Untitled chapter
The Engaging Bunny Rabbit
By Sean van der Wath
1.
At first Leon thought the strange Rabbit dressed in a faded black suit and a red sox baseball cap wasn’t too bad. Even though the image of such a being toyed with the rationalities of his mind. Leon was barely ten years old and what he had learned from the world thus far was that there wasn’t supposed to be man sized bunny Rabbits seemingly living in abandoned houses which popped up at random around the neighborhood. The city was Boston and even though it had its fair share of old Victorian style houses they certainly did not appear at will taking on a life of their own.
The first meeting of the house and the Rabbit that Leon could recall was on a warm summers day just after school had let out for the holidays. Just like any normal ten-year-old Leon was looking forward to lazy days sleeping in late and not having to be told what to do by his parents or teachers. Sub consciously even though this fact had not yet manifested itself firmly on the upper levels of Leon’s mind; he hated authority. His very existence shouted out through mind and body being prodded and pushed into line in any way. This might have unfortunate consequences later in life, or it might lead him to the kind of dignified existence many souls as himself had managed to create for themselves in history.
Whatever might be the case, when Leon first saw abandoned mansion on his way to his friends Tony’s house all thoughts of school, rebellion and summer fun fled from his mind. He followed the back roads to Tony’s house, as he usually had done for at least five years since Tony and his parents had moved from the south. Beacon Hill was one of the oldest neighborhoods in Boston and it was one that Leon enjoyed the most because of the well-kept gardens and sense of wellbeing he felt from walking the area. Tony lived just on the other side of Cedar street a short walk if you knew the area well. It was right there coming around the last corner to his friend’s street that Leon saw the house. It announced itself so unexpectedly that Leon thought at first, he had imagined it. The rational part of his mind tried to tell him the whole thing was a misperception but even through this the building remained, unapologetically cementing its place in Leon’s perception.
The walls were pitch black and the roof reached up into the sky for an impossible distance. It far exceeded the length of any of the houses it stood next to. Huge wooden doors made up its mouth gapping even when shut. Leon thought of turn of the century films him and dad used to watch when his dad was still around. It looked like the house had somehow transported itself through space and time to modern day America. The looming and eerie presence of the it pulled in on the summer glow all around.
Leon’s vision darkened as he looked towards it and so did his thoughts. He was suddenly sure nothing good could ever come out of that house and he was right. Nothing ever had. There wasn’t any reason to stay anywhere near its vicinity and Leon decided to high tail it. But then just as he turned around the bunny Rabbit came walking out of the front door.
