I never expected to get anything this Easter. I was more of an introvert, so I had no friends or anyone to relate with. My mother would always tell me to step out a little-but me being me, I'd lock myself up instead, completely getting holed up in my room, away from everyone, doing nothing but stare out the window, which became a bit of a bore, to my surprise.
When I said I preferred being holed up inside, I meant I was pretty much a loner. Being in the midst of people usually wore me out. Especially being with those I found hard reading. I'd often prefer being on my own and keeping to myself to doing anything that'd stress me out.
I was just like my mother. Although, slightly different. I was a brown eyes brunette, 14 and adorable, and had fairly white skin. I had Dad's turn-up nose, his quiet nature, and of course, his harsh side. I wasn't any different from him when it came to that, and I'd say I had a bit of everything.
My parents' people could also be counted here. They were freaky in a way... but extremely nice. From both sides, I'd say my favourite was Dad's brother Uncle Steve-a toy maker and one who loved anything that had to do with kids. I wasn't sure Uncle Steve was going to come visiting this hols, but I, for one, was looking forward to spending time with him if he ever did.
"Rachael?"
"Yes, mother," I answered sleepily, changing positions.
The door of my bedroom came open at that minute as Mom's head appeared halfway. "Baby, what' you doing in bed by this time"?
"Sleeping?" I raised my head a little and placed it back on my pillow.
"It's eight o'clock in the morning!" she announced.
"Don't care. Just want to sleep all day," I said drowsily, wanting to sleep some more.
"Rachael!"
"Jeez, Mom!" I groaned at her holler. "Can't someone have a good night sleep"? I asked jokingly, and she freed the handle to make toward me.
"Oh, you better wake up, young lady, or I'll make you!" she said sternly, not wearing a smile.
"Oh, fine!" I got up reluctantly, a yawn catching my lips as I got my arms spread.
"You'll be feeding Sami today," she said once again.
"But mother-" I brought my arms down to talk as she shut me up.
"Do as I say, Rachael!"
I grumbled at her demand. I couldn't believe she was going to me do morning chores, and also feed my baby brother.
"This is torture!" I thought aloud.
"What did you say?" she raised a serious brow at me for me to repeat.
Thinking inwardly would have been better, I winced and bit my bottom lip. "Nothing!"
"Are you sure? Mm?"
I nodded slightly, saying nothing else.
"I'll see you downstairs, then." she said and turned to leave.
I disliked the fact that Mom had me do all the chores in the house when she could just bring a maid who'd help her with all. She never loved the nanny idea, either, and would talk about expenses which I knew wasn't the reason for not getting one yet.
"Aaahhhh..."
"Stop making silly faces, Rachael," Mom cautioned watching me feed Sami with eyes moving.
"Well, I'm not the one who said that he be fed," I frowned knowing she wasn't finding the whole baby show funny.
"Now don't be rude,"
I smirked and went back to making silly faces again. Feeding my baby brother wasn't an easy job. I had to sing him a lullaby as requested, as Mom sang along.
"Hush little baby, don't say a word,"
"Papa's gonna buy you a mockingbird."
"A mocking bird? Really"? I stopped singing, wondering what a songbird's got to do with a baby.
Lullabies!
The doorbell rang as I made to pick up from where I stopped.
"Who's there"? Mom called to our unexpected visitor.
"Guess who"? Answered a familiar voice.
You have got to be kidding!
"Steven?" gasped my mother as the door swung open.
"Uncle Steve!" I gasped alongside, blinking twice to be sure I wasn't dreaming.
My Mom stood up from beside me as she left to welcome Dad's younger brother.
I wiped Sami's mouth with the baby towel and stood up to greet Uncle Steve. "Hi, Uncle Steve,"
He grinned and made toward us. "My! You're sure a foot taller now,"
Just a foot?
He gave his usual belly laugh and placed a fancy bag full of things on the couch next to me.
Toys, I could see from where I stood. Feeling disappointed, I asked, "Are these for me, Uncle Steven"?
"Why, no, silly!" he tucked his hands in his pants pockets as he signaled to the other bag Mom was holding.
Phew!
"But the fluffy bunny next to the fire truck is yours," my ears captured the "B" word.
What in the world? I used one hand to pull the stuffed animal out. "This bunny"? I looked with disgust, not wanting it. "This bunny, Uncle Steve"? I asked again.
"You love it, don't you?"
Love it? I couldn't utter what I had in mind.
"It's one of a kind, you know?" he added, leaving me no choice but to accept.
The fluffy bunny with a red tag looked really cute, but I wanted something more. I excused myself, handing Sami off to Mom, as I headed straight to the kitchen, pushing the garbage can open.
"Adios, creepy Bun!"
Slam-went the white bunny, never to be found.
I hurried upstairs so no one would know what I had done; going inside my room as I sighed and shut the door.
"What the hell"!? I gasped, staring into two dazzling eyes. H-how did you get here? I wondered, seeing the bunny on my bed. "Did you-" I stopped, remembering it wasn't human. "How did you..."?
"You're my favourite friend," the bunny's mouth popped open.
"You can talk"? I was taken aback by the view. "You can talk!" I inched closer, not believing any of it. Could I be dreaming right now?
"No, you're not dreaming," the furry stuffed animal read my mind.
The bunny's head began rotating to my surprise and its huge front teeth shone as it gnawed repeatedly.
"Can you say something else, bunny?"
"Call me Bun Bun!" it guffawed with its bunny voice. "I am here to stay,"
Who am I kidding? Bunnies can't even talk! I tried to convince myself once again, staring at the furry creature.
I'd never seen this kind of thing before. Well, except in movies and magical worlds I used to fantasize being in when I was little.
Am I going insane or what?
"Absolutely not!" it did it again.
"You really can read minds?"
It nodded slowly. "I can also tell we are going to be... best friends!" the bunny's last words echoed in my ears.
Best friends?
"What's your name?" asked the creepy creature who I found hard believing he was real.
"R-Rachael."
"Nice to meet you, R-Rachael," he mimicked, stretching out its paw so I may shake.
Looking down at his hairy paw...
His?
I gulped and took a step backwards, having had enough of the make-believe. "Uncle Steven!"
"Don't be scared, little one," it spoke again. "I'm not going to hurt you."
"Uncle Steven!!" I yelled for someone to answer me, watching the bunny's whiskers twitch as it smiled.
"A-a talking bunny-a-a talking bunny smiling at me?" I found it hard to speak, hoping to wake up from this terrific nightmare. "You're not real," I gasped for breath.
"Oh, I am real, baby!" it hissed, and from its paws emerged claws.
"Mom!!!"
"Rachael?"
I froze hearing a calm voice call from the bathroom.
"D-Dad?"
It wasn't him.
The door came open to reveal... a hairy beast!
"Rachael?"
I woke up to the sound of a voice I could recognize, seeing faintly two familiar eyes peering into mine.
"M-mom?"
"Oh, Rachael!" I was drawn into a motherly embrace as I wondered what was going on.
"Mom, w-what is it?" I could tell I wasn't in my room by the blue curtains and white lights.
Seeing I had no idea of what was going on, Mom looked with pity eyes as she placed her chin on my knuckles. "You had a terrible fall, baby,"
My jaw dropped open. "A what?"
She sniffed. "It was really drastic." she rubbed my knuckles as she said, "I was so scared that I'd lost you,"
"B-but how?" I asked, "How long have I been here?"
"A couple days," her unexpected reply made me freeze.
A couple days? I grew dumb at the sound. How could this be? I was on my way to-I stopped, brining my head up.
No-
"You were on your way back to your room when it happened," she explained. "You missed a step and-and-" she couldn't say.
I remembered suddenly how I'd wanted to get rid of the gift my uncle had gotten me. If only I had not tried doing so, I'd have probably not missed some days that could have gone better.