Some nights I wonder; if I had lived in that apartment, would I have ever figured out that there was a hamster living on top of the kitchen cupboards?
Most likely not in the first few days.
I mean, I didn't do much beyond lay on that heat pack at that point. No movement would equal no sound.
Plus people don't often look up when they're searching for something.

Maille took care of me, hiding me in her pocket when she went to work, placing me up on the heat pack when we got home. All the while she would give me that bitter drug telling me it would help me.  
I didn't move much at all, for pain still wracked my body, even with the drugs. Yet, the more time I spent around Maille, listening to her heart beat, the more relaxed I became. Even with Howard lurking around at work, I grew in confidence that the hands of death would not get me. Not with Maille right there.

It was like a night and day moment for me. That first morning I woke up not in pain.

My ears swiveled, listening for signs of Maille or Isabelle stirring, as I slowly lifted my head off the cooled heat pack. My nose twitched, catching actual smells for the first time since before my companions had died. Food, I wanted food. Cautiously, I got to my feet. I was so shaky, but I was standing. Actually standing, no pain coming from my stomach, not feeling the need to be hunch up or try to curl into a ball. I could move!
Finally, I could explore my new home, I didn't need to stay on the heat any longer.
That didn't mean that it was easy. My legs had forgotten how to work, as I stumbled off the pack onto the wooden surface. They kept tripping over each other, but. It didn't hurt. This wasn't pain. It was, the best feeling ever.
Conscious of the possibility Isabelle would be getting up soon. I kept low as I explored the high place Maille had placed me on. I even took a moment to glance over the edge. Everything looked so strange. I didn't recognize human furniture. It looked like a bunch of giant chews for me.

Why would Maille live in such a place? It didn't make sense. I couldn't even tell where she would eat food.

My new home was bigger then where my companions and I had first lived, though, it still had its boundaries. There wasn't any clear air around me, but the height on which I was convinced me to try not to get down. I had plenty of space to move around, but the one thing I was looking for; I couldn't find.
Food.
There was no food up here.

I heard rustling somewhere in the distance. Maille? Or Isabelle? To be safe, I flattened myself as much as possible against the wood. With my new found movement, I really did not want to be found by the wrong sort. I could remember the hand of death jabbing me with it's fang. I didn't want to be sick, ever again.

~Martin Elek