Ficlets

They found the rabbit dead when they got home from school, and dragged me out to the hutch a few minutes later. Short kid poked at the stiff body with a stick through the open access door.

I nodded and sucked my breath in sadly. “Yep,” I said, “that sucker’s dead.”

“What?” said Tall Kid in a frantic voice. “How?”

“Well, look at these.” I pointed at the snow, where dirty paw prints circled the hutch like a crazy hula hoop. “Some stray dogs must have chased him around the pen until his heart gave out.”

“Why would they do that?” Tall Kid asked, struggling to hold back tears. “We’ve had him since he was this big.” She held out a cupped hand.

I shrugged. “They’re dogs. It’s what they do.”

The dam broke, and Tall Kid ran to the house in a flood of tears.

Short Kid studied me seriously. “All rabbits go to heaven, right?” he asked.

I shook my head. “No, you’re thinking of dogs.”

He frowned. “Well, where do rabbits go?”

I looked at the snow. “If the ground isn’t too frozen,” I said, “down about two feet.”