A Tail from Sunshine Drive

I bid goodnight to my roommates and settle into my room.

I climb into bed and bounce on my knees to pull the fan light off and snuggle into my bed.

After what seems like just falling into that true state of sleep, I hear a sound.

The rustle of plastic bags… like someone discarding all of their grocery sacs at the same time.

My eyes shoot open but I dare not move my body. I’m paralyzed.

It’s definitely not someone, it’s surely someTHING.

A RACCOON!

There is a raccoon in my bedroom! How did it get there? What is it doing? How will it get out? Am I going to get rabies?!

I slowly and shakily reach for my cell phone on the desk next to me and shrink under my covers.

The noise stops. Crap.Where is it now?It’s under my bed… It’s in the closet… it’s digging holes in my walls…

It sounds like it has really tiny feet….

I pull up the flashlight app on my phone and quick as a ninja I flash it around the room.

A little tail quickly disappears behind my dresser.

I shriek… and run out of my room.

At least it’s not a raccoon… but it is a mouse.

I get in my car and go to the 24 hour grocery store to search for a trap.

I find the right isle, among the cleaning supplies and paper products.

All of the boxes look so violent…

“KILL MICE!” “DEAD IN SECONDS” “BLOOD GUTS GORE!”

I’m not a murderer… I can’t do this…

Then… hidden in the back... I find this little teeter-toter contraption…

You put peanut butter on one end, mouse walks in and while he’s having a tasty snack, the device gently closes him in. No killing. Just a little... "snack hut!"

I happily buy it and bring it home.

As quietly as I can, as not to wake the roomies, I set it up in the kitchen.  I get gloves and a shoebox ready and set the trap in my room on top of a spiral notebook for safety…

I don’t know, It seems to make sense…

I turn off my light and wait.

I swear hours go by, but there’s no sleeping tonight.

Suddenly, I hear it again… the bag rustle…

the littlest nibbles… what is he eating?

scampers…

After an eternity, he finds the trap. and i hear his little feet creep into the "snack hut"… and WHUTCHA! 

He’s trapped! I pull the light and see the trap going back and forth, back ad forth… like a teeter-totter… 

I strap on my gloves, put the snack hut in the shoebox and run to my car.

A nice neighborhood. I’ve gotta find a new home for this guy. I drive 20 minutes around the city and find a street with gorgeous houses next to a stream. 

I pull my car over to the side of the road and grab the box.

I set the “snack hut” on the ground and release the door as fast as I can. The tiniest mouse I’ve ever seen, maybe the size of my thumb, falls onto my boot.

I scream. again.

And I swear he looks up at me and says to me in his tiny mouse voice 

“bye, bye! I’m gonna miss you!”

I tear runs down my cheek a little and I say “I hope you like your new home!"

Turns out he was after my chocolate covered pretzels in my bedroom garbage.

I decide I’ll keep my snacks in the kitchen from now on.