The Uninvited Guests
by April L.
June 25, 2021
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Ben Kamp lived with his little sister, Sally, and their parents in Marietta, Georgia. Their yellow house had a gurgling fountain and a balcony where you could see the blossoming tree that the childrens’ cat, John, liked to sit under. It was all quite nice, except for the fact that lately strange things had been appearing with a note signed “M.E.”
First, the family sat down at their antique table, only to find a new cup was waiting for them. Then the pet fish started turning a different color every day. Ben found the surprises endearing and cool. Sally, Ben’s younger sister did not. “Don’t touch it! It might be dangerous!” Sally would shout whenever something unexpected appeared. Ben rolled his eyes and told her to stop being such a scaredy cat.
But today was different. Very, very different.
Today Mom asked Ben to set the table and Ben found a necklace. “Mom! M.E left you a necklace!” Ben cried. Mom went to the table and looked at the necklace. It was studded with small rubies and had a gold shell pendant.
“It’s gorgeous,” Mom gasped. She put it on and twirled. Suddenly a sunbeam hit the necklace reflecting a ray of light on a pot. The pot disappeared as soon as the sunbeam hit it! Mom yipped in shock and wailed, “Ben! Put this necklace away before something else disappears!” Ben definitely wanted to take a closer look at the necklace.
“Okay, Mom,” he said, mischievously. He shuffled to the basement with the necklace, but when he got there, there was a mysterious little fairy door that wasn’t there before. Was he going crazy? He stared at the door and rubbed his eyes, but it was still there. Ben carefully put the necklace down on a box and examined the door. The door moved slightly as a note slid from under the door jam. The note’s author said to meet him at the creepy attic at ten o’clock.
At ten, Ben ran his fingers to his waist making sure that his blanket was still tied to his belt loop. If he needed to meet the mysterious author, he needed to do it safely, and there was no place safer to hide than under his blanket. Ben’s legs already shook with nervousness, telling him to run, but his heart told him to be brave. Slowly, the attic door opened, revealing… A mouse? “Huh?” Ben mumbled.
“Hello, my name is Mousey Edison. Nice to meet you,” the mouse said, politely. “M.E. You’re him!” Ben gasped. “Yes. I love this home and I left three gifts in hopes that you might let me stay,” Mousey Edison said. Ben introduced Mousey Edison to his parents and they agreed to let the mouse stay, saying with a smile, “as long as you don’t sneak up on us!” Mousey Edison squeaked for joy.
Nervous Sally quickly learned to love the little mouse and they had many exciting tea parties together. Soon, the whole family loved Edison, even John, the cat. And so the odd family continued to get weird gifts, the mouse got a forever home, and the necklace was thrown in the trash so that nothing else ever disappeared from their now perfect little life.
The End
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