Now That I See You by Emma Batchelor

Author:Emma Batchelor [Batchelor Emma]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 2021-03-12T00:00:00+00:00

13 October

I finally did something I have been putting off for weeks. I cleaned out the shed and fixed things so Mrs Rat can never come back. It was incredibly traumatic and is by far one of the most horrible things that I have ever done.

She had somehow got into the shed and every time I opened the door I could hear her scrambling about, to the point that I was too afraid to look. I enjoyed watching her when she was out and about in the garden, eating, carrying leaves, being cute, but the prospect of encountering her in such a confined space disturbed me. It was unnatural. Also, it was starting to smell and I needed her out.

I opened both of the shed doors, put on gloves and a face mask and started pulling things from the shed one by one and hosing them down. After going through two large tubs I called Mumma. She didn’t think she could help but offered to come over for moral support. I told her not to worry and I kept going. After pulling out a few more things I discovered the rat’s nest. She had stripped pieces off an old astroturf offcut that was at the back of the shed and placed them inside a large cooking pot along with shreds of old shopping bags. It was full of fur and shit.

At that point I started to cry so I called Jess to see if they would come and help me, but they were buying furniture for their new room at Susanne’s so I didn’t end up asking. To their credit, Jess realised I was in distress and did offer to come, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to handle it, not on top of kicking out Mrs Rat. I knew I would behave badly now that I’d found out they were buying furniture and would probably end up causing a scene, so I said no, thank you, and hung up.

I kept cleaning, pulling things out, hosing them off. I had to throw a lot of things away as they were too ripped and rat-shitty. When I got to the very back corner I discovered my rat had been in the shed the whole time and was now hiding on one of the shelves. I had been making so much noise I hadn’t heard her, but there was no mistaking her scrambling and squeaking now. I got the hose, adjusted the nozzle to jet and started spraying everything left on the shelves.

Mrs Rat sprang from her hiding place and ran for a small hole in the top left corner below the roof line. I came out of the shed and trained the hose on her as she ran along the fence and jumped down. I started to scream but kept spraying her until she found a new hidey-hole in the garden. I turned off the hose and I could hear her making the most pitiful noise, like she was crying.

I

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