1 - THE AWAKENING
The simple cottage was silent and still as Maureen the rabbit and her two younglings held vigil by an empty bed. “Children, get ready,” Maureen said with barely suppressed excitement. “The miracle should happen any moment now.”
The young rabbits believed in miracles the way they believed in love, for both were a part of their daily lives.
The center of the mattress dipped under an invisible weight. And as they watched in wonder, the cause of the dent slowly revealed itself; a youngling like them lying in peaceful sleep.
“Isn’t he handsome!” said the young doe.
The young buck asked, “Shall we wake him now?”
Maureen shook her head gently. “That’s no way to treat a guest who has been through so much. We’ll step outside and let him rest.” She did allow herself one light kiss on his cheek.
Later, perhaps an hour later, the young visitor stepped out of the bedroom, rubbing his eyes with his paws. “Where am I?”
“You’re in Farthingdale,” answered Maureen’s son.
“I’ll handle this,” Mother Rabbit said gently, coming to the visitor and kneeling by him to meet his glance eye to eye. “David, we’re here to help you. I’m Maureen.”
“Help me?” he said, disoriented. “Is this a hospital?”
A warm smile lit her face. “I will answer all your questions, dear. Before I do, what is the last thing you remember?”
The young bunny half closed his eyes and concentrated. “I was riding my new bike. I heard tires skidding and honking. A white car! Pain! I was flying, and I landed on my head…” His paws reached up and felt his head, then he suddenly gasped. “What are those?”
“They’re called ears,” Maureen said gently. Her children had to laugh a little, despite the gravity of the moment.
“Am I dead?”
“No, dear. But you were badly hurt.”
“I don’t feel hurt. I don’t hurt at all.”
“That’s because visitors here get another body to use. You look very different now, quite handsome, but this may be something of a shock, and you will need to get used to it.” Maureen held up a small looking glass. “Think of this as your home away from home. A vacation, perhaps a great adventure.”
David stared at the face in the glass. He expected to see a human face, but it was not. Then he tried to make a couple of funny faces and laughed nervously. The giggle turned into a puzzled expression. “But that’s a rabbit. It’s not me…is it? I must have really hit my head!”
“You’re quite yourself, dear. All the things you know, and all the feelings you feel are here in this new body. Right now the little human boy everyone calls David is asleep and he can’t wake up.”
David drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, his paws rising to his face and feeling its unfamiliar contours. “So, is this all just a dream?”
Maureen put an arm around David and held him gently, giving his shoulder a little pat. “No, David, it’s real.”
David glanced in the mirror once more. “Will I ever be a boy again? Will I ever go back?”
“You might go back to your old home if they can heal that little boy. And you might move on to the Havens if they can’t. For now, this is your home, and we will make your life as comfortable and happy as possible. Which reminds me; I baked you something special. Sit tight and I’ll be back in a wink.”
Maureen left for the kitchen, and while she was gone the two younglings came nearer to check out the new arrival. “I’m Tipper,” said the young buck. “This is my sister Dewdrop. We’re going to be your family.”
“Tipper,” David said slowly. “Dewdrop.” As a part of his transformation, David felt as normal talking to his new roommates as he would to new classmates. “Have you always been able to talk?”
Dewdrop wrinkled her nose with amusement. “Not on the day I was born. Have you always been able to talk?”
“I’ve always been able to cry,” David said with a chuckle. He looked at his paws, turning them palm up to see the pads and nails. He took the looking glass and opened his mouth, as if he could see all the changes inside. His nose twitched, and he giggled.
“Move your ears,” Tipper said. And without realizing it, David’s ears turned to the sound of his voice.
A smile spread across David’s face. “Now this is what I call an adventure!”
Maureen came in with a generous slice of fresh apple cake and a glass of cold milk.
David looked at the food, but mainly he inhaled it with his enhanced sense of smell. He had never perceived anything so fully, realizing how many layers of shadow and substance things had. He took the cake in his paw and bit into it, savoring the fullness of its wonderful aroma. Then he took a draft of cold milk. There had to be another word for that experience besides, “eating”.
“This is awesome!” he said with a full mouth. “Can I…may I…see the place? It looks like a good day for it.”
Maureen smiled. “It’s always a good day in Farthingdale. The weather is never ugly, and folk don’t get sick or, and I hate to even say it, pass away.” Maureen rubbed David between the ears. “Folk do appear out of nowhere, and they vanish after a while. You appeared today, and someday you’ll vanish too. Maybe you’ll go home, and maybe you’ll move on to the Havens to wait for your family. Either way, we’ll miss you, but it’s alright. It’s the way of things here. We’ll value every moment you’re with us. You’ll live in our house, eat at our table, sleep in our beds, and help us with our chores.”
“Chores?”
“Being good at something and using that skill to make the world better is one of life’s great joys. Before you take your walk, would you take a broom to the kitchen? I don’t mind tidying up, but if you sweep it for me, I’ll feel good inside. Someday it will make you feel good too, but the door to that happiness is one you must find yourself.”
David had always gotten an allowance, and he didn’t have to earn it. He was not a spoiled child, but he had never been raised to think of a family as a team. His first clumsy attempts to use a broom proved it as he whaled away at the dust with a few quick smacks.
“That shan’t do,” Maureen said gently. “Here, try this.”
Rather than taking the broom, the old doe reached around his shoulders and put her paws over his, gently guiding the bristles into the corners and making long, leisurely sweeps that moved the dirt rather than stirring it up. Never had chores felt so much like love.
“Don’t fight the broom, dance with it. See how nice that is?”
“Oh yes,” David said, his heart rising into his throat.
He turned to face Maureen. Her large, deep eyes practically radiated kindness, and the hint of a smile crossed her gentle face. He smiled too as the broom slipped from his paws and clattered to the floor unnoticed. “Chores aren’t so bad…”
“You’ve found the door to happiness. Now open it with the key of giving.”
David swallowed hard. “I’ll be glad to sweep the den too. Anywhere you want, Ma’am…”
“Just the kitchen,” she said, tenderly folding her arms around him.
“The kitchen,” he sighed, resting his face against her soft fur.
.
The simple cottage was silent and still as Maureen the rabbit and her two younglings held vigil by an empty bed. “Children, get ready,” Maureen said with barely suppressed excitement. “The miracle should happen any moment now.”
The young rabbits believed in miracles the way they believed in love, for both were a part of their daily lives.
The center of the mattress dipped under an invisible weight. And as they watched in wonder, the cause of the dent slowly revealed itself; a youngling like them lying in peaceful sleep.
“Isn’t he handsome!” said the young doe.
The young buck asked, “Shall we wake him now?”
Maureen shook her head gently. “That’s no way to treat a guest who has been through so much. We’ll step outside and let him rest.” She did allow herself one light kiss on his cheek.
***
Later, perhaps an hour later, the young visitor stepped out of the bedroom, rubbing his eyes with his paws. “Where am I?”
“You’re in Farthingdale,” answered Maureen’s son.
“I’ll handle this,” Mother Rabbit said gently, coming to the visitor and kneeling by him to meet his glance eye to eye. “David, we’re here to help you. I’m Maureen.”
“Help me?” he said, disoriented. “Is this a hospital?”
A warm smile lit her face. “I will answer all your questions, dear. Before I do, what is the last thing you remember?”
The young bunny half closed his eyes and concentrated. “I was riding my new bike. I heard tires skidding and honking. A white car! Pain! I was flying, and I landed on my head…” His paws reached up and felt his head, then he suddenly gasped. “What are those?”
“They’re called ears,” Maureen said gently. Her children had to laugh a little, despite the gravity of the moment.
“Am I dead?”
“No, dear. But you were badly hurt.”
“I don’t feel hurt. I don’t hurt at all.”
“That’s because visitors here get another body to use. You look very different now, quite handsome, but this may be something of a shock, and you will need to get used to it.” Maureen held up a small looking glass. “Think of this as your home away from home. A vacation, perhaps a great adventure.”
David stared at the face in the glass. He expected to see a human face, but it was not. Then he tried to make a couple of funny faces and laughed nervously. The giggle turned into a puzzled expression. “But that’s a rabbit. It’s not me…is it? I must have really hit my head!”
“You’re quite yourself, dear. All the things you know, and all the feelings you feel are here in this new body. Right now the little human boy everyone calls David is asleep and he can’t wake up.”
David drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, his paws rising to his face and feeling its unfamiliar contours. “So, is this all just a dream?”
Maureen put an arm around David and held him gently, giving his shoulder a little pat. “No, David, it’s real.”
David glanced in the mirror once more. “Will I ever be a boy again? Will I ever go back?”
“You might go back to your old home if they can heal that little boy. And you might move on to the Havens if they can’t. For now, this is your home, and we will make your life as comfortable and happy as possible. Which reminds me; I baked you something special. Sit tight and I’ll be back in a wink.”
***
Maureen left for the kitchen, and while she was gone the two younglings came nearer to check out the new arrival. “I’m Tipper,” said the young buck. “This is my sister Dewdrop. We’re going to be your family.”
“Tipper,” David said slowly. “Dewdrop.” As a part of his transformation, David felt as normal talking to his new roommates as he would to new classmates. “Have you always been able to talk?”
Dewdrop wrinkled her nose with amusement. “Not on the day I was born. Have you always been able to talk?”
“I’ve always been able to cry,” David said with a chuckle. He looked at his paws, turning them palm up to see the pads and nails. He took the looking glass and opened his mouth, as if he could see all the changes inside. His nose twitched, and he giggled.
“Move your ears,” Tipper said. And without realizing it, David’s ears turned to the sound of his voice.
A smile spread across David’s face. “Now this is what I call an adventure!”
***
Maureen came in with a generous slice of fresh apple cake and a glass of cold milk.
David looked at the food, but mainly he inhaled it with his enhanced sense of smell. He had never perceived anything so fully, realizing how many layers of shadow and substance things had. He took the cake in his paw and bit into it, savoring the fullness of its wonderful aroma. Then he took a draft of cold milk. There had to be another word for that experience besides, “eating”.
“This is awesome!” he said with a full mouth. “Can I…may I…see the place? It looks like a good day for it.”
Maureen smiled. “It’s always a good day in Farthingdale. The weather is never ugly, and folk don’t get sick or, and I hate to even say it, pass away.” Maureen rubbed David between the ears. “Folk do appear out of nowhere, and they vanish after a while. You appeared today, and someday you’ll vanish too. Maybe you’ll go home, and maybe you’ll move on to the Havens to wait for your family. Either way, we’ll miss you, but it’s alright. It’s the way of things here. We’ll value every moment you’re with us. You’ll live in our house, eat at our table, sleep in our beds, and help us with our chores.”
“Chores?”
“Being good at something and using that skill to make the world better is one of life’s great joys. Before you take your walk, would you take a broom to the kitchen? I don’t mind tidying up, but if you sweep it for me, I’ll feel good inside. Someday it will make you feel good too, but the door to that happiness is one you must find yourself.”
***
David had always gotten an allowance, and he didn’t have to earn it. He was not a spoiled child, but he had never been raised to think of a family as a team. His first clumsy attempts to use a broom proved it as he whaled away at the dust with a few quick smacks.
“That shan’t do,” Maureen said gently. “Here, try this.”
Rather than taking the broom, the old doe reached around his shoulders and put her paws over his, gently guiding the bristles into the corners and making long, leisurely sweeps that moved the dirt rather than stirring it up. Never had chores felt so much like love.
“Don’t fight the broom, dance with it. See how nice that is?”
“Oh yes,” David said, his heart rising into his throat.
He turned to face Maureen. Her large, deep eyes practically radiated kindness, and the hint of a smile crossed her gentle face. He smiled too as the broom slipped from his paws and clattered to the floor unnoticed. “Chores aren’t so bad…”
“You’ve found the door to happiness. Now open it with the key of giving.”
David swallowed hard. “I’ll be glad to sweep the den too. Anywhere you want, Ma’am…”
“Just the kitchen,” she said, tenderly folding her arms around him.
“The kitchen,” he sighed, resting his face against her soft fur.
.
