Short Story: The Intelligence One of the Kind

I see what you are trying to do to me. Don’t think I don’t. The murder in your gaze is visible. But I won’t back down. I know you would like to see me scurry off, be no bother to you. It is not how it works. I have as much right to be here as you do. I remember the time you had some respect towards me, appreciating how clever I am. You praised me for being able to crack the nut. You saw a kinship in me. Now I am no more than a vermin to you—a pest and omen of ill.

What happened to us? I have ...