The Case of the Missing Scarf--a Short Story

Christmas can be the best time of the year for a lot of folks but especially children. The thoughts of presents for young and old alike can lead to great anticipation of what surprises will be found under the Christmas tree or in a Christmas stocking.

As a small child my hopes were focused on dolls and other toys. As I grew, my thoughts turned to ice skates, a bicycle and clothes. We were always allowed to open one gift before breakfast, but the rest had to wait until breakfast was done and the kitchen was clean. The anticipation of what other surprises awaited grew with each passing moment.

In the last couple of years I've become closer to my sister-in-law, Nancy, in MD. Nancy is an avid crafter. She's a marvelous cook and super at knitting. Last year she knitted a scarf and matching tam in sage and mauve to go with one of my winter coats. Gifts made by someone are extra special cause I understand the time and skill that goes into them. The tam and scarf were certainly special. Each time I wore them, I was reminded of the time she put in to make them especially for me.

I usually put them on the shelf in the coat closet when I come home, but last week I left them drying in the basement. It had been a snowy day and both were quite wet. I draped both items over the wooden posts of one of those accordion clothes dryers. The hat was on the top and the scarf was hung from the bottom of one side up over the top and down to the floor on the other. The fringe barely tickled the tan cement floor, but the dripping water left two little puddles, one on each side.

A couple of days later, I went to get them from the laundry room to wear that afternoon on a shopping trip. I was quite surprised to find the scarf missing. I looked all around the floor thinking it had some how slid off, then I thought maybe one of my cats had been playing with the fringe, snagged a nail and pulled it down and dragged it off. There was no sign of the scarf to be found.

The next day I looked again, to no avail. I looked in every closet of every room upstairs, again thinking one of my cats had managed to get it up the stairs and hid it. It wasn't under either bed or other pieces of furniture. Needless to say, I was baffled as to where the scarf could be.

Loosing the scarf was one thing, but not knowing how it cold have disappeared was something else entirely. I was stumped.

The next day as I was cleaning the laundry room, I felt a rush of cool air across the tops of my feet. It seemed to be coming from behind the washing machine or dryer. I got a flashlight and moved the clothes basket thinking that I needed to find the hole and fix it to stop the draft.

As I looked at the spot where the dryer hose went to the outside, I saw a little bit of daylight coming through a tiny opening beside the hose vent. There in the corner behind the dryer was my missing scarf. Also entwined with my scarf was a sock, a handkerchief, a cleaning rag and the fluffy end of an old dust mop that I hadn't used in some time. How did all those things end up in the same spot?

Looking at me from one shiny pink eye was some kind of animal all curled up in a ball in the middle of all these missing items. At first I was frightened cause I couldn't tell what it was; its shape disguised by the turmoil of lost laundry it seemed to have nested in. I could see it was awake, but it wasn't moving; that is except its one little blinking eye.

Slowly and quietly I backed away hoping not to frighten it and cause it to attack. I had no idea what to do next. Should I call someone? Maybe an exterminator? Should I set a trap of some kind? Suppose it was vicious and could hurt me or my cats, what would I do? I had a have-a-heart trip in the garage. Maybe that would work. How could I be sure? How did that thing, whatever it was, get in my house? How could I get it out? I certainly couldn't fix the hole until the creature was gone.

I shooed BB upstairs and sat on the couch holding her while I tried to figure out what my next move should be. As I sat there beating my brain for a solution, BB began to struggle to get free. I pleaded with her to calm down, her tail twitching erratically. She must smell that thing in the basement and may have heard it moving about.

Before I could take my next breath, a gray flash of fur ran past Precious, up onto the couch beside me and dove in between the seat cushions. I jumped and BB bolted from my arms and ran downstairs. Precious followed as quick as lightning.

I stood there frozen in my tracks as still as a statue. My eyes were riveted on the spot where that thing had disappeared. The cushions moved, and I tightened my clenched teeth.

Up popped a little triangular head with two beady eyes sparkling from the light from the table lamp. I jumped back hoping I was out of striking range of whatever havoc this thing could do. It climbed out slowly showing me it long thin body and four short legs. It turned to walk to the next cushion and there was a flash from something around its neck. I looked closer and suddenly recognized what was flashing and what this tiny little beast was. I just wondered why it had taken me so long to figure it out.

Tiptoeing so as not to scare the critter, I went into the kitchen to get a cat treat. I walked back to the couch with my hand outstretched and full of treats. I cooed as best as I could calling it by name--Honey. I was looking into the eyes of my neighbor's ferret; the one who had escaped from their home a month before.

Failing to find her way back home, Honey had sought out the heat from the dryer vent, found the tiny little space from the outside and squeezed through into my laundry room and into my basement. There she gathered various items including my scarf and made herself a snug little sleeping hidey hole.

Now I had the solution to a number of unsolved mysteries:

Where my scarf had gone.

Where other missing items went.

Why my cats had seemed so nervous this week.

Why the cats' food bowl was emptying out faster than usual, and

What were those strange noises I'd been hearing in the night.

I held Honey in my lap while she snacked on the cat treats, and I called my neighbor with the good news. She had been heart sick with grief when Honey disappeared, and she had feared the worst. Now she would get her Honey back and peace would reign in my house once more.