Being His Bunny

ONE

"YOU STUPID RABBIT!" Master yells at me. I cower back and whimper.

"I finally get someone who'll take you and you can't even speak one word?!" Master says much calmer than before. Although, he was still very loud.

This always happens, someone comes and looks at me and then when they found out I don't speak, they walk away.

There is nothing to be said, so why would I speak? But Master thinks that customers won't ever buy me because they don't want a defected pet.

I can understand that. I wouldn't buy me either. I know I'm not a good pet, I don't know how to do certain things and I'm not smart or what Master calls me "stupid". I wish I was like other pets; they are smart.

"C'mon rabbit, let's get you back in your cage." I scurry behind Master, happy that he didn't punish me this time.

Master locked me back in my cage and I sigh. Glad to be back in the safety of my cage. Some pets hate their cage, but I love mine, even if it is cold and the bars are peeling away. I forgot what that is called, one of the other pets told me it was rasting, rumping, something like that.

I guess that's what Master means by stupid. I don't remember things well.

The rest of the day is spent looking at vampires, dragons, and other humans coming in and looking for pets.

The shop soon closes, and Master yells lights out. Although he also makes us be quite and go to sleep. Which doesn't make sense to me because "lights out" means the lights turn off. But Master wants us to turn off ourselves too.

Other people can be confusing sometimes, well all the time. Some things they say, just don't make any sense to me.

Like, Rory, he's a dog, he tells jokes all the time. And he told me one that had to do with an octopus and tentacles and how many tickles it takes to make it laugh and I didn't understand it.

Maybe one day when I get older, I will understand more things.

I drift off to sleep, dreaming about tentacles and tickles and me when I get older.

I wake up to Master telling us the shop is open and he begins to hand out the food. I like the food Master gives us, then again, it is kind of mushy, but I don't remember the taste of anything else.

Master gets to me and sets my bowl inside. I start eating. People start to come in the shop. Emma, she's a cat, she's been excited the last couple days because she says that she'll be getting taken today.

I'm happy for Emma. And she is a good pet. She almost never gets punishments, and she smells nice.

Master takes Emma out of her cage; I think her owner is here to get her.

Master says everyone is being bought up pretty fast, everyone except for me. I think about that for a long time. Maybe I won't ever get an owner. Maybe I'll be the only pet left in the shop.

Master suddenly rips me from my thoughts as he comes toward my cage.

"Let's go rabbit, we ain't got all day." I step out of my cage, and I shiver and shake. I hate being out of my cage.

My legs wobble at not really being able to walk. Master doesn't take me out a lot, so most of the time I stay sitting down inside my cage.

"Walk faster!" Master tells me. I whimper and try to walk faster like Master told me, but I fall. Tears start forming in my eyes and I start breathing heavy. I wish I never had to come out of my cage. Every time I do, I get punished or I hurt myself.

"Oh, don't start that crybaby mess, rabbit." Master reprimands me.

I stand myself back up to my best ability, my knees hurting from falling. Master only puts a shirt on me and underwear with a hole for my bunny tail, so my knees were bare when they hit the ground.

I continue to follow Master, until we get to the washroom. I hate the washroom, that spray thingy hurts, but Master says it "gets the job done". Which I don't know why it has to hurt for it to do its job.

Master tells me to undress. He sprays me with the water thingy, I forget what it's called. Horse, horm, hole, something like that, I'm not too sure. But the water it sprays hurts.

After Master is done spraying me with the water, he tells me to get up. He throws a cover like thing at me. I also forgot what it was called.

"Dry off Bunny. Put on these clothes." Master then hands me another shirt and underwear.

I put on my clothes and follow Master back to my cage. He locks it back and I feel safe once again.

A few minutes later, Master comes back with a collar. I guess he forgot to put it back on me after the wash. He opens the cage and slips it around my neck before closing the cage back and walking away.

People come and go from the shop and two more pets got picked. Ray, he's part lamb, and Tasha, they're part fox.

Master was right when he said everyone was being bought. A lot of the cages are empty now.

I'm just happy no one else has come for me yet. They always leave and never come back. I never get bought, just looked at. But I can understand that I'm not pretty like Tasha or smart like Emma or funny like Rory. I'm just plain old...I forgot what Master calls me. He gave me a name; he gives all the pets a name.

Willow, yes, that's what he named me. Even if we already have a name when we come, he still gives us the name he would like us to have. Except most of the time his pets choose.

Master has two pets; I always forget their names, but they look alike, and I think they are cats.

One of them is way nicer than the other. Even though they look alike, they seem to have nothing in common. That's funny, how someone could look just like you but be totally different.

The shop closes again after a while and Master yells "lights out" again.

I lay down in my cage and think. What could I do to be a better bunny? Every other pet, even some of the ones that don't seem to behave get picked before me. Maybe it's because I'm a bunny. No, Master says it's because I can't talk. I don't really know how. I haven't spoken in a very long time.

I don't think speaking will do me any good. I think it'll just get me into trouble. I always have too many questions, even if they are in my head.

I guess I won't ever be picked. But that's alright because I like my cage and I'm fine with staying here. Master isn't all that mean, he can be nice sometimes. I'll be okay at the shop.

I soon drift off to sleep, tired from all the thinking.