Blue Bunny
by Derek Perry
by Derek Perry
I recall the day that I bloomed into consciousness. I found myself gently grasped by a hand that appeared monstrous, my furry covering dark under its pallid fingers. Newly awake, a giddiness disconcerted me.
I had no memory of where or what I had been before. I did not know if I should be fearful or expectant. I had no experience of pain or pleasure. Nor of hope or terror. I did not know if I was anxious. The soothing sounds and warm body of the Monster lulled me and I knew that this was satisfactory.
I wondered what had triggered this awareness. Not just of sight and sound and smell. Something else, barely a murmur. Not tangible, you could not touch or see it. Something I could not comprehend. An invisible something had burst within me. Like a virus perhaps but bringing not illness and despair but light and life and joy.
I would spend my days recumbent. I had limbs but they were soft, unable to support movement. Unlike the Monster whose limbs were soft on the outside but possessing a sturdy hidden frame, enabling it to stand on its feet. Its limbs had invisible joints which allowed it to walk and to carry things, including me. I felt no fear as I was dangled upside down, grasped in its hand.
Time passed. I noted alternating periods of light, activity, and noise when I was sometimes abandoned, alone. There were longer spans of darkness and quiet when my Monster held me close and I was comforted. After some hours, this peace would be disturbed by a great Behemoth looming over us and my Monster would cry out excitedly as it was swept away, leaving me abandoned.
The Behemoth had often appeared, as if floating, to gaze at my sleeping Monster but always ignored me. Except one day when, suddenly, I was ripped from my repose and lifted high. Some harsh words were spoken, seemingly about my appearance, and I was whisked away.
The turmoil continued as I was taken into a white place and thrust through a great circular, metallic door which was then slammed shut. I lay wondering where I was when rushing water filled my dungeon. I was tossed about on the waves. I do not know how long I suffered. I closed my mind and waited for an end. The water drained, my prison shook catastrophically and I was upended over and over. I knew this was the end.
I lay feeble and damp. A strange new feeling, perhaps despair, overcame me. I wished for the warm, dry, comfort that came from my Monster. The door clanged open and the Behemoth's great fist appeared, grasping me so tightly that I felt my spirit squeezed from me. But I survived this terrible crush. I was again lifted high, my ascent suddenly stopped as I was attached to a festoon of white and coloured flags stretched across the sky. A feeling of wellbeing returned as the sun warmed me but I wondered what other perils I may yet face. Would I ever find my Monster again?
I hung there reviving as the sun moved across the sky. Then a commotion and I perceived my Monster below me, animated in ways I had never observed before. It leap up and down, animated by its lower limbs, and waved its upper limbs excitedly, pointing at me. My Monster made a squealing noise and loudly repeated a sound I had only heard whispered. BUNNY!
I felt excitement rise in me, and a growing expectation that all was going to be well. The Behemoth’s hand again grasped me, but more gently, and transported me to the comforting arms of my Monster. I relaxed as I was borne away, to resume my previous existence.
I thought back to when my awareness had incomprehensibly appeared. I now knew what had triggered this sensation of life and light and joy. The Behemoth smiled at my Monster, repeating soft words of comfort, like a magic spell. It was love. And I knew that I was included.