Nostalgia
Why does everyone patronize mice? They’re always “unwanted guests,” or “the new resident.” Never “the prisoner on death row” or “the vessel for deadly diseases you would rather avoid.” They became “the reason for domesticated cats” in the worst zoological trade-off in history, bar none. Not “The main characters of 90s nostalgia movies,” or “the surefire way to make an elephant dance.” Not the thing you listed as your second greatest fear in the third grade or, incidentally, your second choice for dream pet in grade four. No, they’re not “unwanted guests.” They were never guests in the first place.
I ADORE this story because I love mice. “Mouse” was my nickname in junior high. Then I had one in college, redeemed its life from death by tarantula with the promise of a lifetime supply of crickets.