A fun short story and piece for @encantober-official . I have two more prompts I plan to do, but due to my busy schedule I’m not sure if I’ll get them out on time. For now, enjoy these small pieces!
Bruno knew he’d get in trouble for having the rats inside of Casita. Technically, he was an adult now and could make his own decisions. But even at twenty, Bruno struggled to openly speak out against his mother.
Upon noticing their furry bodies along the windows, Bruno’s mama swooped in with her broom and demanded they leave her home. Which was frustrating, because if she didn’t want them inside Casita, mama could just ask them to leave. They are very intelligent creatures, despite what most of his family thinks.
Eventually, try as his mama might: they’d find a way inside Casita. Which was certainly the fault of Bruno. He may have scaled a few walls in the middle of the night (with Casita’s aid, of course) to shift the gutters in just the right direction so the rats could sneak into his room.
Although it might sound odd, Bruno was quite flattered that a few select rats often sought out his comfort. Granted, it was likely because he was the only person in the encanto who welcomed them inside his home with open arms, but it was nice to have some company during his particularly bad nights.
Bruno first met the rats when he was around sixteen. It was three or four in the morning. He was in the kitchen, shuffling through that night's leftovers. He reached out for a thinly sliced piece of mozzarella when he noticed a little ball of gray fur had already taken it.
Bruno wouldn’t lie: he screamed.
He then proceeded to fling the rat across the room. Which he did not mean to do! He meant to fling the cheese and the rat happened to latch onto it.
His reaction was somewhat justified. To his knowledge, they carried rabies and other fun diseases.
But when he realized the creature looked more frightened of him than he did… he felt really bad.
So, he did something that would quickly devolve into a bad habit.
He gently picked it up, set it by the window, and tried to usher it outside. It didn’t leave right away, so Bruno offered it the piece of mozzarella it had been chewing.
He took it from his fingers and quickly scurried into the night. It had worked.
Oh, he means for that one night. For that one night, it had worked. The rat brought back friends the next day.
And of course he fed them, he didn’t want to be a bad host.
Over time, the visits became more frequent. Sometimes they were subtle about it, only coming at night or into Bruno’s room specifically. Sometimes, they didn’t think it through and would visit in broad daylight where Pepa would let out a loud, shrill scream and their mama would come barreling through with her broom.
But as time went on, they’d often visit him during the colder months, seeking shelter from pelting rain storms or the extremely short-lived snowstorms always caused by Pepa. A few of them would show up randomly. As if they just wanted to say hello. Due to these frequent visits, Bruno found himself keeping a lot of cheese in his room. The rats loved cheese. Especially the cheese Julieta would make.
Bruno wished he could invite them into the kitchen for a more diverse palette of snacks, though Julieta would certainly lose her mind. So for now, they had to settle for the selection in Bruno’s room.
Bruno had to be careful about how much he brought inside, as Julieta kept track of her ingredients like a hawk. If she ever noticed something missing, she almost always tracked it back to him. Somehow. With her scary sibling powers or whatever.
Occasionally, Bruno convinces her to slip him a few treats under the excuse of being a ‘growing boy.’ Every time he nearly gets called out on his bluff. Julieta knows he eats like a bird.
Though she won’t turn her little brother down. Bruno knows that.
It all works out. He can bring something nice for his furry friends, and Julieta doesn’t have to waste as much food.
And to be fair, it wasn’t Julieta he had to worry about.
Finding them around Casita was bad enough, but if his mama found he had them in his room of all places she’d likely ground him til’ he was thirty.
And she’d also be able to track the rat infestation back to him. Which would then further his grounding til he is forty.
So for now, they’d stay in his room and only his room. With all the cheese they could ask for.
