Worst Day of the Year

Submitted into Contest #169 in response to: Start your story with a character encountering a black cat.... view prompt

41 comments

Adventure Fantasy Holiday

Shelby the rat skidded to a stop on the dew-slick grass when she saw a black cat. No, not just a black cat, but the jet black cat Jack, an insufferably arrogant cat that only ever ate, lounged, disdained, and occasionally partook in his sole hobby – mousing. And he was a savage mouser.

Hallowe’en was without a doubt the worst day of the year, and this one was already shaping up to break records. Of course, the stupid shindig yesterday wasn’t much better. Shelby knew better than to spend all night partying, but in her defence Ramón was there, and they danced and he was just so damn chiseled she could barely stand it. But she had a bit too much to drink, because she didn’t quite make it home and woke up under a shrub. And now she was going to die.

Unless she managed to sneak away, since Jack hadn’t seen her yet. She tucked her tail and back-pawed. And then stepped right onto a crunchy fall leaf, which tore, crackled, and shattered under even her meager weight.

Jack snapped his head in her direction. His eyes found hers, and then his pupils ballooned as he locked on.

Ah, balls, she thought.

She bounded away with a squeak, and the cat-in-black followed.

Shelby sprinted under a shriveled rosebush, but Jack gracefully sidestepped it. She dove into a carved jack-o-lantern (Terrible name, she thought) and Jack pounced on it, knocking it over. She crawled out its mouth, and his paw whipped after her and just missed. She leapt off the pumpkin and Jack meowed! fiercely, stuck.

Ha, dumbass, she thought.

Jack violently jerked his arm out of the pumpkin, tearing its face apart. The cat, his gleaming black coat draped in strands of orange gore, flashed all his teeth and hissed loud enough to set off the three closest murders of crows.

Aw, Jesus, seriously? she thought.

Shelby bolted as Jack pounced. He just missed her with his paws as she ran into the street. No, she didn’t look left and right. Yes, it was dangerous, because of humans and their dumb cars. She had other things on her mind. She sprinted across the street just as the Kelleys’ SUV drove up. She cleared it with tail to spare, but Jack wasn’t so lucky.

But he wasn’t all that unlucky either, as the Kelleys must have seen him. After all, everyone in the neighbourhood knew he belonged to the crazy lady. They slammed on their brakes, and the car squealed to a stop, as did the cat. The bumper juddered a whisker’s width from Jack’s nose, and for a moment, everything was quiet.

Serves you right, you dolt, Shelby thought, and then she slunk under the Bakers’s fence.

Jack drew back, sputtered indignantly, and slapped the bumper over and over and over, because honestly, the audacity of it all! These people almost pancaked him – him of all people! – with their careless humanness.

The Kelleys honked, and when Jack wouldn’t leave, they honked again, and finally just leaned on the horn. Jack scrammed just as other neighbours screamed at the Kelleys to shut up, and so Shelby had earned herself some reprieve.

But she wasn’t familiar with the Bakers’s yard, nor sure how to get to her home from there. Everything would be so much easier after midnight, but when she looked up she saw it wasn’t even noon.

Maybe I can just wait it out, she thought. And then her stomach roiled. More hangover than hunger, and with the adrenaline of Jack’s chase fading, she felt acutely thirsty.

She stuck to the begonias and peonies growing alongside the Bakers’s house, each of them losing a battle against autumn. Old Lady Baker was always puttering around with her plants, which meant a garden hose somewhere. Shelby crept along until she came to the end of the plants, and surveilled the back yard. And there it was, coiled in the grass.

She slunk towards the hose, sniffed at the head, but it was dry.

Blast it! she thought. Her tail swished back and forth.

She snuffled the ground, but it too was most unmoist. Then she side-eyed the nozzle. Could she trigger it? How hard could it be? Harder than it seemed, it seemed. When she pushed the handle she just ended up sliding the whole nozzle around. She realized she’d need to brace it against something.

She skulked around the garden until she found a stone, then rolled it towards the hose. She jammed it into the ground and braced it against the nozzle’s handle. Then she took a run at the trigger and slammed into it. It depressed!

The whole hose thrummed with the water’s violent rush, and then the spring shot back and flung Shelby into the air. She spun twice and crashed, but when she rose with a grunt, she realized she had succeeded. The grass was freshly beaded with water. She lumbered towards it, already able to taste that refreshing liquid, but then a trio of squirrels tore onto the lawn. They chittered madly with their ridiculous teeth and darted after Shelby.

Damn it! Shelby thought, scramming away from the lunatics. The squirrels chased her all over the lawn and to the fence, which she crawled under. They didn’t follow her, so she took a breather, but it turned out this new yard was the home of the Chens’s Dobermann, Chainsaw. Chainsaw growled a single warning, sounding like his namesake, and then he lunged.

Shelby flattened her ears and ran like she’d never run before. Under garden chairs which Chainsaw knocked aside. Under a barbeque which Chainsaw leapt over and tipped. She sprinted towards a riding mower but at the last moment veered left. Chainsaw, too committed, slammed right into the machine, causing it to rock. He yelped once.

It was enough of a break for Shelby to slip under the next fence. Behind her the fence boards shook as Chainsaw slammed into them. He barked and tore at the ground with his paws. Shelby put another three yards between herself and the dog.

When she cleared the third she found a shrub and collapsed under it. Oh yes, this Hallowe’en was on track to break all records as the worst.

When she opened her eyes again she saw the shadows were longer, and she realized she must have passed out. This sent a chill through her veins, but nothing had eaten her. Then she heard the distant shrieks of children, all crying in unison. The trick-or-treaters were out. The little terrorists would be crawling all over the streets, making-believe they were monsters and never once realizing the real monsters were under the masks. All it would take was just one of them to spot a rat, and they’d all scream and throw rocks and stomp.

Shelby shuddered.

But then she noticed this yard had a bird bath. It was a three-foot-tall marble bowl on a carved column – well, okay, it was probably plastic – and as there were a couple hummingbirds there, there must have been water too. A bit of a climb, but… her stomach roiled and settled the debate.

Shelby scrambled up and startled the birds. They glared at her, but she ignored them and dunked her face in the water. It was so cool and refreshing, balm for her parched soul.

When she had her fill she looked down at the water, watching the playful waves ripple across the surface. She saw the reflection of the darkening sky, and there, she saw the mirror image of the full moon rising. Oh, how she hated that moon. It was the worst of all possible moons, especially on this, the worst of all possible days.

And then she saw the reflection of something moving quickly, quickly looming larger, and largely resembling an owl.

Shelby threw herself from the bird bath with a squee! and the owl whooshed by, talons just missing. It glided soundlessly and looped around for another pass, while she plopped to the ground with a burp. She had drunk too much water and felt the start of a cramp, but she put it out of her mind and once more cannonballed away.

The one time she looked over her shoulder she saw the owl diving, and she let out a panicked squark! Death loomed from above, but in front of her, perhaps salvation: a vast cave of shadows beneath a minivan. And maybe, just maybe, she saw the gleaming black eyes of another rat there, watching her approach. Safe harbour, if she could make it.

She dove at the last moment and felt the rush of talons ruffling her fur. But the owl pulled up, not wanting to slam into the van. Shelby hurtled under the vehicle and skidded to a stop beneath it, less running than bouncing, rolling, and flopping.

She could barely breathe. Her heart again hammered her ribcage and every muscle hurt, and for a moment all she could do was lay in the darkness. But eventually she caught her breath, and noticed the other rat had sidled up to her.

He sat up on his haunches and sniffed at her.

Yeah, I’m okay buddy, thanks, she thought. She rolled over and got up. The other rat snuffled her snout.

Yeah, thanks, she thought. She patted him on the shoulder and then stretched. That was a close one, wasn’t it?

He snuffled at her side, and then her legs, and then behind–

Hey! Shelby swatted his ear. Not interested, buddy! Jesus, at least buy me dinner first.

The other rat retreated, sniffed in her general direction. And then Shelby got the hiccoughs, so he lost interest.

They stood like that for a while, as night crept in. The trick-or-treaters were out in full force, and every few seconds they heard the shrill battle cry of the sugar addict, “TRICK OR TREAT!!!” The little maniacs did everything with extra exclamation marks on Hallowe’en, and the streets became a terrifying land that honest animals didn’t dare to tread.

So Shelby and the other rat were stuck for the foreseeable future. And since it was getting colder as the night dragged on too, she started shivering. By the time it was fully dark out, the youngest trick-or-treaters retired. That meant the worst ones would be out in bigger numbers. They weren’t so much treaters as trickers.

The other rat started shuffling to the edge of the minivan, apparently tired of waiting.

Maybe it’s not a bad idea, Shelby thought. She didn’t want to get caught outside with a bunch of teens running around.

The other rat sniffed the air at the edge of the minivan’s shadow and poked his head out. He sniffed some more, and turned back to her, indicating the coast was clear. Shelby breathed a sigh of relief.

Then an inky mass of black dropped down on him, tearing him clean in half.

Shelby let out a forlorn squee!

The shadowy mass lowered its head, and looked under the van. And again, Shelby found herself looking into Jack’s eyes. The other rat was already forgotten, as the cat crouched and assessed the minivan. It wasn’t about food with him – Jack would never deign to eat something as lowly as a rat. For him, it was about the sheer joy of the slaughter.

Shelby didn’t know what overcame her. She let out a torrent of squeaking and charged right at him, her jaws snapping and her claws swiping at the air. Jack’s eyes widened and he let out a miserable mreew! He leapt clear away from her.

Jack stared at her as though he had seen a dog ghost. One paw was in the air and his tail twitched nervously. Shelby kept her eyes locked on his, and then she… well, she made a noise. A kind of grunt, or bark. It was a little hissy, since her lungs were small. In any case, it was a strange noise and it unsettled Jack, and he flinched and moved a couple more feet away.

Shelby backed out down the drive way, keeping her eyes on the cat. She put good distance between them, but she knew it would only be a matter of time before the psycho overcame his shock and reset to factory defaults. Still, there must have been a solid ten feet between them before Jack dared a step in her direction. That’s when she bolted.

Jack followed, at first keeping pace but then indulging his instincts and resuming the hunt. Shelby ran unnoticed by a group of trick-or-treaters, but when they saw Jack they shouted “Black cat! Black cat!” and startled him anew, which gave her some elbow room. And then, the damned full moon actually helped out for a change, because in the distance Shelby saw the little house on the corner where she lived. She dashed for it.

But when she looked over her shoulder Jack was gaining on her. She scurried up the driveway of the house and ran at the side door, but of course it was closed and she had no way of turning the knob. She slipped into the back yard and Jack leapt over the fence.

She thought she might be able to make it into the shed, but she’d been running around all day and Jack was a well-rested, well-fed house cat. She realized she wouldn’t get there in time, and then Jack pounced. Shelby stood by awaiting her fate.

And then the sky nudged the moon an inch to the left, signalling midnight had come and gone; the day was officially over. Jack sailed through the air with his claws out and Shelby caught him by the scruff of his neck, with her once-again human hand.

“Bad cat!” she said, shaking her index finger at him.

He flailed about half-heartedly and mewled most piteously, but in truth he liked being carried around by humans so it didn’t bother him too much. Something about the arrangement was just so proper.

“I swear, I’m going to put you up for adoption.”

She dug out her spare key from under a garden gnome’s hat and unlocked her side door. A part of her was worried about the neighbours seeing her naked – a minor consequence of the wererat’s curse, which was arguably the least useful curse – but after the day she had, she thought, Screw it.

Inside she set Jack down, filled his bowl with kibble, and petted him once, because psycho-or-not, he was her fur baby. She swore off liquor, prepared for bed, and then noticed the trees in her front yard were draped with TP. She sighed.

“Worst day of the year.”

October 24, 2022 23:18

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41 comments

06:50 Oct 25, 2022

This is a lot of fun. Some great turns of phrase. I love the bit about doing things with extra exclamation marks! There is one point where you say swatted and I think it should be squatted. Otherwise no real crit. Lovely, fun story, with a very amusing ending. Thank you for the read.

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Michał Przywara
20:50 Oct 25, 2022

Thanks, Katherine! I'm glad you enjoyed it :) I appreciate you pointing out that trouble spot, with "swatted". I'll take another crack at it.

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Cindy Strube
02:11 Oct 25, 2022

Ha! I get to be your first commenter, for a switcheroo. Woweee, that’s a chaotic day! You had me thoroughly convinced that Shelby is a really truly rat… (albeit an anthropomorphic one). And then -“And then the sky nudged the moon an inch to the left” and reveals that she’s a were-rat. Super descriptive - I “watched” it unfold. Had a hard time keeping up with Shelby in all her misadventures, and now I’m all worn out. ; p And of course she got TP’d…

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Michał Przywara
20:52 Oct 25, 2022

But of course she did, on the worst day of the year :) Yes, she sure does a lot of mad dashes. I think little animals probably lead a stressful life, surrounded by predators and humans. Thanks for reading!

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Cindy Strube
19:52 Oct 26, 2022

Yes, it’s a wonder more of them don’t just drop dead of fright! I’ve seen mice quivering in a corner, looking for a path to dart past a waiting cat — or chicken.

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Isabelle K
19:25 Oct 31, 2022

This story was so entertaining...I was hooked from the little "Ah, balls." at the beginning and smiled through the rest of the story! I loved the little twist at the end, and having Jack be her cat was a great addition! I really enjoyed your clean, clear-cut style of writing. It made the story easy to follow and enjoyable to read!

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Michał Przywara
23:30 Oct 31, 2022

Thanks, Isabelle! I'm very glad you enjoyed the story :) Hearing that the writing style works is useful feedback. I appreciate the read!

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15:38 Oct 30, 2022

As someone who is owned by a cat, this phrase is a little repetitive: “Bad cat!” Cats come in one flavor: "Self-indulgent." This needs to be a graphic novel and handed out to all adults who have passed the "FUN!!!" stage of the night October 31. (My husband and I nod at other older couples in the restaurants on Halloween...if you know, you know.) You've captured in your pithy way my mood when I realize it's Halloween, and I have to buy an enormous sack of candy: "Ah, balls, she thought." Clever, clever ending. Fun read. Tis the season :)

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Michał Przywara
20:54 Oct 31, 2022

Deck the halls with pumpkins and all that :) I actually like Hallowe'en, though I don't know if it's because a) there's something prosocial about it and it helps (forces) communities to interact, in an increasingly digital world, or b) for spite, because a terrible local politician hated it :)

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20:57 Oct 31, 2022

I loved Halloween when my kids were little. Now I'm like The Heat Miser from a Rankin/Bass television special.

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Daniel Allen
07:46 Oct 30, 2022

I really liked this. The idea of looking at a regular Halloween through the eyes of animals is genius. Plus, you executed it perfectly, with moments of tension and hilarity sprinkled throughout. Great job!

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Michał Przywara
20:54 Oct 30, 2022

Thanks, Daniel! I'm glad you enjoyed it! Animal POVs (or "animal" in this case) can be great fun. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

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Rebecca Miles
06:04 Oct 30, 2022

This switch story is just perfect for Halloween round the corner. I'm sure many adults take Shelby's view on the trick or treating sugar crazed monsters so the story was also a good nod to all those who wish spook night could just slip more easily by. Taking the hiding were-rat's perspective gave us all the Halloween vibes but from an interesting outsider's perspective: clever way to avoid the cliches. That said, my favourite thing was your description, the excellently realised chases, hidings. For the space of the majority of the story, I ...

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Michał Przywara
21:00 Oct 30, 2022

Thanks, Rebecca! I'm glad you enjoyed it :) Yeah, I suppose it was more a story on Hallowe'en, but not so much about Hallowe'en. Avoiding clichés is always a good thing, so I'm glad to hear it. I've definitely stumbled into a few of them recently so it's nice to see efforts to improve are paying off. I appreciate the feedback!

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Charlie Murphy
19:24 Oct 29, 2022

Great story! I loved the action. I felt bad for poor Shelby. But she made it in her house. Great twist! I wondered why her narration seemed too human until the end.

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Michał Przywara
18:30 Oct 30, 2022

Thanks, Charlie! I'm glad you enjoyed it :)

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Marty B
04:20 Oct 29, 2022

The action packed chased scene get me going until the great -unexpected- twist at the end. Shelby's arch enemy was of course part of her family. I see it as an analogy of a family where a young sister/brother was tormented in their youth by an older brother/cousin/uncle, but then grows up to gain the upper hand ( once-again human hand) and put them in their place.

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Michał Przywara
15:30 Oct 30, 2022

Thanks, Marty! That's a great analogy! Everything is different when you're young (morning), but you learn things as you grow, and perhaps in the evening you come out more capable for it. When I was writing it I was thinking of some similar ideas, where our vices and habits might get control of (and even threaten) our lives; or how we must account for pets being creatures with their own drives instead of merely being moving objects you own; or no analogy, just a story about a wererat cat lady :)

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Delbert Griffith
14:29 Oct 28, 2022

Great story. Very fun to read. I love that you let all of the creatures 'do what they do,' so to speak. It made for a fast-paced and enjoyable read. Nice little twist at the end.

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Michał Przywara
21:58 Oct 28, 2022

Thanks, Delbert! Yes, quite fast paced. I think sometimes my stories get bogged down with dialogue or thoughts, so it was fun going at a much faster clip this week.

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10:35 Oct 27, 2022

Fun story, great how you just kept the action going and going. The daily life of a rat sounds like a horror movie full of jump scares! I also chuckled at the joke about extra exclamation marks, I use too many of those in dialogue for sure. The Cinderella (reverse?) curfew is a cute way to finish. Good one. And yay! rat pov has been added to the growing genre of animal POV stories. I had a story about a hyper intelligent octopus failing to communicate with his owner and attempting to get out of his fish tank. Need to do one again soon.

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Michał Przywara
20:54 Oct 27, 2022

Thanks, Scott! Yeah, I thought about what kind of adventures Shelby could go on, but it was pretty much all "flee from bigger things that want to murder you". Oh well. Definitely need more rat stories! I'm glad you enjoyed it :) Which one of your stories was about the octopus? Is it the eponymous Octopus Games? Certainly sounds like the obvious choice :)

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22:07 Oct 27, 2022

It's a really old one 'Priscilla (the octopus) falls for Dr Anderson and Things Get Heavy' for the prompt about a world without gravity. I was on the octopus theme for quite a while;) https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/dloosy/

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Tommy Goround
01:10 Oct 26, 2022

the shrill battle cry of the sugar addict, “TRICK OR TREAT!!!” The little maniacs did everything with extra exclamation marks on Hallowe’en, and the streets became a terrifying land that honest animals didn’t dare to tread. Been away. I see amazing symbolism. Back soon. (Did you see the Scottish farmer vs rats in Love, Death , Robots yet?... I'm thinking it's time for rats to take a more prominent and awesome position in the modern day). Bbs

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Michał Przywara
21:09 Oct 27, 2022

No, I've not seen that yet, but yeah, rats got dealt a bad hand, kind of like wolves and crows. There's a lot of mouse-POV stories out there, but they also contain a lot of anti-rat propaganda :P Hmm, that sounds like it could be some kind of prompt.

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Tommy Goround
10:48 Oct 28, 2022

Sorry I was with someone on a binge for another venue all week. Your story was good. I should probably read it again to make a conversation out of it. Lol. There's so many projects and so little time.

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Mike Panasitti
14:11 Oct 25, 2022

I never saw the twist at the end coming, but it was a welcome one that saved Shelby and didn't punish Jack for being a typically feline antagonist. Great Halloween story.

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Michał Przywara
20:46 Oct 25, 2022

Thanks, Mike! Yeah, it was something lighter this week. Initially she was just a rat, but then I thought - what if the cat's not anonymous? What if they're family, if there's a deeper connection? So wererat it was. Kind of a reversal of roles, and it seemed to fit the season better. I don't think we can really hold it against pets when they follow their instincts, even if it might be annoying.

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Mike Panasitti
22:17 Oct 28, 2022

True, Michal, very easy to forgive our pets. Much easier than to be forgiving to our pet peeves.

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AnneMarie Miles
05:16 Oct 25, 2022

Phenomenal! Such a fun read, and a greatly creative ending. I laughed here: "and every few seconds they heard the shrill battle cry of the sugar addict," And at the mention of a "wererat" - I think maybe you just invented a new Halloween costume and potentially unlocked a new fear for me... Maybe... The cherry on top was that Jack was her own cat, very nice! Your writing is clean, detailed, and engaging. Another job well-done! I do feel bad for the rat that didn't make it though....

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Michał Przywara
20:48 Oct 25, 2022

Naturally, Jack had to be her cat :) Pets are great, but we can't really begrudge them their instincts. I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I appreciate the feedback!

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Amanda Lieser
23:19 Jan 07, 2023

Wow! This one was so fascinating. I loved the setting and I was not expecting that ending. I loved the way you picked your cast of characters because my husband’s favorite childhood series was “Redwall” about mice who live in a convent. I thought it was so great that you had moments of fantastic dialogue. I also loved that use of a black cat. I think I’d like to visit Jack and Shelby someday!

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Michał Przywara
21:00 Jan 08, 2023

Thanks, Amanda! I figured werewolves get a lot of media attention, but there's other fun critters to write about. I'm glad you enjoyed it :)

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L J
23:17 Nov 01, 2022

Loved! I thought it was a little bit too long but towards the end I started seeing phrases like human hand, wer-rat and I thought, That's amazing! And yes, I will admit that I happen to collect gnomes YES not afraid to admit it!!! so, Loved the story, loved the ending and I agree, this needs to be a graphic novel,,,part1 !!!! Please don't feel obliged but I would be interested in your opinion on my little creation: Jack Smiled.

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Michał Przywara
21:20 Nov 02, 2022

Thanks, L J! I'm glad it ended up being enjoyable, despite feeling a little long :) My stories on this site tend to be on the longer side, which is something I'm working on. Nothing wrong with long, but if you can say the same thing with less, that's a win. I appreciate the feedback!

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Susan Catucci
19:02 Nov 01, 2022

Clever! Well executed and wrapped up with a fun, satisfying finish. Between the hangover and the "at least buy me dinner first," I knew something was up. Good stuff!

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Michał Przywara
02:10 Nov 02, 2022

Thanks, Susan! Yeah, it was definitely a very humanized animal POV. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

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Rama Shaar
08:03 Nov 01, 2022

This was a very interesting read, especially for someone who hates and tragically fears rats. I liked the way you described all her adventures but particularly loved the twist at the end! Really clever 👏

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Michał Przywara
21:05 Nov 01, 2022

Thanks, Rama! I'm glad you enjoyed it, even though there were rats in it :) The twist was fun to think about.

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KarLynn Erickson
03:22 Nov 01, 2022

Great read. It was fast paced and well written! I like ths surprise ending.

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Michał Przywara
21:07 Nov 01, 2022

Thanks, Kar Lynn! I'm glad you enjoyed it :)

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