Chey always jelt the ancaming trains way before they saw them. The rickety wooden footbridge would shudder a little, and there would be a clanking along the tracks getting louder and louder, building to a roar.
Ruth and Mary Ellen considered it to be good luck when a train passed. They would grin in anticipation, hold hands, and shut their eyes.
"Here it comes, Ruth! Here it comes!"
"And it's coming for us!"
"For you and me, kiddo!"
"Make a wish!"
"You too. Make a wish!"
Ruth had been scared witless the first time. She'd clung to her aunt and screamed as the long train hurtled by, hissing and shaking beneath her like a weird, angry animal. It still sent a shiver of fear down her spine. All those fast-moving tons of steel racing past, only a few meters from her body!
When the train had gone, they would turn to each other.
"What did you wish for, Ruthie?"
"You first."
"An oak tree growing through my living room floor," Mary Ellen might say.
"Hmmm." Ruth grinned and tried to imagine it.
"What about you?"
"Finding a million dollars in a hole in the backyard when I get home."
"Wouldn't that be fantastic! Did you get another in?"
The aim was to make three detailed wishes before the train had gone, but they usually only managed two. Somehow there was never enough time. It was against the rules to work them out in advance.
"That red bathing suit."
"Oh yes, the red bathing suit. Want to know my second?"
"What?"
"To take you to China with me next year."
"Oh!" Just the idea of it made Ruth giddy. "Please!"
"We'll see. We'll see."
Not long after that day, Ruth and her aunt were in luck. Two trains were coming from different directions, and they were going to pass each other not far from the bridge. Surely this would be a day for three wishes.
"What did you wish for?" Ruth yelled over the clanking of the first train.
"Let's wait until the next one's gone."
But by the time the next train had thundered by, Mary Ellen was bent over double and her face was white. She was holding her side and gasping a little, as though she couldn't breathe.
"What's the matter?" Ruth said in alarm.
"Just a pain," her aunt whispered, leaning both elbows on the wooden railing.
"Did you eat something weird?"
"No, no…I'll be all right in a minute. Let me have a little rest." She squatted down and peered through the railings, and Ruth knelt beside her.
"Did you make a wish?" Mary Ellen asked.
But Ruth only shrugged; something about a big bedroom, painted in yellow with secret stairs leading up onto the roof, but it didn't matter anymore. Mary Ellen's face was so very white and there was a film of perspiration along her top lip, even though it was winter.
"Let's go home."
Mary Ellen lived alone in a big old apartment block near the city. Her flat was three floors up and overlooked a wonderful sprawling park that ran alongside the river. It was always immaculately neat, orderly, and interesting. There were things from all over the world dotted around the place. Most were from her many trips to China: painted stones and vases, figurines, paintings, and tapestries, and usually a story behind each one. Ruth loved nothing better than lying on the floor listening to stories of her aunt's travels.
"Couldn't I live here with you?" Ruth asked as they walked up the steps to the front door. "It's so loud and messy all the time at home. I love it here."
"Oh, Ruthie," said Mary Ellen, squeezing her hand. "I have something for you."
"What is it?" Ruth asked. As far as she was concerned, it was enough just being there for the day instead of going to the football match with the rest of her family. She hadn't been expecting a present.
"Come and see." Her aunt ushered her inside.
Mary Ellen disappeared into her bedroom for a while, eventually emerging with a very old and battered package. It was wrapped in faded brown paper and tied with string and was about twice the size of an ordinary shoe box.
"For you." Mary Ellen handed it to Ruth.
"Thanks!" Ruth took the box and looked at her aunt shyly. "It's old."
Her aunt nodded. "I was around your age when I got it," she said. "You going to open it?"
"Yes." Opening parcels was Ruth's favorite part of presents, so she took her time, while her aunt watched. She cut the string and carefully peeled off the heavy, sticky tape. As she unwrapped the box, she noticed a lot of faded Chinese lettering printed on the outside. A rush of excitement hit her.
"What does that mean?" she asked, pointing at the Chinese letters. Her aunt spoke fluent Mandarin and taught it and Asian history to university students.
"It says Attention: Precious goods." Her aunt smiled, pointing to each word. "And this bit here says Be careful of these precious goods."
"Careful?" Ruth looked up at her aunt inquiringly. But Mary Ellen only laughed.
Ruth's hands trembled slightly as she tried to get the lid off. It seemed to be stuck, so she slid her thumbnail underneath. Heart in her mouth, she gingerly eased off both sides of the lid and…gave a sharp yelp of surprise and stepped back.
Inside the box was a big gray rat. It had sharp claws and thin, spiky hair all over its body, and it was…wearing clothes! Baggy trousers made of faded sailcloth covered its hind legs, and the red striped shirt and serge jacket had the tiniest buttons imaginable.
Ruth was fascinated. The worn leather boots on its back feet and the cuffs on the jacket made her smile. Was it real? She shuddered. Of course it couldn't be. But the long nose with whiskers, the thin mouth, and sharp white teeth, only just visible, added up to something so lifelike that…it almost seemed it could be.
Ruth forgot about her aunt and stared in complete wonder at the strange creature lying in the box. The rat's slightly battered appearance pulled at her heartstrings in the oddest way. Was it a toy? Was it old or young? Sad or happy? The sly expression on the pointed face, the long black tail, sharp claws and patches of bristles, the little hole in the jacket and mud on the boots, even the grime around its neck and under the claws, made it look wise somehow, as if it had seen a lot. It was like a little gnome or a strange elf from a dream, ugly and yet weirdly beautiful too.
Ruth suddenly laughed out loud. It was the queerest, most exceptional thing she had ever seen.
"You like him?" her aunt asked.
Ruth nodded, hot, suddenly, with the truth of what she was about to admit. "I love him."
"Oh, good!"
"Where…did you find him?" Ruth asked.
"He was a gift from a lady I used to know," her aunt replied. "When your mum and I were growing up, she lived next door."
"What was her name?"
"Everyone just called her Bee."
"Bee?" said Ruth. "As in bumblebee?"
"Yes." Mary Ellen smiled. "But I called her Mrs. Bee."
"Was she friends with Mum and Faye too?" Ruth asked, tentatively putting a finger inside one of the rough little paws, half expecting it to close on her.
"Not so much. They were older. But Mrs. Bee and I became very close."
"Is she still alive?"
"No. She died not long after giving him to me."
"Did she tell you anything…else?"
"Only that I should be careful of him."
"Careful of him?" Ruth repeated in a whisper. "But…he's not real, is he?"
Mary Ellen kissed the top of Ruth's head and went into the kitchen to begin preparing their lunch. "Maybe just a little bit," she said.
Ruth put the rat back in the box as carefully as she could but didn't put the lid on. She figured that after being cooped up in a box for a long time, more than anything he would appreciate some space and air. She put the box on the side table and went to help her aunt with lunch. But for the next couple of hours, as they ate and talked, she couldn't stop thinking about the strange gift.
When Mary Ellen was in her bedroom making a long phone call, Ruth took him out again and held him up to the large window. She loved this view, particularly in winter. The sun was going down over the park; the pink, streaky sky bled out over the surrounding gray clouds. There were joggers and cyclists and groups of fast walkers cutting their way along the paths under the leaf-bare trees. Feeling safe and cocooned in her aunt's warm apartment, Ruth shivered with pleasure when she remembered that she was going to stay the night as a special treat. She would put the rat on her bedside table so that when she woke up he would be the first thing she saw.
"Don't be afraid," she whispered into the small hairy ear. "You've come to the right person."
Mary Ellen came back into the room and laughed when she saw Ruth holding the rat up to the window.
"Will you promise me something, darling?" Mary Ellen said as they stood staring down at the wintry park. The seriousness of her tone alarmed Ruth a little, but she tried not to show it.
"Don't let him rule you."
"Who?"
"The rat."
"The rat?" Ruth laughed. She looked down. With his bright eyes he actually did look as though he were listening to the conversation. "Nobody rules me," she said.
"Good," Mary Ellen said matter-of-factly. "Just remember you are the boss and it will be fine."
"Okay." Ruth was puzzled. She nodded, but she didn't understand. In fact, she didn't have the faintest idea what Mary Ellen was getting at, but somehow it didn't seem the right time to ask a whole lot of questions.
Her aunt squeezed her shoulders suddenly. "You'll have great fun with him."
"Will I?"
"Oh yes."
"Did you?"
"The best!" Mary Ellen laughed.
