Amlet chimes in, “He said you’d know what to do.”
Mama Possum looks over at Big Poss. He smiles, a toothy smile that Antonio thinks looks nervous.
Mama Possum stares off into the distance. It’s the first time Antonio and Amlet realize that there’s a good view this high off the ground. The sparkling lights of monster structures litter the horizon.
Mama Possum’s hands rest on her hips and she holds her head high as she turns to the other possums. Her voice is strong and clear and forceful. “The world believes that we are solitary, nomadic animals! But is that the case?”
Several of the possums shake their heads in what Antonio and Amlet believe means no. Mama Possum continues. “What did you experience here tonight? What’s the feeling of dancing in the moonlight?”
A possum with unusually large feet calls out, “It’s a ripping good time!”
Mama Possum’s eyes narrow. “Yes! Yes, it is. It’s one thing to dance alone, but it’s something else to dance with a tribe. Especially a tribe that you understand. A tribe of possums!”
The possums are all listening now. No one moves as Mama Possum continues. “Who eats the snails? The slugs? And the rotten fruit from under the trees?”
Several of the possums shout out, “We do!”
Mama looks pleased. She is louder and more excited now, and her presentation is building. “Who takes care of the pill bugs? The anthills? The earwig nests?”
More possums join the chorus. “We do!”
Mama Possum scrambles up onto the metal box. “Who keeps the rats, the mice, and the moles in line? Who patrols the neighborhood never asking for anything?”
All the possums now shout, “We do!”
Mama Possum raises a fist into the air as she thunders, “Who is misunderstood?!”
The possums shriek, “WE ARE!”
Mama leans forward. Her voice is intimate. It is emotional. It vibrates with feeling. “Who will come with us to rescue a lost family member who has fallen into the hands of the enemy? Who will stand by our side?”
Antonio and Amlet and Big Poss are on their tiptoes. This is one memorable performance!
But the crowd is suddenly silent.
And then as fast as can be imagined, all the other possums and the one raccoon scramble off the roof and disappear down the metal stairs, leaving just Mama and Big Poss and the two young possum brothers. Seconds later, the bats and the fireflies take to the sky.
Amlet whispers, “She lost her audience.”
Antonio nods. “Maybe we are a solitary, nomadic species.”
But Mama Possum doesn’t look defeated. She shrugs. “I guess it’s a family production.”
Chapter 33
Appleblossom sighs. Two things are certain: Being a friend to a monster is a lot of work, and nighttime is so much easier than daytime.
She has spent hours with the small people, who makes sounds that Appleblossom can’t understand. At one point, the people slipped Appleblossom into a strange sack and traveled with her outside. Appleblossom believed it might be her chance for freedom. But it wasn’t.
Instead, the mini-monster took one of the small screens that people hold in their hands (and sometimes hold to their heads) and she aimed it right at Appleblossom! But before the possum could panic, whatever was happening was over and the people had returned her to the sack.
Now she is back in the house, in the monster’s room. The dog is still just on the other side of the wood barrier, seemingly waiting for an opportunity to rip her head right off her body.
Finally, darkness arrives. It feels to Appleblossom as if the start of the new night holds some kind of promise.
The littlest people looks happy (but tired) as she carries Appleblossom into the area with the water chair and the empty white pond. She places soft things (that she takes from her sleeping nest) into the empty pond and then she very carefully sets down Appleblossom. “Good night, my possum pal,” she says. “You sleep here in the tub. Tomorrow will be all kinds of new fun.”
She then shuts the door and goes to her nest. Or at least that’s where Appleblossom thinks she goes. She can’t see.
Even though Appleblossom ate grapes and cheese and crispy sesame crackers, she knows now that she would take a dried-out worm, a rotten apple, and a handful of caterpillars any day of the week for her freedom. The littlest people is kind, but being a prisoner in a monster house is not the way Appleblossom wants to spend her life.
It doesn’t take long before she can hear the sound (through the closed door) of the little monster breathing in that slow way that means she’s asleep.
Mercy!
Appleblossom pulls herself up and looks around. There has to be a way out. Above, she can see a sliver of the moon shining down through the clear opening. How she yearns to be out in the world. She opens her mouth and all she can manage is, “Antonio . . . Amlet . . . ”
But she knows it’s useless. They will never hear her.
She looks upward and whispers:
“Mama, I’m stuck here.
“Mama . . .
“Ma?”
But luck isn’t on her side, and the world is silent.
Chapter 34
Antonio and Amlet are relieved that Mama knows an easier way down than the metal stairs. It turns out there is a drainpipe that runs along the side of the tall structure. It isn’t affixed directly to the wall and so it’s easy to squeeze a possum body between the bricks and the pipe, meaning there is no way to fall.
Big Poss snorts at the idea of using this and takes the stairs anyway. “Maybe,” Amlet says to Antonio, “his belly is too big to fit.”
The trip back to their old neighborhood is so much shorter than the time it took to get to the city. “It’s always quicker when you know where you’re going,” Antonio whispers to Amlet.
Before they realize it, they are outside the house where Appleblossom fell down the chimney. The four possums gather together behind a bush and stare up at the imposing structure.
Mama Possum’s nose twitches and she shuts her eyes. She seems to be thinking hard. Antonio and Amlet stay quiet, but Big Poss balls his hands into fists, strikes a pose, and shouts, “By heaven, I will tear them joint by joint, and strew this hungry yard with their limbs! The time and my intents are savage, wild, and more fierce!”
Mama Possum manages a look in his direction. “Romeo and Juliet, act five, scene three. Now sit down.”
Big Poss takes a bow and returns to a crouch. Mama Possum focuses on the house. “They have a dog. I see a red ball and I smell the monster. This is a very dangerous situation.”
Big Poss stares out at the grassy yard and uncurls his tightly clenched fists. “A dog? Well, that’s a different situation. We’ve got no chance against a dog.”
Mama Possum’s nostrils flare and her eyes grow hard. It’s not a nice look, but it seems to change Big Poss’s mind, because he says, “New idea. We enter down the chimney and hope for the best. Or we send one of our little ones here inside as a scout to report on the situation?”
Antonio and Amlet edge closer to their mother. That sounds like an awful plan. Fortunately Mama Possum agrees. “The way in is from the ground. Houses have air vents. We go in under the structure. And we go in together.”
Big Poss turns to Antonio and Amlet. “The secret to a good relationship is to listen to your wife. And agree with her whenever possumly possible.” He then spins around to give Mama Possum a smile, but she’s already moving.
It turns out that the house has several openings just above the ground level. They are covered by metal wire. Mama points at a vent and says, “They call this their crawlspace. But don’t worry. They almost never go down under their houses to crawl. They just want to be able to. It’s not clear why.”
Antonio has a thought. “Monsters crawl when they are young. Maybe they mai
ntain a romantic attachment to the idea.”
Mama Possum raises an eyebrow of reflection, and then issues a command. “Big Poss, use your teeth to chew through the wire.” Big Poss makes a Why me? face. But Mama Possum speaks again before he can object. “Your teeth are already a disaster.”
Big Poss grunts, but places his snout alongside the wire. He angles his head so that his jaw can get a good grip on the mesh. He then snaps his teeth and starts to work. The grinding makes an awful sound and Antonio and Amlet have to put their fingers in their ears. But it doesn’t take long before their father has gnawed a hole in the metal weave.
From there Mama Possum and Big Poss bend back the wires. There is now an opening. Mama manages to squeeze in. Antonio and Amlet follow. And then Big Poss tries to enter. He doesn’t fit.
Mama issues instructions. “Go back out and help your father.” So Antonio and Amlet return outside. They push on Big Poss’s backside while Mama Possum pulls his arms. It takes a lot of effort, but Big Poss finally makes it through the opening.
They are all four now inside the monsters’ house.
Under other circumstances, the crawlspace might be a place for thrills, but right now it’s creepy. The first thing they all see is a rat skeleton covered in layers of dusty cobwebs. Overhead is a maze of pipes and wires.
Mama Possum leads the way. She keeps her nose low to the ground, and uses her tail to swish away the spiderwebs as she travels. The air is stale in a way that suggests mildew and mold have found the perfect home. Big Poss is the first to say it: “This place stinks. And I don’t mean stinks like garbage or a pile of rotten leaves. I mean stinks like monsters!”
Amlet slows. He thinks about turning around and leaving. He’s just about ready to shout “I’ll wait for you outside!” when it’s too late. They have gone too far and he’s more afraid to go back by himself than he is to follow his family. What a predicament!
After a series of twists and turns, Mama Possum finds what she’s searching for. “Okay, this is it.” Big Poss and Antonio and Amlet gather around. Mama Possum stares up at a large pipe that disappears into the low ceiling. “This goes to the monsters’ heat box. And the heat box has long tunnels that lead around the house. We get to the heat box, then Big Poss will use his teeth to rip open one of the tunnels, and then we’ll travel through the tunnels to find Appleblossom.”
Big Poss turns to his two sons. “How does she know these things?” But he isn’t asking a question. He’s making a comment. And he sounds impressed.
Big Poss follows Mama Possum’s instructions, and it isn’t long before the wood is chipped around the pipe. Minutes later, just as Mama Possum said, they are inside a tunnel and moving through the walls of the house.
Chapter 35
Appleblossom stares up at the night sky.
The monsters are all asleep, but she is nocturnal. She shuts her eyes and her mind wanders. She hears her mother’s voice, so far away, yet so present and distinctive, calling her name: “Appleblossom!”
She tries to make the voice inside her head go away, but again she hears it. “Appleblossom!” Her mother’s voice is more insistent now. It keeps calling to her. “Appleblossom!”
This is torture.
Mama’s voice continues to play tricks on her mind, and then she hears another voice. It belongs to Antonio. “Appleblossom! Where are you?”
She puts her hands to her head and sticks fingers in her ears. The voices are now harder to hear, but they haven’t gone away. “STOP!” she shouts.
But the stop is some kind of go, because now she hears a new, louder voice. “That’s her!”
She knows that voice. It’s Amlet.
Appleblossom opens her eyes. Now another sound is in the mix. She hears movement coming from the wall. And then she hears a deep voice say, “Come to Papa!”
And then Mama again: “She’s never even met you!”
And then: “She’ll know her papa when she sees her papa!”
Appleblossom bolts upright as she squeals, “Mama! Mama, I’m here!”
Chapter 36
Columbo looks as if he only has two thoughts in his head, but that isn’t true. He has more going on than he’s given credit for. Yes, his obsession with his red ball is something beyond his control. And the same can be said for his love of cheese.
But he is capable of thinking about the future. He can plot. He can plan.
And tonight, he is going to show this fact to the world.
At the end of the evening, when the boss leads Columbo to his crate, he willingly goes inside. He doesn’t whine and he does his best to look calm and in control.
But Columbo is a knot of agitation on the inside. He knows that there is still a wild animal in the house. He smells vermin and he is certain where the creature is hiding.
Izzy’s room holds the enemy.
And he, Columbo, will take his opponent down.
Now, hours later, the house is finally quiet.
Do they really think that he hasn’t watched them close the crate every night for over a year?
Columbo turns his skull to the side, opens his mouth wide, and hooks his jaw over the metal door. He then jerks his head up and the latch pops. Easy-peasy-squeezy-measy.
Columbo pushes with his right front paw and he is out. He stops. He shuts his eyes. He must exercise real self-control, because there is a loaf of bread on the kitchen counter and a box of stale crackers also within reach. It would be easy to get these things.
But he is on a mission and that means the food will have to wait. Something bigger clouds his obsessive-compulsive brain: the wild creature.
He knows it’s a possum.
And now this possum has made a big, big, big mistake. It’s in his territory. It’s on his playing field.
It’s about to meet the enemy.
The door to Izzy’s room is closed, but that isn’t a problem either. There is no lock on this door. The knob is nothing that a large mouth and a good grip can’t handle. Grabbing the red ball in the yard isn’t just fun and games. His lips are rubbery and his grip is firm because of practicing on that beautiful red round object.
He clamps down. He thinks of the red ball. He turns his head.
And he is in.
He sees Izzy in her bed. Asleep. The room smells of grapes and cheese and sesame crackers. It’s a distraction. There may be a few crumbs from those crackers and maybe a bit of the cheese. The cheese. The cheese. Who cares about a grape? It is nothing to him. But the cheese. The cheese stands alone. Every dog knows that.
Move on.
Move on.
Focus.
Block the image of the smudge of cheese and the crispy cracker crumbs. Don’t think about the bread on the counter. Forget the red ball out on the grass waiting.
Concentrate on the enemy.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Do it again.
The room smells of a wild creature!
He holds his nose high. The scent is everywhere. It comes off the bed and the floor. The bureau smells, and the closet positively reeks of possum. But the strongest odor is unmistakably coming from the bathroom.
The door is closed. He goes forth. He moves slowly. But then another sense is activated. Another alarm sounds in the brain. He doesn’t just smell the wild creature now.
He hears the animal!
Movement. Squeaks and squeals of the enemy. More than one!
Right here.
Right now.
Every muscle in his body is activated with one goal in mind.
ATTACK!
Chapter 37
They are all up against the grate. Mama Possum, Antonio and Amlet, and a big male possum she’s never seen before are on one side, and Appleblossom is on the other.
Appleblossom cries with joy at the sight of her family. Mama Possu
m, Antonio, and Amlet are crying too. Even the strange possum is crying.
And then the stranger loosens the screws with his long, thick fingernails, and the metal barrier that separates them tips forward and they are all suddenly together inside the room.
Mama Possum says, “Appleblossom!”
Appleblossom says, “Mama, and Antonio and Amlet!”
The big possum says, “Allow me to introduce myself . . . ”
But no sooner are the words out of his mouth than the bathroom door swings open and the dog known as Columbo appears.
The dog stands twenty possumids tall. His eyes flash and his nostrils flare and it is the scariest sight in the world.
They all freeze.
And then the strange possum, in a remarkably theatrical voice, roars, “By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes!”
Amlet and Antonio hold up their hands at the dog, and Antonio bellows, “Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none!”
Amlet shouts, “All’s well that ends well!”
Mama Possum rises up onto her back legs to deliver her performance. “Fie, fie! Unknit that threatening unkind brow! And dart not scornful glances from those eyes!”
Finally Appleblossom speaks the only line she remembers by the famous possum playwright known as Shakespeare: “Who ever loved that loved not at first sight?”
She knows that her delivery and performance are weak. Plus her dialogue doesn’t seem to be right for the scene.
The dog seems to have had enough Shakespeare and enough stalling. It’s clear that he’s ready to lunge.
It’s curtains for the possum family, and they know it.
This will be a tragedy, not a comedy. Not even a drama. Or a mystery.
And then Appleblossom realizes that right there in the room is a prop that might just change the way the scene plays out.