the friend in my wall

Okay, so its not really a friend, though I like to imagine it being a squirrel, even though it is probably a mouse, or that other terrible thing.

Our little home is shoved halfway into a hill and the wall behind our bed is in that portion of the hill - essentially making us lower floor cave dwellers. A number of times I have been woken in the middle of the night by a rustling noise - in the wall - right behind my head, and I know my little friend is scurrying around in his little world (which happens to be my wall!).

I imagine him (being a squirrel) as a little adventurer who has found a deep and dark, narrow and tall land all his own, one with corners, much unlike any tree he has ever found shelter in. I imagine him telling his friends, and them being too scared, but him with his little courageous heart enjoying the darkness all by himself, and loving it. And then I chuckle at the idea of a collection of nuts and berries in my wall and then I hear it - - a scratching and then a thud. He has fallen - again. Every night, he falls. Is there a piece of framing missing from the wall? Perhaps the builder neglected to maintain the pathway where a future furry friend might need to walk.

Regardless, I laugh to myself, fall back asleep and try to avoid a possible reality of formerly-alive non-squirrely thing(s) in my wall.