The Man Who Became a Mouse: Part Eight

Almost as soon as he had this revelation, Gracie blacked out, and then woke up again.

But this time, however, he wasn't in a hole-in-the-wall mice tavern. He was in a small white room, in a small white bed...and there were people standing around him. Humans.

He yelped in surprise when he realized all of this--it was all very overwhelming.

"Welcome back," said a doctor, peering at him from behind his spectacles. "Seems you had a nasty fall. But lucky for you, you weren't all that high up, and someone else broke your fall."

Gracie blinked. "Someone else?" he asked rather stupidly.

The doctor chuckled. "Yes, someone else. A man named Harry Hawkins, I believe."

Gracie's eyes widened. Hawkins? Really? he thought.

"Unfortunately, this man you landed on wasn't as lucky as you were, my boy," continued the doctor. "He's dead."

"Mouse," corrected Gracie.

"Pardon?"

"He was a mouse," insisted Gracie. "A much beloved mouse, and a hero to all mousekind. And I killed him by accident."

"I think that fall must have addled your brain a little," said the doctor. "Don't worry, though, you'll be back to normal soon, and by then you'll have learned the difference between a man and a mouse."

"I think I already have," Gracie replied.

~fin~

The Man Who Became a Mouse: Part Seven

After the funeral services were over, Gracie turned to Peyton, silently conveying to him all of the emotions that he'd been keeping inside for so long.

Peyton gave him a bone-crushing hug.

And after he had recovered from said hug, Gracie finally realized that the people--er, mice--here had it a lot worse than he did. This mouse had died a most painful death, and everyone was hit very hard by it. True, he didn't have anyone very close to him, but...at least he didn't have to live in constant fear.

And having a name that everyone made fun of seemed to be the dumbest reason to end it all, now that he thought about it. He decided to make the best of his situation and try to make things better for these mice in any way he could.