Family

Hello and Goodbye, and Forever and Never, and Thus the Wonderful World Spun On

24 Dec, 2029

Bunny stepped onstage, and took her usual deep breath. She closed her eyes for a moment, as she usually would, to contemplate her happiness. The club's usual crowd silenced, and each person turned to face her, as per usual.

"I see trees of green," she sang. "Red roses too,

I see them bloom,

For me and you,

And I think to myself,

What a wonderful world,

I see skies of blue,

And clouds of white,

The bright blessed day,

The dark sacred night,

And I think to myself,

What a wonderful world,

The colors of the rainbow,

So pretty in the sky,

Are also on the faces,

Of people going by,

I see friends shaking hands,

Saying how do you do,

They're really saying,

I love you,

I hear babies cry,

I watch them grow,

They'll learn much more,

Than I'll ever know,

And I think to myself,

What a wonderful world," she looked around for a moment, and to her shock saw Liam smiling to himself in the corner. She choked for a second, but was still able to save it. "Yes, I think to myself, what a wonderful world."

And so, as usual, the crowd erupted into applause, and Bunny watched curiously as Liam clapped to, chuckling to himself as he watched her. The only thing different about today, aside from Liam, was the fact that it was Christmas Eve, a full eight years after she watched her father die in front of her.

"Liam!" Bunny exclaimed, approaching the table he was sat at and opening her arms.

"Hey, Bunny," he laughed, standing up and hugging her. The two sat back down, and simply looked at each other for a few moments.

"Jesus, it's been ages, hasn't it?" she grinned.

"Yeah... Yeah it has," he nodded. "So how have you been?"

"Yeah, I've been good. More or less just the same old same old for the last few years."

"I mean, you're pretty good at singing," he smiled. "I never even knew you liked it!"

"Yeah, I kept it pretty secret. It was only when I got to Allansby the first time that I realized I could actually pursue it as a career. But to be honest, I don't know about it anymore. It was fun for the first few years, but at this point it's starting to become just the same shit over and over. The applause just sounds so goddam hollow now, it's ridiculous. You know what I mean?"

"Yeah, that's um... that's unfortunate." he muttered.

"Mmhmm," she groaned. "Anyway, that's enough from me, how've you been? What have you been up to for the last eight years?"

"Well, not much, to be honest. I never really made any other friends, and I never got a job. I spent a lot of my time visiting Felucca, and Paula. And after a few years, Renata too. I still despise her, more than nearly anyone. But still, there's something about her that's - tolerable. I don't know, it's weird. I hate her, but - I've grown to love talking to her. Also, I'm um - I'm not sure if Felucca told you. But... ever since he got in prison, Jacob's been um... tormenting him. Constantly."