The battle with rats started two weeks ago when my son left the front door open after we came back from mid week service. I think two medium sized rats got into the apartment before I noticed the door was left open.

I can only assume the rats were a couple and the female was already pregnant because three days later, we had more intruders in the apartment.

I went on the attack using rat gum (aka rat trap), rat poison and going on rat hunt (with two big brooms and wearing a heavy boot). The rats suffered heavy casualties.

One day, I heard some scrapping at a corner where I had placed a rat gum. I got there to see one of the (rat) couple trapped on it. I noticed it was desperately struggling to trying to escape so I quickly got a broom to subdue it. As I got ready to strike, I saw movement out of the corner of my eye, a smaller rat limped slowly and stood between me and the trapped rat.

I froze for a minute or two, as the smaller rat stood on its hind legs and raised the front legs, as if begging for the life of the bigger rat. The smaller rat had a twisted leg so it was quite slow and would have been easy to dispatch to rat heaven.

I put the broom down, picked the rat gum from a vacant end and closed it together with the rat in it. I put it in the bin and took the bin to dispose of it outside the apartment.

I came back in to see the smaller rat limping away from the front door. But before it disappeared around a corner, it stopped for a brief moment, looked me in the eye and nodded its gratitude. Though, I could chased it down, yet I let it live for now to probably be killed another day.

I forgot about the event and the rat war went quiet for a while.

Some days later, I came home from work late, tired and hungry. But my wife and the children were already asleep, and no cooked food was available to eat. I remembered sitting in front of the TV for a while, then I went to the kitchen and came back to sit in front of the TV.

I felt my toes been nibbled, so I opened my eyes a little. I had fallen asleep lying on the couch with the TV on. I closed my eyes to continue the sleep and again I felt the nibbling. I shook my legs, wriggled my toes and turned on my side to resume my sleep. Suddenly I jumped upright as something bit down on my big toe.

It was the small rat.

I froze as the rat stared at me, jumped down from the couch and limped towards the kitchen.

I went after it to smash the head in and caught up with it by the kitchen door. Then I saw smoke everywhere, and felt the flames coming from on top of the gas cooker. I remembered I had put noodles on fire earlier and now the pot was on fire. Quickly I got the fire extinguisher and put out the flames.

I sat on the floor as the adrenaline seeped out of me. I felt the rat on my leg and carried it.

"Thank you," I said staring at it. It looked back, nodded, jumped down and limped away.

Signed

Olumide Holloway aka King Olulu, not from Zulu.

Twitter @Olulu4ever , Instagram @olulutheking

U no get work

iamapplord:
U no get work