Priscilla had just been posted to her place of primary assignment (PPA) to serve her nation for the mandatory one-year national youth service program.
"Welcome! This is where you will stay during this program," the house caretaker said.
Priscilla stood outside the building with her eyes wandering around, capturing the house's structure. The caretaker offered to show Priscilla around the house before showing her to her room.
Priscilla couldn't hold herself back, but wondered how such a house could still exist. The house contained thirteen rooms and a parlor, resembling a lodge setting, but this one was kind of different because the parlor was in the middle of the building, which made it kind of unique. The walls of the house bore signs of aging. The original color of the paint used in the building was white, which had faded into a dull yellow.
After walking around the building and being introduced to the other young adults who are serving their nation just like Priscilla, the caretaker finally showed her to her room.
"This is your room," the caretaker said, opening the door.
"Ooh, okay, thank you so much," Priscilla replied, wearing a smile on her face.
"One more thing, are there mice here?" Priscilla asked, curiosity etched on her face.
"Well, I would leave you to find that out yourself," the caretaker replied as she walked out the door.
Priscilla dropped her luggage and started organizing her belongings inside the wardrobes when she noticed the traces and signs of a mouse living inside. At that moment, she knew what she feared the most had befallen her. Immediately, her whole body started vibrating to an unknown tone.
She glanced at the old clock hanging on the wall, but the time was wrong. She took a peep through the window and noticed it would be dark soon. The only thing on her mind at that moment was to take a shower so she could feel relaxed before the night came, despite having a feeling of what awaited her in the night.
The night came, and Priscilla couldn't sleep but remained awake listening to the movements of the mice as they romped on the bed on which she slept. They noisily scratched everything they laid their tiny paws on, chased one another, and shrieked now and then.
She would be forced to turn on the torchlight on her smartphone to see if she was gonna find them, but the moment the torchlight flicks on, everything went silent like a graveyard, and the moment the torchlight went off, the antics would resume.
"Please let the morning come soon," Priscilla muttered to herself, cocooned in her duvet, sweating profusely with fear.
Waking up to the sound of the alarm, Priscilla couldn't believe it was morning already. "How did she fall asleep despite facing her worst nightmare?". She walked out of her room looking for the caretaker when she unexpectedly ran into someone.
"How do people live in such an environment filled with mice?" the stranger said, folding her arms.
"Ooh, you experienced it as well?" Priscilla asked, "Can't the caretaker do something about it?.
"I heard he is waiting for the house owner."
"House owner! What if the house owner doesn't come? What's gonna happen then?" Priscilla said, looking dismayed.
"Maybe we should do something about it than waiting for the house owner or caretaker, what do you think? My name is Ava, by the way".
"I'm Priscilla," she replied.
Priscilla and Ava took a walk around the premises, identifying the issues that needed fixing, and noticed that the premises had a very big gutter that attracted this mouse. The environment is very dirty, maybe that is the reason for the mice infestation.
So the girls gathered the rest of the residents in the building and embarked on a cleanup journey. They cleaned the gutter that was in front of the building and amended every broken wall with some plastering cement while the boys tackled the roof repairs.
As minutes turned to hours. The cleanup was complete. Everyone in the building stood still as they stared at the work their hands had done and how much cleaner the environment looked.
Priscilla went into her room and continued the cleanup; she cleaned her room till it became sparkling like a star waiting for the night to come to see if her fears was gonna come. This time around, the night came, and it was peaceful, For the first time, she could sleep in that room without hearing strange noises.
"Sometimes all it takes is a little sweep to get rid of a mouse".
Thanks for reading 🧡
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