Nothing had broken Leo’s way that year. In January, he lost a battle with his mortgage company that cost him his home. His wife left him in February, taking their two children and the family dog with her. She said she was tired of being ignored. He told her he didn’t want to hear it. In late March, he was laid off from the waste management company he worked for due to “necessary cost-cutting measures.” Leo knew he was really fired because he hated his bosses and refused to play by their rules. They hated him too and couldn’t get rid of him soon enough. All of this reminded him once again that everyone is replaceable and at risk of being alone.
On Easter Sunday, he decided to walk downtown for lunch at Gunther’s Hideaway. Then maybe he would wander around town as aimlessly as he had been wandering through his life. As he passed the Methodist church across the street, he saw something moving in the bushes next to the front steps. The service was underway and the streets were quiet.
Whatever was causing the rustling was big. Leo figured it might even be a black bear. But to his astonishment, a huge bipedal rabbit emerged slowly from behind the bushes and stared straight at him. It looked to be around eight feet tall and 500 pounds, with bulging blue eyes, steel-gray fur, and marble white teeth the size of iPhones.
The creature reached up and pointed down the street away from Gunther’s. Leo heard a raspy voice in his head whisper, “Go see what happens over there. It’s your special day.” Leo closed his eyes, rubbed them hard with both hands, and then opened them slowly. The creature was gone. Then the church doors flew open and people began pouring into the sunlight. The service was over.
Leo took a right at the intersection and walked briskly away from Gunther’s, more confused than scared, but certainly both. This was different from the drug hallucinations he’d experienced over the years. In this instance, he was stone cold sober, and the rabbit seemed as real as the hair on the back of his hand. He didn’t know what to think.
A few blocks down the street, he came upon a man standing on the sidewalk next to his car and staring at a flat tire. His wife and daughter were sitting in the front seat.
“Need some help?” Leo asked.
“Well,” the man said, “I got a jack, but I forgot to put a tire iron in the trunk. Bad timing on Easter Sunday, huh?”
“No worries,” Leo said. “Gimme fifteen minutes. I’ll be back with a tire iron, and we’ll get the tire changed. You guys look thirsty. I’ll bring back a six-pack of Coke.”
“Tell you what,” the man said. “You bring back the tire iron, and you’re welcome to join us for Easter dinner if you want.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Why not? My name’s Luis. This is my family. That’s Jacque, and that’s Beatrice. Say ‘hi,’ girls.”
“Hi,” they said.
Leo returned with a tire iron, rag, and six-pack of Coke. The men changed the tire, and then everyone piled into the car and headed to the family’s house for Easter dinner. Luis asked Leo what he did for a living. He nodded deliberately as Leo explained his work situation.
“Maybe we can talk about that after dinner,” Luis said. “I might have a few ideas.”
Leo looked out the window and saw the big gray creature again, this time standing in front of a fitness center. Above the doorway of the center, a sign read, “New Beginnings.” Leo wondered if he was losing his mind, but at this point in his life, he hardly cared. He’d been through more troubling times. He decided to keep the day’s strange encounters to himself. For now, he was just happy for all the company, but he hoped to meet the giant rabbit again. He needed to ask it some questions.
