Easter Surprise

Hi all,

I am sending you all Easter blessings today and a short story I recently penned. Hope you enjoy!

It was rumored that a family of rabbits had made their new residency in the old abandoned church on Oak Hill. The grass had knelt down reverently under the burnt shade of endless summers. The tree too grew sleepy and rested its branches against the roof.

People had abandoned church and instead chose to acknowledge God with silent nods and glances toward the sky. Their heads and hearts were filled with city cares and daily life. Only when the old were buried did the masses pass quietly by the abandoned church on Oak Hill.

When it was rumored four footed creatures made their homes between the pews, some youth gathered beneath the church’s weary yellow awning. They gawked inside its murky glass windows for signs of bunny ears. They longed for the revelation of thumping feet. Perhaps it had been a hoax or a pastor’s tale to lure them back into church.

The children scattered to feed their bellies and play until sunset. All except Harris and Lana who were transfixed by the sunlight’s web against the door.

“Is it a sign,” Lana gasped. There remained something pious in her voice. Something wild and adventurous leapt from Harris eyes to his lips.

“Let’s go inside,” he dared. She hesitated at the thought of trespassing but acquiesced. Perhaps there is life in there, she smiled.

The old, carved doors whistled open upon their touch. It was as if someone was beckoning them inside. The pews were changing from decayed stone to polished wood again. The walls were growing vines and the ground sprang up lush meadows for flowers to nestle upon.

Harris looked at Lana in disbelief. “Do you see this,” he asked, and she gave an awestruck nod.

Then their ears heard the crunching of tiny feet on grass. A rabbit gawked at them with her coal, dark eyes. Her fur was white and speckled in brown like one of the old cows in their children’s books. Harris extended his arm toward the rabbit but Lana scolded him.

“You’ll scare her,” she whispered. But the rabbit froze like stone. She wrinkled her nose before hopping forward. Both took it as a sign to follow her and found the spot where her young were sleeping. Their skin was fragile and pink bathed in a ray of sunlight.

“Babies,” Lana squealed. “I always wanted a baby rabbit.”

“Rabbit thief,” Harris charged. Lana blushed but Harris squeezed her hand as both knelt beside the rabbit family humbled by an Easter surprise.

Through Nature's Eyes (Pt II)

Hi all,

Here is part two of my story. I hope you are enjoying the holiday season.

The shadow of his little body lit like a blue flame on shimmering snow. He was white with large, brown spots and dark coal eyes. He thumped his hind legs and wrinkled his little nose at her. She smiled back at him. His little hind legs carved out her name in snow. The letters unmistakably spelled Mel.

Ignoring her roommate’s scoffs, Mel raced towards the door and let the cold air wrap around her like a coat. She felt the snow seep into her slippers. Her toes became one with the slippery ice. The rabbit pointed his pink nose at her like she was a carrot. Her roommate gawked from the window in an incredulous stare. Mel wondered if she too saw the rabbit.

Then, the rabbit jumped as if a gunshot rang in his ear and he sped away into the snowy horizon. Mel followed and felt her body feel lighter. She was shrinking into sugar covered snow. Her hands and toes grew furry and her ears lengthened towards the sky. A generous cotton tail shook behind her like a rattle. She could hear his voice now coaxing her:

Just a bit farther now…don’t stop. We are very close to the forest.

He talks! Mel could not believe her ears as she sprinted fast behind the little rabbit.

They made beautiful tracks in the snow becoming musical footnotes below the earth’s surface. She marveled at his dialect and speech. His hind legs spoke to her pumping fast and furiously ahead. One thump at a time. She turned behind her but could no longer recognize the campus grounds. It was a blur of trees and woods. The trunks and branches were heavy with snow. She looked into their eyes and was surprised the trees had eyes. They professed their history in their sunken roots. They wished to speak to her.

There is no time…the rabbit shouted. She obeyed.

They neared a frozen river that stretched for miles in either direction. The rabbit stopped and furtively glanced into her eyes. She stared into his dark coal ones. She couldn’t speak. Curiosity made her leap into the frozen river. It began to melt beneath her as the sun touched down.