The boy and the bunny

The boy and the bunny

I was sitting by the table and holding a plush toy. Black buttons for eyes, a pink triangle shaped nose and long hanging ears. The left part of it's face was soggy.
“Lucas, I'm going on a business trip this weekend. You know where the food is, right?”
Her back was turned to me as she said it. A lump was formed in my throat, hindering my breath but also made my eyes itch. If I would respond my voice would shake and mommy always called me dumb when I did.
“Right!?”
from the corner of my eye I saw that she turned toward me but I didn't look back. The bunny was there and it was easier to look at him than at her.
“Bunbun doesn't want you to leave” I whispered. It was quiet but loud enough for her to hear me. My eyes were so itchy.
“And why doesn't he want me to leave?” the tone in her voice changed. She used that voice when she spoke with her friends and when she spoke to dad, it sounded like she was about to laugh.
“He told me the food gets icky without you here”. Slowly I turned my head and saw mommy looking at the floor. Then she crossed her arms and sighed heavily.
“Lucas, I'm getting really annoyed of you playing with that old thing. You're twelve years old, not fucking five!” she raised her voice. The small lump in my throat grew larger when she yelled. As if it was a monster that ate mommies words and got bigger.
“so what!?” I could no longer stop my voice from shaking or my eyes from getting damp and blurry “at least Bunbun stays home with me!” Her eyes widened and I started moving toward the door, with the plush toy in my hand. “He's the only one that won't leave me like you and Dad!” I yelled, then I ran. First up the stairs, through the second living room and then I opened the door that had a big blue 'L' on it. The door was slammed shut behind me and my legs lost all their strength. I put both arms around the plush toy and embraced it tightly, it's softness was comforting.
“You're the only one that won't leave me, Bunbun. The onl-” I couldn't finish the sentence. It was too hard to speak all I could do was cry. Once again, the left side of the toy got wet and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
A gust of wind whistled as it hit the house and with it came an irregular yet consistent pound against the roof. It was dark in the room, making it hard to see. There were piles of black on the floor and a strange odor swooned over the air.
“We're used to the smell, right Bunbun?” I looked at the plush toy but could barely see it's face. “we're used to being just you and me”
I crawled across the floor until I hit a hard obstacle, which I then climbed up on. The surface was soft and blankets, sheets and duvets were messed up all around it. Another whistling wind breeze past, spreading a chilly sensation through my body, so I pulled a soft blanket over myself with only my head and Bunbun's sticking out. Slowly, I started to float away, feeling how overwhelming the exhaustion was. There was no reason to fight it, so I let it devour me and take me to the land of dreams.

That weekend mommy left me. The doorbell rang and I opened the door. On the other side was a tall man, dressed in black, with short black hair and small eyes. It wasn't kind James or grumpy Carlos; nor was it Adam, although I had been a long time since I saw him. That night had been very loud. There was a storm outside, the wind was yelling and the clouds roared as lightning struck. I couldn't sleep so I went downstairs with Bunbun and mommy was screaming as if she was in pain. The sound she made was making me scared so I went to her door and opened it slowly.
“Mommy? Ar-are you fine?” I had asked, hearing how my own voice trembled. Mommy wasn't alone in her room and they both started to scream. Adam left in a hurry and Mommy told me I had been naughty, so she took Bunbun away. The night was long and tears were falling as I said I was sorry but she wouldn't return Bunbun to me. The next day Mommy went on a trip and I spent those days all by myself. She had taken Bunbun with her.
The men started coming after Daddy left. At first it was the same guys, but as time passed they were always different. I no longer remember their names, because they never return, and they never play with me.
Time passed by fast as I spent most of it playing video games. There was nothing else to do and no one but Bunbun around. It was easy to ignore the hunger when I played games, it made me forget, but it always came to a point where I was forced to make food. So we went to the kitchen and ate of the icky food. It was the same dinner we had the day before, but Mommy wasn't around to make it taste good. When I finished the food I noticed that it was getting dark. On the floor beside the sink was a plastic bag that was tied. It was garbage that needed to be thrown away, so I took it. Mommy showed me before that I simply had to walk out the door and put it in a big green trunk.
“You wait here, Bunbun. I'll be right back!” I said and put on my shoes. As I tried to open the door it shook and resisted, as if it was stuck. Realizing it was locked I turned the small lock key and a loud klick was heard. The sky was dark blue and the streetlamps were on. Fast, I ran to the green trunk and put the bag in it, and raced back to the house.
“See, I got right back!” I told Bunbun and closed the door. He only stared at me with his small black eyes, but that was fine. “Let's go to bed, okay? I'm tired and Mommy comes home tomorrow!” I picked up the plush toy and ran to my bed. The bed felt warm and relaxing. It was strangely easy to fall asleep this time. Falling asleep was never easy.
A loud cracking sound woke me up. It was still dark outside and I could hear steps downstairs, then more cracking sounds. Like glass breaking. Mommy? Carefully and still half-asleep I made my way to the stairs. Loud moaning and some muttering was heard in mix of the breaks but now there were smashes too. I walked down the stairs and there was no lights on. A cold wind brushed my limbs and I saw that the front door was open.
“Why!? Why, Lucas, Why? How could you do this to me?” It didn't sound like Mommy. The voice came from Mommy's bedroom. Slowly I made my way to the door, with Bunbun in my hand, and the sound got louder. Someone was crying in Mommy's room. I put my hand on the doorknob and I suddenly remembered the night with Adam and how I was called naughty. I remembered how I had to spend that weekend without Bunbun. But this wasn't Mommy, so she couldn't punish me. Nonetheless, I was frightened and yet I opened the door with one hand shaking and the other holding Bunbun.
“Tell me, Lucas, Was it worth it!? Was this whore worth it!? Our marriage, our lives!?” the woman yelled. It was bright enough for me to see how she grabbed the lamp next to Mommy's bed and threw it on the ground. It broke and let out a loud breaking sound and the woman cried aloud. Then she sat on the bed and buried her face in her palms and tried to calm herself. I knew that feeling well, how it was hard to breathe, hard to see and how hard it was to be silent.
“Who are you?” she asked suddenly. My heart stopped and my limbs froze. She saw me and I was unable to move. “Are you his child? Did he have a fucking child with that disgusting whore!?” She stood up and walked toward me. Like a squirrel I suddenly turned around and ran. She screamed and ran after me but I seemed to be faster. As fast as I could, I ran across the hall and out the open front door. A cold wind hit me but it didn't slow me down, but then everything happened so fast. There was a blinding bright light and everything was dark.
“Lucas!? Oh my God!” The voice was more than familiar. It was the voice I had been longing for all weekend, it was Mommy's voice. A bit of my sight returned and I saw Bunbun's face. He was laying on his back and looking up at the sky, but his body was underneath something round and black. I tried to speak but I couldn't. It felt as if I was drooling out and on the street. Mommy, Bunbun is hurt. Please help him. It was getting colder by the second and my sight started to fade, even though I had my eyes open. The last thing I saw was Bunbun's black little eyes, staring up at the sky. Bunbun was with me until the end and this time it was our turn to leave you Mommy.
I love you Mommy.