Asha ~ The living waters [R.I.P. my little house-mouse, Attila]

Well... in July 2022, I realised I had a little house-mouse guest! 💜🐭
There he was on the kitchen counter happily nibbling away, having opened a packet of biscuits! 🐹
I saw him a few times after that, and so then made a space for him in the shoe-cupboard, created a little nest and left food for him once a day.
Clairvoyantly he told me that his name was Attila Wolfgang Haus-Maus, and that he was a Hungarian mouse of partly Austrian descent. 🥰
An imperial water-rat ancestor had reportedly helped to inspire Strauss to compose The Blue Danube.
After a few weeks I realised that he had eaten through my shoes, however, so we did a deal.
I stopped wearing shoes! 😂
I also ceded the entire shoe-cupboard to him, asking only that in return he didn't run across me at night in bed, or do noisy scrabbling.
This worked well, and he kept his end of the bargain. He was happy in his luxury apartment! 🐭💜
He liked blueberries; rice; bread; crackers; Greek melon; figs and chips, and I kept a jam-lid full of water for him too. 🫐🍉🍞
If I went away for a few days, I'd leave 4-5 days of cheese crackers for him... all gone by the time I came back!
Interestingly, he wasn't fond of cheese, though! 🧀
He actually kept to his shoe-cupboard for meals, his nest & for poops, and I cleaned up after him.
Occasionally I'd catch sight of him out-and-about on an errand. 🐭💜
I later came to realise that his errands included eating my travel suit-case (mostly unused, anyway), and the bag of cat treats I kept for meeting cats in the neighbourhood... plus a few items of clothing!
But I was philosophical... a mouse is a mouse, and must do mouse things! 🐭💜
Then in April of this year, after 21 months, I noticed that he wasn't finishing his food. So I changed his diet, but he ate less and less until eventually no food was touched. 🤫
Well, I wondered... did he expire, simply move out, or get trapped somewhere?
I didn't solve that mystery, but then earlier this month ANOTHER different mouse appeared (at least to my eyes)... he seemed younger, bolder & fresher! 🐹
Also more daring! He sat in the kitchen smiling at me, and then hiding! He was playing hide-and-seek!
I wondered... did Attila go to an Ayurvedic health farm for 6-weeks or what? Or was this a cousin who'd received rave reviews about the accommodation?
I decided not to bond in terms of food, nest & poop-clean if this was a new mouse, and carefully explained this to him. He could hang-out, but he'd have to fend for himself! I was a little concerned that the whole family might move in. So I didn't leave food for this seemingly new guy... but I wasn't completely sure if it was actually the original Attila or not.🤫
They say that a mouse in ordinary circumstances might only live to be 6 months old, but if well-fed, safe & warm, they could live until they were 6 or 7 years old! 🐭💜
So... I didn't feed this one, but I did hear him on his errands from time to time. He seemed well-fed, anyway!
But then on friday, sadly, I came home to see that a little mouse had expired on my big grey, mottled bean-bag... almost as if he wanted to be camouflaged! 🖤🐭
It was a bit of a shock and I felt sad. I hoped it wasn't Attila, and that I hadn't been mean by not feeding him since April.
But I just don't know... it's a mouse mystery! 🤫
A friend, Ildiko, suggested that Attila had come home to die, and that it was a natural death. I hadn't thought of that, but it's a touching idea.
Anyway, I had the inspiration to put him in a little wooden boat, and take him to the lake Slötyi, in Hungary where I live (though I'm English) for a 'burial at sea'! 🖤🐭
And this is what I did yesterday morning! I lit a candle, said a prayer, gave a little eulogy of thanks, and gently pushed him out across the lake. It actually made me cry! He looked so ALIVE... but he wasn't!
I waved bye-bye, and a column of ducks swam nearby as if they were giving a military salute, and then I realised that water-snakes were coiling themselves around me as I stood by the shore. 🐍
So I filmed them, fascinated, for about an hour (that's a whole other story), and when I stopped I couldn't see house-mouse anywhere... or the boat.
I don't know for sure, but possibly a big fish, snake or hawk had formally carried him back to God... to the Great Mouse soul... and that the boat had drifted into the reeds somewhere.
But anyway... I say now: "Bye-bye, dear little mouse... thanks for coming to be with me. Rest in Peace. I love you."
💜🐭💜🐭💜🐭💜
PS. The music for this film is called 'The living waters.' It's a composition I made for a poem I wrote of the same name. It's not on any album, but here's the KZbin of the poem:
The living waters ~ • Asha ~ The living wate...

[@jean-pierrebesson4922]

Bonjour Asha et Merci pour ces magnifiques images Amitiés;Jean-Pierre.

[@erzsebethatvanine5070]

Szép video.

[@silverstars7882]

Thank you Asha for this video, although I never met Attila I did shed a tear for him. I hope that he is at peace now. A few months ago I had a little fly who stayed with me for a while, sadly I found him in a pool of wax that I had been burning. I told him how sorry I was that he died that way. A few days later I was on my laptop when out of the blue a fly flew around me, perched on the laptop and for a few seconds we `looked` at each other. Then it just disappeared almost before my eyes. I like to believe that he came to let me know that he was ok. Who knows?

[@lucilasennasvensson81]

Só beautiful ❤️

[@irmavarszegi8492]

Dear Asha, This is a truly beautifuful compassionate, loving farewell...😢🙋‍♀️

[@nildafornerstefanello2242]

🥀💜😥🐁⭐

[@karljung9258]

Schön.

[@VickyBonnell]

But you are supposed to light it on fire for vikings?!?

[@AshaSongs]

He was not a Viking mouse!