hint that she had chewed and swallowed everything properly, then he placed another clump into her mouth, feeding her by bit and pieces until the portion was almost finished.
He rested the back of his hand on her forehead to gauge again, her temperature still being high, but having gone down slightly than what it was before.
"Wow, its already working." Sharp was beaming with joy now, glad that the medicine had already been taking effect. Mother would be back to normal in no time, and she'd knew that he was the catalyst for this change. He smiled, stroking her head and giving her one more kiss between her ears.
Sharp knew that he had no choice but to put on a brave front for his family. He didn't want them to think he was afraid of anything, at all. They needed to trust in him, and if he was destined to be a future general, he had to inspire courage in his army of bucks.
But he could be soft, sweet, and vulnerable when he needed to be, especially once it came on to his heart, Mother Mince.
He looked beside him at the one clump of mint bush left, taking it into his hand and gently parting her mouth.
She opened, chewing it slowly and breathing. She began grumbling something under her breath, speaking so softly that Sharp had to ease his head down to her mouth to hear her.
"Mmmmm..these mint bushes, they are so good. Thank you for feeding your Mother, Burrow. I knew I could rely on you. I Love you"
As she whispered that Sharp felt a heaviness moving around in his chest, the bitterness he felt was slowly morphing into deep infuriation. He took his time and eased her head off of his lap, slipping away from her and standing up. She laid there, unbothered and resting with a smile plastered across her face.
"Even when I do something great, she still gives him credit for it. All she'll ever see, is Burrow."
He turned his back and walked away; his fist balled up.
...............................................................................
They were laughing, all of them.
Mother Mince, Cheesy, and Sharp were a thousand miles away from me.
The setting was the same. It always was.
All three of them at the table, sitting and eating together in this vast, wide field filled with Flowers. Cheesy running around the table as Sharp threw food at him, Mother's face shinning with a huge smile. Cackles of laughter echoing throughout the air with all the synchronicities of happiness and serenity surrounding them.
The blue, clear sky. The fluffy white clouds. The fresh breeze. The variety of flowers in their vibrant blues, whites, purples, lavenders. The rainbow that arched over their heads.
And there I was, watching from a far. I was deep in some kind of valley, looking on from below.
Thirsting for just a drop of Heaven's precious Honey and Milk, while I rotted away in my lonely Hell.
I didn't get it.
Why was the sign always the same? Why was I the one to always be by himself in these dreams? While they laughed and communed a on separate side?? Why did I have to watch them from a far instead of joining them???
I looked up at them with tears in my eyes, and a heavy feeling in my heart.
"Motherrr!!! Cheesssyy!!! Shaaarrrpp!!!!!''
"Why can't you heaaarrr mee!!!!!!!!!!" trembling hands reached up to the sky as I wailed out in the air, my voice breaking into a loud outcry, dropping to my knees. I couldn't take the loneliness anymore.
Suddenly, the place turned pitch black.
All the flowers, clouds, rivers, mountains; Anything that represented any form of beauty that we were once surrounded by, vanished.
It was just this huge space of black nothingness, the black so real that it felt tangible. Palpable.
I looked on to where the three of them were, running up the hill but being dragged backwards.
I ran towards them, got dragged back again. I continued, the same thing happening.
I kept running and the further on I ran, the closer I got, the further I was, away from them.
Then I woke up.
Eyes opening slowly, I twitched my paws and wiggled my toes, feeling the life come back into my body, inhaling to take it all in.
It was just a dream. A silly, meaningless, stupid, time-wasting illusion that meant had no meaning, no impact on my real life that I was living. Dreams were fallacies, made up from fears that ruminated the mind. Logic however was something that never lied to me like these false situations did, and for that I was forever grateful to it.
I stretched and got up, lazily poking my head out of the basket.
Bringing myself up I grabbed the rags that were covering my head, shoving them one side and sitting up at the edge of the basket, looking down at the disarrayed room, filled with its barrels of dust, and scrapped fragments of tattered material.
I sighed, disgusted at having fallen asleep in such a place. I was a rodent, and not even I would persist in these conditions if I didn't have to.
Most importantly the Cat was nowhere in sight. No where around the barrels, the closet, he was gone. The door was creaked open even more than it was before, looking more and more like an invitation that To-mas took, to walk away.
"Okay it seems the cat is gone. It's time for me to go and check and Mother. I'm gonna kill Sharp when I see him..." I bragged to myself, going over to the side of the basket and jumping out, trudging my way across a few rusty metal screws all over the floor, wading through cobwebs.
"Yuucckk..this place is gross" walking my way by the frame of the derelict closet top, my eyes peeped over to the view, that was at least a hundred feet plunge.
"Phewwww..that is a lonnnngg faaaalll" I said outloud, looking over the closet and estimating.
"It certainly is"
A whiff of hot air blew on my ear;
Somebody said something behind me.
Whipping my head around to the disembodied voice, I turned to see two dark, fine slits peering back at me with ultimate focus. It was the Cat, waving his tail mischievously and grinning at me.
Seeing him appear out of nowhere, I was startled and fell back, losing my grip from the edge and falling off of the closet.
Suspended into the air; I saw this satisfied, fulfilled smug smile slathered all over the puss's face, him smiling delightfully at me as I fell.
"Drats!!!" I screamed, gritting my teeth. I attempted to flip over and hook my claws into the closet, banging my head against the wall instead.
I continued my descent into the air, falling so fast that I didn't have the momentum to grab anything.
The wooden walls flashed before me in rapid succession.
I watched everything pass me. The opportunity to grab the wall before me failed miserably, plus I was tired.
Suddenly, the sensation of my body going through the air stopped, something gripping me around my hand.
I realized that I wasn't falling anymore. My body came to a halt.
Looking up I saw Chessy's face; his hand and feet hooked into the side of the broken-down closet, his other hand holding on to my wrist for dear life.
"Don't worry Brother Burrow!! I've got you!!!"
...............................................................................
Cheesy and I had climbed to the very top of the other closet to the end of the room, that was filled with clothing that hung from thin, metal triangles. We were hiding behind some tethered clothes and old jewelry, on a sturdy wooden board, looking down and watching out quietly for the cat, who was still roaming about.
"You know that cat is certainly a determined one. It's been quite some time now, and anyone else would've given up I'm sure" Cheesy whispered to me.
I continued looking down at the cat, silently ignoring him. If I said anything to Cheesy at all, it wouldn't be pleasant.
Cheesy had deliberately disobeyed my order to stay behind and look after Mother, sneaking out and coming to look for us because he worried that the Cat had gobbled us up.
"I was going to get water from the bathroom, but I got worried about my brothers, so I decided I would just look for you guys for juuuustt a minute and go back. When I came out I saw you two turning to run from the Cat so I had to run into the storeroom before anyone saw me. But it just so happened that you ran in here too..." he explained.
I rolled my eyes at him, shaking my head and minding the business of my stakeout.
Sharp and Cheesy were continuing to do whatever it is they wanted despite Mother having left me in charge. What sense did it make for her to do that if no one listened to me???
"All the time we've been living here in peace, now the dummy giant decided to get a cat. Can you imagine the horror Brother Burrow? Right as we were to go out the Giant decided to bring a cat in, just as we were on our way to the door. Talk about terrible timing. " He sighed with a pronounced expression, resting his hand on my shoulder. I turned to him slowly, looking down at his hand in disdain. He laughed nervously and took his hand off of me, sensing that I was livid with him being there.
It got silent again for a while.
Then he started talking again.
"You know... what we are gonna do?? Now that-"
''Cheesy would you just can it??? I'm trying not to lose the whereabouts of the cat and you're distracting me. I can't focus with all the endless blabber all the time. Yes yes the cat came when we were leaving, we all know this get over it." Redirecting my attention to what was in front of me, I huffed and turned around, continuing to be alert. To-mas was still sniffing behind the barrels.
"Woow. I was just saying how inconvenient it's been for us. Jeez you don't need to be so temperamental about it..." He commented.
"Well I don't need to be but I am cause the two of you are the most irresponsible rodents' I've ever seen. Why are you here when you should have been watching Mother??? "
"Brother please don't get upset. I know I should have been at home but what if I weren't here to grab your hand before you fell to the floor??? Burrow that fall would have seriously injured you-"
"I would have to deal with those consequences then, wouldn't I?" I hissed.
As I said that the muscles on Cheesy's face relaxed, his usually goofy smile being wiped away like dandelions in the wind.
"Hmph..okay." He folded his lips and sighed, settling down and saying nothing else.
I sighed in relief, glad that he finally decided to shut the hell up. Instantly I went back into my head, trying to figure out the same mystery over and over again... how in the hell did the cat climb up so fast without me knowing. When did I fall asleep??? And to be saved by ...Cheesy?? This was the second time he saved me, and I was not used to that feeling.
Nor did I want to become used to it.
To-mas may have caught me slipping, but, this time, I refuse to take my eyes off of him. I gave myself grace for falling asleep because, understandably, when one responsible, logical person is trying to hold up two, short sighted nitwits; it drains and burns so much energy. My lack of focus may have caught me off guard, but I promised myself that I would not allow that to happen.
"Hey Burrs can I ask you something?" Cheesy still had the guts to inquire, breaking my train of thought. Rubbing the temples on my head I wondered how I hadn't grown any wrinkles on my face for the stress of having to babysit a toddler. Still, he had the right to ask his question. I only hope that it isn't a stupid one.
I sighed deeply, bowing my head down to the board.
"Yes Chessy? You can ask your question" I said reluctantly.
He nodded, then proceeding to ask.
"Why are and you and Sharp in this weird competition to see who mom likes the most? It's almost as if you're both in a race or something" he asked.
I laid there, on my side, puzzled at what he just asked me. The words coming out of his mouth sounded so strange when he worded it the way he did, almost as if he were speaking another language.
Me??? In a competition?? With Sharp???
Huh???
Twisting to see Cheesy's nonchalant face, I squinted my eyes, hesitating to answer such a ridiculous query.
"Annnnddd just what gives you that impression Cheesy?" I asked, curious for his answer.
Cheesy started to wrap his tiny pink fingers around his whiskers, playing with them and looking to the ceiling, searching for how to frame his answer.
"It's obvious Burrow. You go out of your way to do anything for Mother to make sure she's okay. You get praised for it. For example, this morning I overheard Sharp telling Mother that he was going to prove to her that he could become responsible just like you, that's why he went out to get the Mint Bush before you woke up."
Prove to Mother that he was more responsible than me???
I pushed myself off of the board, half of my body up.
"Sharp..said something like that?"
"Yes he did. I was in and out of sleep when he said it" Cheesy explained.
Hmmm. So he was keeping tabs after all..Sharp was always one to keep some imaginary competition with me that I was never aware of.
Why did he feel the need to do that??? Weren't we all on the same side??? Trying to help Mother recover from her attack?? It didn't matter anyway.
Between the three of us Mother knew I was most responsible. I was always the one stopping us from making foolish decisions or saving someone's ass. I really tried not to get involved with Sharp's lunatic ideas but sometimes he got on my nerves. Either way, he'd only hurt his own feelings. I'll continue to look out for Mother the best way I know how, and if he had a problem with that that's his issue, not mine.
"Cheesy stop talking nonsense. I'm sure Sharp doesn't view it that way" I lied.
'' Burrow don't sit there and pretend it isn't true, you and Sharp have been racing for Mother's approval ever since you were smaller"
"Nonsense."
"No-nonsense?? You remember that time when we first went out to the cupboards in the Kitchen and Mother sent you both to go get as much rice grains as possible??? You and him used to argue about who had more"
"That was a long time ago Cheesy, we were pups. I'm not in a competition with Sharp. I'm just trying to get whatever Mother needs because she tells me to. I don't think Sharps' competing either well I don't know if he is- "
"He is. You just don't realize it perhaps." Cheesy added matter of factly.
'' And why is it that whenever Sharp does something he's overlooked but you get the credit for it?? Even when he does a really good job???"' Cheesy added. I looked up at him, my mouth dropping open, appalled.
"I- I don't know what you're talking about! Wha- what does that even have to do with anything anyway????I- I jus" I couldn't grasp the right words to say, shocked that he was even intelligent enough to make such an observation. Cheesy's eyebrows were hiked in skepticism, his body language verbalizing that he was judging me.
Mother giving me the credit for what he did?? I had never noticed her doing that. She made it a goal to congratulate whomever on whatever accomplishment they made. Where were Cheesy and Sharp coming up with these fallacies from?? Were they sitting and discussing these made-up stories??? I expected better from Cheesy than to storm up rumors.
''It's starting to look like you want all the glory for yourself... maybe keeping Sharp as the crazy, chaotic one so you can soak in the glory of being the responsible sibling...'' Cheesy muttered under his breath, loud enough for me to hear.
'' I do not! How could you say something ridiculous like that!! '' Just as I protested against that, my mind flicked back to the cat. I realized that an extended period had gone by without my giving full attention to what was going on.
Tearing my eyes from his gaze filled with puzzling questions I clocked down at the expansive room. I checked the barrels; the cat wasn't there. My eyes swerved to the door, which he wasn't either. Soon I realized he was nowhere to be found.
"Cheesy where's the cat? You distracted me so much I lost track of where he is" I got up, looking over at the barrels again in disbelief. No cat.
The room was empty.
Cheesy rose and stood beside me, looking on as well and seeing that there is nothing.
"Maybe he got tired of us and left. The Giant does feed him alot of food sooo let's make our way back home-"
"No!! we can't move so fast yet" I disagreed. Just because we weren't seeing him didn't mean that he was gone. That feline was bound to be somewhere close by...we just had to wait.
Had I been paying attention I would have known exactly where he went to hide. But you know Cheesy. He had to be a stumbling block wherever he went...
"Dammit Cheesy! You and your insistent blabber threw me off. Where is that damned puss now?? I lost track of him" I felt myself spiraling now, not knowing where the cat had gone. Cheesy was looking everywhere too and there was no sign of him.
"Maybe we should just go before he pops up again Bu-"
"No! that's exactly what he wants. We can't just go and we don't even know where he is. He could jump out at us anytime" I warned.
Moving from Cheesy I began tugging on the furs at the top of my head in frustration, wanting to walk up and down but not being able to, all the old rusty screws and rummage blocking my path. Cheesy looked on at me standing in the middle, he shook his head and turned around.
I peered back at him as he watched me.
"Don't look at me like I caused this. Nobody told you to leave Mother and come here to play superhero. I swear it's like you all refuse to listen to anything I have to say..." Taking my paws form my head I slumped down on my knees, sighing deeply and laying flat on the floor. Cheesy stood above me, his hands folded, looking down at me.
"You and Sharp have to realize that they are consequences for everything that you do. You came here and the risk of that is if Mother needed anything at all, she was facing complications who would be there to help?? No one."
Cheesy rolled his eyes at me mentioning this for the hundredth time. I didn't care. He needed to be aware of just what the hell he had done.
"Oh come on Burrow it's not like she's alone right this very minute. Sharp is bound to be there with her as we speak"
"That's not the point. Sharp goes off to get the Mint knowing that I was supposed to go for it, turns out the Giant fell asleep with the Mint in his hand, and Sharp had to climb on top of him to get it. The Giant woke up as soon as Sharp snapped the Mint Bush out of his hand."
"What!!!??" Cheesy almost shouted aloud in shock. I placed my finger against my lip, warning him to be quiet before the Cat heard us.
"Yess. Luckily the Giant was sleep talking and went straight back to rest, else we would be in trouble." I finished, Cheesy's eyes as wide as saucers.
"Oh my gosh what a dilemma...thank God the Giant was- "
"No, no, no. No God" I quickly corrected.
"Just convenience. That's all that is."
"If you say so.." Cheesy moved to the other end that was concealed, leaning against a white cloth and closing his eyes. He got up again.
"Arrggh!! I can't stand this. Let's just leave, please...he's obviously not out there and we've been here for so long. Please Brother Burrow??" Cheesy whined, kicking and flailing his arms and legs about like a child.
I looked down again, wondering if I could take the chance.
There was no one there. I didn't hear not one meow, a purr; didn't hear any shifting of clothes, there were no signs of movement, and everything looked exactly the same. We had been up there for too long now, and I was beginning to get worried about Mother's well-being.
I knew Sharp was possibly there with her so there really was no need to rush, but I had several bones to pick with him.
"Alrite let's go. But be veeerryyyy quiet. No sudden loud movements got it??"
"Got it Chief" Cheesy bounced up and began following me, both of us heading towards the edge of the closet. Stretching my torso and reaching out for one of the clothes that was on a hanger, I reached for an orange, glittery piece that stood out. I hooked myself onto the cloth, taking my time to climb down.
Cheesy grabbed onto the same hanging cloth, jumping over and latching himself onto it, taking his time to climb down after me. As he made his way down, his tail lightly tickled my nose a few times, further hurrying my descent from annoyance. Finally, I got to the ground, my feet stepping onto a soft, fluffy white cloth that rested on top of the shoes. The material stretched in front of me, yards of puffs ahead.
We went over to the right, sneaking behind the barrels until we got to the door, squeezing our bodies through the hole and escaping out of that dusty, cobweb filled room.
.............................................................................