Twice is Always
Squeezing his lips shut tight so he doesn’t make any noises on accident, Billy crouches down as little as he can make himself in the dark in the corner of the cellar at the foot of his bed. If he’s real-real quiet and real-real still, maybe he can catch another mouse. A twice-mouse.
A teeny little mouse isn’t very much, but momma’s gone and he’s so-so hungry.
Written for a themed call for an anthology where the only focus was “from below,” I started by brainstorming variations on the old “monster in the basement” trope, trying to come up with something new and different.
Where this story took off for me was when I finally managed to find the story’s voice, a close-third narration so close it might as well be first person, and from the p.o.v. of a severely mentally challenged protagonist.
My only concern with this was to not be exploitative in any way, or link mental disability with evil. Hopefully it comes across that the character is intended to be as much a victim (of circumstances if nothing else)as he is a burgeoning monster.
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