The 5 days passed very quickly. In that time I cleaned 3 latrines, swept 2 backyards, cleaned 4 chimneys, and even stole a cake from a nobleman's house. The cake was delicious, and since I had become quite agile and could run faster than anyone else, no one managed to even see me entering or leaving.
I was returning home with a basket full of bread I had collected from the trash; they were moldy but still tasty, unfortunately not as much as the cake. When I arrived at the rats' den, there was a carriage waiting for me. The coachman explained that I wouldn't need to worry about anything: bath, clothes, perfume, everything would be on the castle. All I needed was to get in, and that Zita was waiting for me.
I said goodbye to the other rats with the promise of bringing back tasty food, got into the carriage, and we left. Just as Zita had done, I went to the end of the street waving at them. We rode quite a bit, crossing the city. When we passed in front of the mansion where I had stolen the cake, my stomach growled.
"Calm down!" said the coachman laughing. "There will be plenty of food there."
I smiled, embarrassed. I had worked all day and hadn't eaten anything; it was normal to be hungry. I pulled a piece of moldy bread from my pocket and nibbled on it without the coachman seeing; I couldn't simply wait.
I was tired, so after eating the piece of bread I fell asleep, waking up only when we arrived at the castle, when the carriage stopped abruptly and I fell off the seat. I got out still dizzy and looked around. It was all so beautiful and exaggerated; there were giant statues, giant towers, giant doors, stairs with so many steps I wouldn't try counting. It was a place exactly opposite to where I was living.
There was a person waiting for me; although I didn't know him, he knew my name. It was an elderly-looking man, with gray hair and a thick beard, wearing a typical servant's outfit. He took me to a previously prepared room, ordered me to take a bath and put on a very elegant outfit that was hanging on a hanger.
After a very long bath, with the right to lots of soap, cleaning my body well—something I hadn't done for a year—I went to put on the clothes. It was a complete set; even underwear had been prepared. The coolest thing was that it fit perfectly. There were trousers, two shirts, and a kind of coat that only nobles used, shoes, socks. I hadn't worn shoes in a long time; even if I couldn't remember before arriving, I had the feeling I wasn't used to shoes.
I got dressed, put on one of the perfumes available to choose from, and waited anxiously. After a certain time, I heard knocking on the door. I went to open it and found the same servant who brought me here; he asked me to follow him.
I was taken to a gigantic hall, decorated with many chandeliers, candlesticks, paintings, statues, and a silver throne with an infinity of colored stones encrusted in it. There were musicians playing a soft melody that made me feel like dancing, even though I didn't know how. But what caught my attention most was the gigantic table being stocked with hundreds of apparently delicious dishes.
My host recommended that I await the arrival of Zita, whom he insisted on calling Elizabeth; meanwhile, I could help myself to whatever food I wanted. I didn't waste time; I went straight to the food section, ate everything I could, and set aside some of the ones I thought were tastiest to take to the rats. After all, I wouldn't forget them; I was one of them.
"I recommend you try the grilled piglet, if there is still room for food in there..."
I turned around and saw a little blond boy, blue eyes, hand extended to greet me...
"Léo! How good to meet you..." I said while shaking his hand.
We stood talking a little while we ate. He told amazing things, like the fact that everyone had powers, and he was the strongest, capable of creating small lightning bolts able to make a person faint. Zita was the third strongest; she could create fire from nothing and maintain it only by her own will. The second strongest was one called Jonas; he could create invisible shields to protect himself or trap someone. The only one who could break Jonas's shields was Léo, and he felt very proud of that.
Shortly after Léo told me this, I saw Zita coming toward us. She was wearing a blue dress that seemed to float around her body. With her came two other girls; one had short black hair, with a yellow dress a little shorter than Zita's. The other also had black hair, but long; she wore a strange outfit, looking like a colorful bathrobe, yet she was the person with the most elegant posture among the three.
When she saw me, Zita gracefully excused herself to the other girls, then ran toward me, pulled me by the hand, and shouted to Léo while dragging me to the middle of the hall:
"I'll return him later!"
I was having too much fun, while Zita pointed to every side telling me what each of those paintings and statues meant. She also seemed to be having fun telling me much of what she had learned, as if she didn't miss her home at all. Suddenly she stopped and looked at me smiling.
"Do you want to dance?" Zita asked.
"What?" I was astonished.
"Dance! Let's go?"
"But I don't know how!"
"It's easy, I'll teach you."
"And if I step on your foot?"
"Trust me!"
"Okay..."
I didn't know how to dance, but that music made me feel like moving. Zita held my hands and for a few moments we kept moving in circles according to the rhythm of the music. I don't know if that is dancing, but it's fun.
The music playing had no lyrics, only melody, so I whispered to Zita a song that simply came to my mind. I didn't know where I had heard it, but it certainly said everything about what was happening.
"As if silence said it all
A good feeling taking me to another world
The will to see you is already bigger than everything
There are no distances in my new world
Like things from the seventh art
It happened without me imagining
A consumer dream, singing at your party
Come dance with me
Take the chance and kidnap me
Vagabond love, intense or in a rush
Don't know how it ends but I know how it starts"
Zita was smiling; I don't know if she understood what that meant—after all, not even I knew—but it was very good. For me, I would stay like this forever. I wished my companions from the rats' den were there too; it would be perfect.
Then everything started to slow down. The music became distant; there seemed to be no one there, just the two of us spinning in slow motion. I closed my eyes, felt our faces getting closer, my breathing hitched, her hands got warmer. I felt her lips touch mine; for an instant, that was eternal.
I just didn't imagine what the future held for us.