Soft and Sticky

This morning, I woke up feeling tired and groggy. The house was silent, a sign that the children were still lost in their dreams. As I got out of bed, my foot encountered something soft and sticky. It was an unpleasant sensation, but fortunately, the substance wasn’t brown but red, and though sticky, it wasn’t blood. On my way to the bathroom to wash it off, I discovered more of these red spots along the hallway, forming a trail that ran from the ground floor all the way up. Driven by curiosity, I decided to trace the origin of this mysterious trail.

Upon reaching the kitchen downstairs, I found the source of the mayhem: a jar of jam had fallen to the floor, surrounded by a halo of red spots. It appeared as though a group of mischievous “mumzels” had raided the jam jar and left a colorful trail throughout the house. Armed with a cleaning cloth, I began to follow and erase the trail, which led me all the way to the attic. The trail ended at an opening in the wall, marked by a few jam smudges, evidence of our invisible visitors’ feast.

The lesson was clear: next time, the jam jar needs to be stored in a safer place, out of reach of marauding “mumzels”. This way, I can start future mornings without sticky surprises under my foot.