angel rat
They call him Angel Rat and no one knows how long he (or she, or it) has been leaving gifts. The gifts always come when the house is empty of occupants, whether that time is day or night. The gifts are needed things--a new light fixture to replace the one that no longer works, your child’s favorite flavor of yogurt that you forgot to buy the last three times at the store, an external drive, socks, a piece of trim to replace the broken one in the hall. There are whispers that Angel Rat once left money for a family that couldn’t pay rent that month, but this has never been verified and most don’t believe it. They do all believe that Angel Rat is what Santa Claus would be if Santa Claus: a) existed, and b) was practical in his gift-giving.

There are, of course, many theories about Angel Rat’s identity. A humble person with money to spare (but how is it Angel Rat always knows just what to get?) is the most frequently cited. A vocal if small segment thinks Angel Rat is an alien, but no one pays attention to them. A Mr. John Dierks proposed setting up cameras in all the households of the neighborhood, in hopes of catching Angel Rat on film. This proved to be too impractical--it is a poor neighborhood, after all, and a number of folks are squeamish over the idea of twenty-four hour cameras filming in their home. They could, of course, just turn them off when they are away since that is when Angel Rat always comes, but there is a fear of forgetting to do so, and something that just doesn’t feel right about the idea anyway. So the idea never got off the ground. That’s not to say a few people didn’t set cameras, but as of yet, no one has successfully filmed Angel Rat. It’s especially difficult as no one has figured out Angel Rat’s pattern of appearance yet. For all intents and purposes, it appears to just be random. People in the neighborhood always need something--Angel Rat has no shortage of potential targets.

Then there is the matter of the name. No one knows who first called him/her/it Angel Rat, or why. Jenny Bell claims credit, but she’s a braggart so full of hot air she might just float away one day (many wish she would, in fact, do just that.) No one believes her, of course. What everyone does agree on is that the name fits, though not a single one could explain why. (The theory involving a rat named Stuart who accidentally switched bodies with an angel one rainy Saturday afternoon never gained traction. The story came to Eric D’Amour in a vision. What he always neglected to mention is that it came after he’d watched that movie with the Crocodile Dundee guy, Almost An Angel, six times in a row while drinking twelve cans of Mountain Dew.)

Idle musings aside, the neighborhood is thankful for Angel Rat. They feel they have someone watching over them as they battle through lives that are often quite hard. This is the greatest gift that Angel Rat gives.