Fluffy WangXian Oneshots Book Two

Little Things

When Lan Zhan is six years old, his mother passes away. It is a strange time for him, because he's full of emotions and he doesn't know how to process them. He's never liked talking about how he feels because people never seem to know what he means, and because of the many misunderstandings that has caused, Lan Zhan is in a bind.

Then one day, Lan Huan gives him a diary.

"Try this, Didi. It's something private, only for you to read and write in. No one else is allowed to look inside it. See? It even has a key."

Lan Zhan accepts it because there are cute and fluffy white bunnies all over the cover, which happens to be a pale blue, and he's partial to that particular shade. He hasn't spoken for a long time, and he knows his family is worried about him, so he makes an extra hard effort to say two important words: thank you.

Lan Huan smiles so brightly, Lan Zhan almost feels back to normal. He takes the book back into his room and sits down at his little desk, staring at the cover of his new book.

He lets his finger trace the outline of one of the bunnies, imagining how soft it would be if he were able to stroke a real one. It might be shy at first, but Lan Zhan would be patient with it, letting it sniff his fingers before touching it, so they could get to know each other. And then, after he had gained the trust of his new friend, they could sit together at the window and watch the sun rise. And he would tell his new Pal all about his mother and how much he missed her. How there was an aching, tender place inside his heart just for her, and though it hurt, the bunny in his lap would make it feel better somehow.

Lan Zhan takes the key and opens the tiny lock.

It's a brand new page, pristine and white with blue lines dividing the blank space, just how he likes them to be. Empty and clean, and he feels a rush of anticipation, making his little heart beat that much faster.

What will he fill these lines with?

He can feel the book reaching out to him, asking him how he feels. And so Lan Zhan picks up his favourite bunny pencil and he begins to write.

Lan Zhan writes about how happy he used to be, whenever he got to visit his mother, and how she used to make him feel, how she was his favourite person in the whole world, right next to his brother.

What else makes you happy, the book seems to ask him.

So Lan Zhan thinks hard. The bunnies want him to be happy, so he has a plan for that. He's going to write everything that gives him pleasure in it, to reassure the book that he can feel better. And then, whenever he's feeling low, he can look inside it and feel happy about the little things that spark joy.

The next day, he asks his uncle for two pictures: one of his family and one of his mother, before she went into the hospital.

He carefully sticks both pictures inside the book. There's no need to write anything under them, because the book understands.

**********

The book is used every day.

As Lan Zhan grows up, he adds to his list:

Bunnies
White bunnies
Brown bunnies
Black bunnies
Grey bunnies
Gentian flowers
Ice cream
Strawberry ice cream

The years pass by, and Lan Zhan is very careful with his book, guarding the key and wearing it around his neck. He stops taking the book to school for fear of it being damaged or broken by bullies, and there are a lot of those, picking on him because he's a quiet child. All through middle school and high school.

And every time that happens, he can come home and look inside his book and feel better straight away.

He adds to his list: