Enter; The Beginners Guide To Faking Your Death

Rule #1- Magic

Anthony sat on the floor, enjoying the toys the family was willing to share. It took his mind off of the long hours spent inside. He had no time outside in the first place. It was all inside since the day he "died" as the family said.

Ever since he "died" he was stuck inside the cramped apartment. They had shut the curtains completely ever since he had arrived at their home. He had promised to never sing or make music while inside the house, which had worked the first couple of weeks. Now he was a bird unable to keep his beak shut.

Whenever the family was gone, like out to work or school, he would sing. Sometimes the neighbors with their instruments would sing back, strumming their guitars or tapping on the piano. He had stopped playing so loud once the neighbor gave him a scare and asked about the weird "ferret" living in the apartment walls. He had luckily asked about the animal, and not the strange music coming from the rooms below.

The mongoose loved his singing from what he found. Ever since the first couple of days when he would sing into the void, he had found that the mongoose would stare. It would turn its head side to side, tilting its head to the singing violin. Sometimes it would sit for hours until he paused for a break, but when he began again it would appear. It always listened in as if the small creature understood the voices around.

"Why don't we name it Gef?" Vinny suggested. Mr. Smith leaned in and tossed a slice of cold meat at it. It backed away cautiously from the cold cut before coming back to investigate. It quickly started inhaling the slice with a lack of chewing.

"Why Gef?" Anthony asked, staring at the mongoose with meat hanging from its mouth.

"I don't know. Do you have a better name?" He folded his arms tightly as the snake body he had coiled around himself for heat.

"No, not really…" He sat on the floor, staring at the bookshelf it watched from. Now the family was watching it like a spectacle instead. Its long body stared back for a few more seconds before it dipped behind books. Mrs. Smith ran to the shelves, pulling books out and tossing them away. By the time the bookshelf was empty, there was nothing. It was devoid of the life they swore there was, and there was no way for the creature to get out without someone knowing.

"Where is this thing? We're being haunted by a demon mongoose!" she freaked out and pulled the bookshelf away from the wall. Not even a hole left for the critter to crawl through. It had entirely vanished into the abyss.

Every time the family tried to track him, he left and came back another day. Eventually, they had given up trying to track him down, but it still came out for Anthony. It would stare up at him with sharp eyes and sit there as always, waiting for him to play. One night, he had come a little close.

He was peering down at the city when everyone else was asleep. People walked down the street here and there, and cars roared past with wailing horns and rumbling music. His 'bed', which was a few blankets stacked together and pillows thrown on top, was set under the window. He kneeled on it to get a good look at the world beneath as Vinny and his big sister and brother slept nearby in bunk beds. He would quietly watch the city for hours until one would wake up for middle school, and he'd fake being asleep.

It was late at night, and the traffic had officially died down. He still watched the planes in the sky move like shooting stars, but it was nowhere near as entertaining as listening to the music of the people nearby. A rustling came from where his feet were and his head twisted around to meet the small animal. It chirped at him quietly with one paw on the sheets.

"Hello, mongoose." He whispered to the animal. It laid down at the edge of the bed, its tail slowly swaying like a cat's.

"What do you want?" He tilted his head. The creature responded with a head tilt before prancing to the door with an odd bounce of a walk. It gazed back, waiting for him to follow as his body pointed to the open door. Anthony followed, making sure that there wasn't a sound to follow. It was easy to do since his body never made a sound in the first place. His long claws that could dig into the walls wouldn't make a crackle of sound.

The mongoose halted in his steps, staring up at a shelf. He chirped again, almost pointing with its long nose at the instrument hidden above. He carefully grabbed it and slid it down for the mongoose to see. He sniffed it excitingly, waiting for the sound to come out of it.

The mongoose sat as it pressed its snout against the fiddle expectantly. He raised the violin to his chest and the bow followed as it began to quietly sing. Enough to be heard, but not enough to wake anyone else in the home up.

Lights that wisped away from his music became a sensation to the mongoose. The lights that came out and strayed away turned into a game for the little creature. It jumped and snapped at the air trying to catch the magic lights. Every time it would catch light it would try to spit it onto the floor. By then the light had faded from a lack of sound supporting its glow, but that didn't stop him from trying to catch and investigate the lights.

"You like music?" He asked and tried reaching out to the mongoose. A small gesture, but it stopped and hesitated to run. He halted his hand, waiting for the mongoose to react.

Its small ears pinned back and it ran back behind the shelf, repeating its descent into the walls. He huffed as it was the first time he had managed to get so close to the mongoose since it didn't trust anyone, and he blew it.

He was going to make friends with the magic mongoose one way or another.