Large Talking Rat

One sunny Tuesday somewhere eleven, Nico was on his way to the workshop after bringing his father the lunch he's forgotten that morning. Passing a row of houses that looked like they would collapse as soon as a strong enough wind blew. And ignoring the not-so-pleasant smell coming from the poorly constructed latrine pits.

Nico was just a boy at the age of seven. Quite pale and thin from the lack of nutrition. But despite his poor condition, he was in fact, quite an attention grabber. It was because of his bright red hair and rounded ginger eyes. A very rarely seen hair and eye color in that country, Mistwall. His parents didn't share the same hair and eye as him but his grandfather on his father's side does who was from the other side of the globe.

"I'm back! I'm sorry if I took so long. Took a while to find father. Is there anything I can do?" he said as soon as he opened the front door.

The two young men gave him a nod while the one with a receding hairline was too focused on carving a small block of hardwood to even care for him.

"Many things for ye to do, child. Ye can start by scrubbin' the kitchen floors. When yer done, help me with paintin' these," said the man who just came in carrying a crate filled with toys that are to be painted. It was Henry, the owner of the shop. A man in his fifties who didn't get the chance to get married after dedicating his whole life to his business. But he didn't regret that decision because, for him, his business is his family.

"On it, sir!" Nico said before zooming to the kitchen. And yes, this is a toy shop. Everyone here is a toy maker except for Nico. For he was only an apprentice. Well, would be accurate to say, an apprentice in waiting. Because the minimum age requirement for apprenticeship in this country is sixteen and he was only seven.

Henry was not supposed to accept the child but Nico was adamant. Waiting in front of his shop every single day from daybreak to sunset until Henry would accept him. Pretty stubborn for his age. Besides, child labor isn't banned in Mistwall.

He was paid two copper a day for his hard work. He refused to accept any food, lodgings, or clothes and requested to be paid by money alone. Henry was surprised by this unexpected request coming from a seven-year-old, but he accepted nonetheless.

Rolling his sleeves up to his elbows, Nico carried the small bucket filled with water from the well into the kitchen spilling some in the process. And with that, he began scrubbing the kitchen floors. Diligently removing even the most stubborn of stains. It took him over an hour to finish and by the time he was done, he was all sweaty.

"Nico, c'mere!" Henry called out.

"Yes, sir?"

"Join me 'n have some lunch. T'was one already 'n you haven't got lunch."

"Oh no! I'm good, sir. I brought a piece of bread with me," Nico said as he pulled the bread wrapped with a linen cloth from his pocket. It was hard bread.

"Ye sure?" Henry asked as he took a sip of vegetable soup with chicken bits in it while looking at Nico, hoping that the poor child would change his mind.

"Yes sir." But it didn't seem to be effective since Nico has a good sense of self-restraint. If truth be told, he was pretty hungry and the insides of his mouth were already salivating from the aroma of the soup. But he didn't want his pay for that day to be deducted.

And as if reading what's inside his mind, Henry sighed in resignation before saying, "Don't fret! Won't deduct it to yer pay. C'mon, join me. I cooked too much for ma self."

"You're not lying?"

"And why'd I do that? C'mere before I change ma mind."

He hesitantly sat on the chair across from Henry.

"Here, ye can have it," Henry said as he shoved the other bowl towards the child. "What are ye still starin' at? You don' like it?"

"No, sir. I mean, I like it, sir. But I'm waiting for you to eat first."

"C'mon, child! Don' gimme that. Just eat already."

He was hesitant at first but as soon as he took his first sip, he already finished two big bowls of soup before he even knew it. Henry was pleased watching the poor child gobble his food to the last drop.

"Here's yer pay fer the day. Be careful on yer way, child." Henry said while giving Nico two copper coins.

"Thank you, sir. See you tomorrow." And with that, he left the shop.

It's starting to get dark so Nico picked up his pace. He was repeatedly reminded by his mother not to stay outside, especially during nighttime. For there were many kids who have gone missing lately. Not that he was scared since his home wasn't that far from the workshop, but he didn't want to cause unnecessary stress for his mother.

Probably around fifteen meters from his house, a gold coin suddenly rolled by his feet. He picked it up and examined it multiple times to check if it was real. His little hands were shaking with excitement because this gold coin is equivalent to him working for fifty days.

Remembering that he was still outside, he hastily scanned his surroundings. Checking if anybody saw him picking it up. And knowing that his gold coin was safe from any prying eyes, or so he thought, he clumsily shoved it inside his pocket together with his two copper coins — clutching it tightly.

"Hey, kid! That was mine. Give it back," he suddenly heard a tiny squeaky voice.

He jerked his head behind him where the tiny voice was coming from. And on the ground, he saw a rat. A very large rat. "Give it back, kid."

And probably on reflex, Nico ran in the opposite direction. He ran as fast as he could. He never saw a rat that big more so a talking one.

He didn't know exactly how he reached his house but he immediately locked himself inside the bedroom and hid under the bed. He was almost out of breath. He never ran that fast his whole life.