VOLUME LXII: Chandelier ~ My Chéri Ramble

One quiet night, I left the alley but not by choice. I was having one of those dreams about mother when I felt someone pick me up from where I was curled. At first, I thought it was mother but she never did come back for me.

The person was a large man. His hat covered half is face. I could still remember how prickly his chin was as he held me to him. Was he going to sell me? How much would he get? I fell asleep again.

When I woke up, I was in a white room. What was I lying on? It was soft. It was warm. It was not my rat friends. I examined my arm. There was a tube stuck to it which connected to a bag of water. The room didn't smell like anything... anything I was use to, anyway. I remembered seeing the man again. He looked tired and worn but I could careless. I was worried about what he was going to do to me.  I had many questions. Was this where they sold bad children? Was the man measuring how much I was worth? I looked down at the long tube again. Was he fattening me up to eat me?

I figured it would be best to make my escape. Yanking the tube out, I rolled off the soft warm thing. I struggled to stand but of course, I was too weak for that. I was scooped up and place on the soft warm thing again.

The man spoke for the first time, "Call the good doctor. I need to speak to him." He turned to me, "You be a good boy. These nice ladies will take care of you till I come back."

I was doubtful. What did he mean by 'take care?' He was going to have them butcher me like the meat shops. It was time to run even if my arms and legs protested. The doctor entered the white room. Unlike the old man, he was clean and tidy with his white clothes and his little round glasses. I waited until they both stepped outside, leaving me alone with the 'nice ladies.' I came up with a plan. I made sure to get the word right, "ahh... tee..." I coughed and tried again.

"RAAAATTTTT!" The 'nice ladies' all jumped back. I made my weak attempt at escaping.

"Little legs, don't fail me now." The white butcher room was just too terrifying. I managed to get to the hallway. It was so long. Before I could reach half way, someone  grabbed me from behind and lifted me off the ground. Suspended in the air, my legs were still making a dash for it.

"Where do you think you're going?" Damn, caught by the butcher himself.

One of the 'nice ladies' spoke, "Doctor, I think you should give him the shot until he settles down." They poked something sharp into my arm. I tried to wiggle out of the butcher's grasp but it was futile.  Things started to get hazy and then everything went grey.

The event through the eyes of a frightened child. I remembered every word, every thought, every detail from that day. It was my first memory after being reborn.