Eternity on Paper [COMPLETE]

For You (Seeking Paradise)

A small bunny hopped along a desolate path. Trees long abandoned by their bloom lined that trail. Their bare branches reached upwards like skeletal hands erupting from graves, desperate for the warmth of sunshine once more.

Troubled, the tiny bunny's ears drooped down over her elegant white fur. The path she hopped was foreboding, and she found that her hops became smaller and smaller the longer she traveled that lonely road. Nature seemed absent from the path, and, like the trees that surrounded her, she too yearned for the embrace of the sun.

The sky above her was an ocean of gray, replete with countless, full puffballs that envied her pure color. Not a single ray of light emerged through their choking masses, which made the bunny sulk and pause her hops. But just as she had settled into place, something pierced the silence.

"Hi, little bunny," came a boy's voice from behind a tree. "Are you lost too?"

The boy, shrouded in a tattered black robe and hair that hid one of his eyes, approached the bunny and knelt. He pet her delicate head, taking care not to nudge her ears, and smiled.

"My name is Tearcatcher," he said. "What's your name?"

The bunny squeaked enthusiastically, drawing a laugh from Tearcatcher. He lifted her into his hands and rose to his feet. He studied her, taking immediate note of her glistening, golden eyes. Their color reminded him of a sound he once heard long ago.

"Can I call you Bell?" he asked, receiving another energetic squeak in response. "Great! Bell it is."

He turned his gaze towards the road ahead and frowned. It seemed to have no end and appeared to grow darker the further it stretched onward.

"Now isn't that just great?" he sighed. The bunny nudged the back of his hand with her head and drew his attention.

He hadn't noticed before, but she was missing her little puffy tail. She whined, dismayed at this fact.

Through a melancholic smile, he said, "so, you're like me, huh, Bell?"

Holding Bell firmly in one hand, he lifted the fringe covering his eye to reveal an empty void beneath.

"You see, I'm missing part of me too. My soul went along with it," said Tearcatcher, allowing the hair to fall back over his emptiness.

Bell nuzzled his hand, and he hugged her in return.

"But you know what? Between you and eye, we'll write a better tail soon enough!" Bell narrowed her gold eyes at his poor joke and Tearcatcher chuckled. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself!"

Scooping her onto his shoulder, Tearcatcher pet her and smiled. "I can't promise it will be easy, but maybe we can find ourselves together. In fact, we will find ourselves. And when we do, I hope there will be a big carrot for you, and a nice, fluffy mattress for me. I'm tired!"

The unlikely duo shared a laugh and a squeak and set off down the dark road and towards a dawn sure to come.