Disclaimer: I don't own Green Mile or any characters in this fic. I was just bored, so I thought I'd throw this out. Nothing special. Hope you enjoy it!
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Allow me to introduce myself. I am a mouse.
Seriously. I'm a mouse.
My name, at least the name that I was given, was Mister Jingles. Mice don't get names when we're born.
I'm currently over eighty years old. You may know that twenty times longer than most mice live.
But I'm getting a little ahead of myself. Let me start over. What you really need to know.
I was born during what the Men call the Great Depression. Just your average mouse. I lived in a prison. I'm getting a little older now, so I can't really recall it's name. Cold Stone, or something.
I spent a week or so there just being a normal mouse. Keeping in the dark. Scrounging for crumbs. At least, until I met the Nice Man.
The Nice Man was one of the people that was always around the cell block where I lived. There were four Prisoners, and five Guards.
There was the Leader Guard, the Tall Guard, the White-Haired Guard, the Young Guard, and the Mean Guard.
The Leader Guard, as you might have guessed, he was in charge around there. The other four answered to him.
But the Mean Guard, he never liked him. The Mean Guard never liked anyone. Including me.
In the cells, when I first arrived, there was the Nice Man, the Quiet Man, and the Big Man. Later, the Quiet Man left, and the Crazy Man took his place.
You see, one day, the Guards took the Quiet Man away. Then there was a really loud humming noise.
The Quiet Man never came back after that. I was sad about that. The Quiet Man was kind of nice. Not to me, just to have around. When I used to scurry up and down the cell block he'd just watch. I guess he might have been curious.
The Big Man was like that too. He'd just watch me scurry around. He'd smile a bit, but that was it.
The Crazy Man, however, was just that. Crazy. He'd whoop, holler, just make a huge ruckus. He spent a lot of time in the bad room, which was at the end of the hall. The Guards would take the really loud and mean prisoners down there for a day or so.
But the Nice Man, he's the one I've been working toward, the Nice Man took care of me. One day I was looking for a place to keep away from the Mean Guard, so I wandered into his cell and he noticed me. He held his hand out to me, told me to come to him. So I did, he seemed nice enough. I climbed into his hand, and he just petted me for a few minutes.
I eventually made my way onto his shoulder, and I tell you, that was the funniest thing I'd ever seen. He started laughing so hard, the other guards came to see what was so funny.
I even did a few things for the Nice Man. He had this big wooden thing, and he'd throw it across his cell sometimes, and I'd just push it back to him and he'd throw it again. I have to admit, it was kind of fun after a while.
The Mean Guard actually got a bit nicer after that. Before I met the Nice Man, the Mean Guard would always try to step on me. He'd throw things, and scream loud enough for the whole prison to hear it. But, like I said, he was nice for a while after that.
But only for a while.
What happened was this: The Leader Guard and the Tall Guard were in the Nice Man's cell, talking to him. I really didn't know what was going on at the time, but I had a pretty good idea: apparently, the Nice Man was going to disappear soon, just like the Quiet Man. He didn't seem too worried about this, though, so I didn't worry either.
The Nice Man had been throwing my wooden thing to fetch throughout this whole conversation. I wasn't really listening. Anyway, my wooden thing eventually flew out into the hall. I went to get it, same as always.
Once I got out there, I saw two things.
First, I saw the Mean Guard.
Second, I saw black.
I don't remember very much after that except a lot of pain. I don't know how long I was lying there, nearly dead.
Then, somewhere through the haze, I saw the Big Man.
And the next thing I knew, I was feeling better than ever. The Nice Man was so happy, he was crying.
Sometime after that, the Nice Man went away. He left me with the Big Man.
I heard that loud humming noise again, I heard the Crazy Man whooping and screaming.
Then I felt the Big Man start to shake. I really didn't know what was wrong with him. But I was afraid he might crush me by accident. So I hopped out of his hands and ran to where I used to live, in the ceiling of Bad Room, and I hid there.
Things got really quiet after that. I just stayed in my hole in the ceiling for a while.
Then, a few nights later, the Mean Guard went into the cell. He was wearing the white shirt that the Crazy Man wore when he was thrown in. He screamed for a bit, then slumped against the wall. I think he cried for a while.
Once, he looked up. Even in the dark, he saw me hiding in the ceiling. I knew the way his eyes widened that he knew it was me.
I was surprised when he didn't get mad like he usually did. He just sighed and stared at his feet.
Then the Mean Guard left. I really don't know how I know this next part, but I just do.
A minute later, I heard a bunch of loud bangs from outside in the hall, and I knew the Crazy Man was gone.
A few days later, I heard the hum again, and I knew the Big Man was gone.
The next day, I came out of the bad room. The Leader Guard was waiting for me. He picked me up, asked where I'd been. Then he carried me off.
I've lived with him since then. First I lived at his house with a Nice Lady, until she went away.
Now, I live in my own little house, in a forest. The Leader Guard visits every day.
I've learned a lot since then. I know that the Leader Guard, who isn't a Leader or a Guard anymore, is named Paul Edgecombe.
I know that the Mean Guard was Percy Wetmore.
I know that the Nice Man was Eduard Delecroix.
And I know that the Big Man, John Coffey, like the drink but not spelled the same, did this to me. He made me live as long as this.
Maybe I'll be dead by the time you read this. Maybe you won't. Maybe I'll still be in this little house and you can visit me. Maybe you won't even care.
But I do know this: I know my time is almost here. and every time I think of that, it makes me sad. Because I know that, no matter how long I live, the Leader Guard will live so much, much longer.
But what's for sure? The Leader Guard sometimes talks about us all walking our own mile. And I know that my mile's end is nearly here.
Maybe your will be longer than mine, maybe not.
But I'll say this: enjoy your mile. You don't get another one.
