We Suspect
by Elizabeth Challinor
It was raining
We entered the chemist
I suspect
I've got the plague
The rat
Sat on my shoulder
Nodding in agreement
What medication do you recommend?
The man
In the bright white overall
Behind the counter
Coughed
Put on a mask
Do you have any symptoms?
Not yet
Then how do you know?
A feeling
An intuition
A certain presence
The rat lifting up its head
Winked
The man blinked and said
We don't test here anymore
We walked back through the door
Into the street
Searching for another chemist
We suspect I have the plague
What makes you think that?
Asked the woman behind the counter
Ignoring the rat
A certain feeling
An intuition
Do you have any symptoms?
Not yet
The rat scratched it's head
The woman looked through him
And said
Then I don't know how I can help you
The plague, you see
Isn't what it used to be
Nobody cares
Nobody's scared anymore
Really?
Come on, Johnny
The rat jumped off my shoulder
Onto the floor
I took out its lead, strapped the colourful collar to its neck
We strode together into the street
From behind a cloudy cloud
The sun came out to take a peep
Burst into laughter
So loud
Everyone looked up into the sky
In horror
We returned happily home
To nurse our suspicions
