My Bunny

4

They hadn't said a word to me. Just spoke quietly to each other. My bread was long gone and they had been sitting in the next room whispering to eachother for almost an hour. I could hear some of it. They were talking about whether to take me back or not. I had been playing with my hair. It was no longer in a long blonde braid, but falling around me in waves.

One of their boys walked in the door and froze. Covered in dirt and a few cuts, he was staring at me with big brown eyes. He was around my age if not a year or two older. I waved and he smiled.

"Hi," he said shyly. I nodded and smiled. He sat in the chair next to mine. "I'm Jimmy."

He was silent as he waited for my name. We stayed silent for a while. I didn't have a name to tell him. His parents started shouting in the next room and I looked down at my hands. I felt terrible for coming here. I didn't mean to start a fight.

"Don't worry about it. They fight all the time," Jimmy smiled at me. The woman from earlier came back out from the back room with her husband following. He looked proud of himself. Like he'd just won a prize.

"We have decided," she said sadly. "We won't return you to town, but you also can't stay here. My husband can take you to Banville, but after that, you'll have to figure something out. I'm sorry dear."

"Why can't she just stay here? I mean, if she wants to. I'm sure she could help mama and carry her own weight. You can't just drop her off in the middle of Banville!" Jimmy said standing up.

"Oh, can and will. When I go this weekend, I'm taking her to Banville. End of discussion." His father said sternly. Jimmy dropped his head and nodded.

"Yes, Pa." He spoke quietly. The man sighed and walked back outside, slamming the door behind him. Jimmy walked towards the back of the house without a word.

"Micheal isn't actually that bad. He just gets angry sometimes," she smiled. I nodded. She started gathering ingredients to cook and I stood to help her.

...

I sat on my blanket in front of the fire. It was my third day here, my second night. Also my last night. I watched the fire and got lost in thought.

What would it be like to have a family like this? Or a family at all?

Would I cook with my mother like I do Caryn?

Would I work on things with my father like little Emily does with Michael?

Why don't I have a family?
What happened to them?

I heard a board creak and saw Jimmy peeking around the corner. I smiled lightly at him and he moved to sit beside me.

"What's got you up so late tonight?" He asked. I shrugged. He seemed to have gotten used to me not speaking, pretty quickly. "Are you nervous?"

I nodded. Tomorrow I'd be going to Banville. I'd be starting a new life alone and with only five dollars to my name.

"I think you'll make it. I just wish you could stay." He said looking at the fire. "You'd be safe here."

I looked up at him. He didn't know what safe was. He was still a child in every sense.
He wasn't made to grow up too quickly. No one made him learn to behave like an adult.

He was free to be a child in every way. I envied that.

I wasn't meant for a farm. I can't build things and I'm afraid of everything. I was meant to be a teacher or marry a store clerk. Simple living.

I gave him a small smile, remembering his innocence in wishing me well.

"You're really lovely," he spoke so softly I thought I had imagined it at first. "You know that?"

I felt my cheeks heat up and looked to the floor. I lightly smiled and felt his hand on my jaw as he lifted my face to look at him.

He had a hungry look in his eyes that I'd never seen directed at me from any man. His free hand rested on my hip as his face inched closer until our lips almost met before I pushed him away.

Did he just try to kiss me?

"Oh," he sounded disappointed. "Well goodnight then."

He didn't even look at me before slinking off to his bedroom and slamming the door.

I let out a half frustrated yet half relieved sigh and plopped down onto my pillow.

I was nervous about my new life. How would I get food? Where would I live? Could I survive on my own?

The gentle crackle of the fire lulled me into a hushed sleep.
The rest of my life would be defined by the choices I made in Banville, starting tomorrow.