The Rat-Catcher's Apprentice by Maggie Jankuloska
Author:Maggie Jankuloska
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: MidnightSun Publishing
Chapter IX
The following days felt like captivity. Grief trapped me in the confines of the Renard home. The burning dead etched themselves in my mind. I pictured the scorched bodies, flesh eaten by fire. How many people were left in town? Who was spared? The good died alongside the wicked. I wanted to know why my parents were taken, but I understood that there was no justice or reasoning in death; death was cruel and did not pick sides. Still, I longed for a divine omen.
âGod is looking after us all. We mustnât forget, Marie,â Marion said, but I didnât believe her. I felt forsaken, abandoned by all that was good. Drunk on fury, I left the Renard home one morning while my guardians still slept. I knew who had to pay for my loss: the dreadful creatures that probably brought the plague with them. I trudged in the woods until I came across them. They were not hard to find â a pack of rats nibbling on the carcass of a dead bird. They were bold and did not even move when I approached. They ate greedily, while I picked up a jagged rock. I tiptoed closer to them and expelled all my anger. Some rats scampered away, but I was quick and killed most of them. The lifeless rats lay next to the bird they nibbled, their bodies a mangled mess. I threw the rock and shed hot tears. Despite killing them, I didnât feel better and nothing could change what had already happened.
The autumn sky remained grey and dismal, matching my mood. I did not venture outdoors again. I spent my time curled up on the cot, hugging Henriâs ship and boots. How could I tell Henri what I saw? Was it better to let him live in peace, far from me? His life could be sweeter in naïve innocence, but I knew he would one day discover the truth.
I regretted my hostile words to Gustave. He tried to hide it, but the news of my parentsâ death had wounded him. His tears helped me to shed my own pain. He may not have saved my parents â how could he have, without putting himself or his wife in peril? But through his grace and wisdom, he had saved me. I did not harbour resentment against him; I just wished my parents were still alive. In my days of mourning, I only needed Henri, but he was far away.
I knew it was a foolish thought, but a part of me worried if my lack of divine conviction had caused the suffering in town. Perhaps if I had kept going to church, my parents would have been spared. Perhaps they were punished for my indiscretions. They were heavy thoughts and I tried to shake them. The better part of me knew God wasnât punishing us and I did not have the right to question Him.
Gustave spent his days outside, hiking in the woods or catching bite-sized fish in the frigid stream.
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