Squeak.

Last night at L'Enfant Plaza while I was waiting to transfer to the Blue or Orange lines I saw a real, live city mouse.

She was tiny, lost, and confused, and she kept scurrying out from under one of those concrete bench things then would wander around exposed for a while before retreating back to the shelter of the bench. She had to be a baby (mouse or rat, but I prefer to think mouse) and it looked like she couldn't evev see enough to find her way home.

Each time she darted about the tiled floor people sitting on the bench would notice her and a few of them would jump up, alarmed. Then she'd disappear again, and a new crew of people would sit on the bench unaware that they were guarding a mouse shelter.

I kept thinking, "Oh shit, someone is going to get his thrill by stepping on this little furball and please don't let me be around to see it."

But I couldn't figure out a way to rescue her. My guess is that the rest of her crew lives somewhere down in the tracks of the metro - I see them down there all the time - but who knows which side they are on? (Towards Franconia or towards New Carrollton?!) and do I just hoist her up by her tail and throw her to the tracks? If she's already disoriented and confused then she'll surely wander over to the third rail (And is there really a third rail? Or is that just urban legend?)

So I just watched, and hoped for the best for my furry little friend.

Lost, confused, overwhelmed, ever squinting her way into the distance...

It's bound to get better.