KITCHEN SINK DRAMA

Perhaps a literary revolution in theatrically uplifted circles, but around my house Kitchen Sink drama is a dramatic, episodic human-to-mice non-verbal sign communication. With our flying mops, poking brooms and regular shrieks at high volumes at the slightest sight of them, we hoped to make it very clear to the family of mice that took shelter behind our kitchen sink to kindly leave. With their constant rummaging through the things behind our sink, and knocking our spice bottles off the counter each night, it was understood by us that they were here to stay. And among the schemes discussed to boot these noisy occupants, were poisoning and bring in their commonly believed natural arch enemy – the easiest of them all felines, a cat. But these remained schemes for well over a week, as we waited for the weekend, misguiding them to assume that peace was declared from our end. On the seventh day, the lack of food in the kitchen (as now we kept our supplies in the dining space) sent the mice hungry. One among us pointed that out to us while the sounds from the kitchen grew louder as these rodents had to search more than usual for scraps of food. That was when a brave one among them decided that if his family went hungry, so will the others in whose house he had adamantly decided to raise and secure his family. Though scary, these sounds made us curious enough to open our kitchen door and switch the lights on. In retaliation, they stopped their common occupation of sound making. We needed time to plan our next move. They waited in patience ready for anything that was to come. After careful consideration, we decided to open all windows and bang on the walls around the sink to drive this now happy now hungry family out. That’s when our kitchen sink drama’s plot gained momentum. You see, the windows to our independence and their exodus lies behind the kitchen sink. And given the situation, it had to be approached not in the straight- walk-past-the-sink-way, but the jump-on-the-kitchen-counter-and-stretch-self-across-over-sink-way. And the lesser scared of the two, I equipped to slide open the window with a mop (the rod side front) jumped on the slab on the counter, inched my way around the slippery sink, and just about touched the pane with the rod end of my mop. That’s when they launched their ultimate weapon – their visibility to humans. They provided me with a complete sight of their self, while I balanced on my toes. My reflexes instigated action and I mop and all had a mighty fall from the slippery kitchen slab to the greasy kitchen floor, knees down, eyes open to see the floor nearing gravity did its best. With that for a temporary climax, I am now tending sore knees and planning a revenge, swearing. The bloody colonizers sound celebratory. Perhaps, now I cant judge the inventor of pesticides. Perhaps, its just another day at the office for every mouse in a human’s house.