Four

Imagine walking through a forest, beneath a canopy of trees taller than a house, and all at once the trees start running around. You’re so small, compared to the trees, that you wonder if the trees know you’re down there, and you hope like crazy that they won’t step on you, and you can’t get out of their way fast enough. That’s how it was for Philip. Except the trees were the legs of humans, and those humans were desperately trying to get away from something. He was scared, but not so scared that he didn’t know what he should do and where he should go. He zoomed to the corner, where the end of the wall met the narrower wall that was the entrance to the fitting rooms. People wouldn’t step on him if he was tucked away in a corner. It would be a safe place for him to wait for the commotion to die down.

“I never thought I’d see something like that in a store like this. What's wrong with people?” he heard a teenager say.

He assumed she was talking about Rodie, for who on earth would ever expect to see a guinea pig in any kind of store, never mind the expensive place where Mahmee worked? His assumption became a possibility when he caught a scent that was faint but familiar: Rodie.

Philip was terrified that the humans would step on him and squish him because they didn't know he was there. But he believed that the danger Rodie faced was greater than his, because the humans knew she was there, and they would try to get rid of her. Silently daring the marauding legs to bowl him over again, he crept from the corner and into the fitting room area, guided every inch by the whiff of his beloved friend.

The trail brought him down a carpeted hallway that was bordered on one side by a prettily papered wall and on the other by a row of small rooms. Each room had a door, and most of the doors were open, showing clothes hanging from the walls or heaped upon the floor.

Fortunately for Philip, the door to the room where he found Rodie was open. (He had no idea what he would do if the door was closed!) A pile of clothing was in the corner on the far side of the room. Rodie was hunkered under a heavily padded bench that was covered in rich, rose-colored tapestry.

She popped up and down on all fours when she saw Philip (something that guinea pigs call "popcorning") and licked the tip of his nose. "I'm so happy to see you! We've got to alert Mahmee!" she cried.

"We can't do that," Philip said, wiping his nose with the back of his wrist. "Mahmee will be angry at us for leaving Ant Kandiss's office."

"No, you don't understand," said Rodie, stamping her little foot. "Something bad has happened here. Can't you smell it?"

Philip sniffed the air. "All I smell is you."

"That's not me, you silly little piggie! There! Over there-" she pointed toward the mound of clothes on the floor.

Philip didn't know what she meant. "What is it?" he asked innocently.

Rodie straightened her shoulders, looked him square in the eyes. "I'm not touching it. You go through it and find out for yourself."