Alone, he leaped. His last breath was a dehydrated and stale puff. Blood which flowed generously only an hour before was soon dried up in flakes beneath him. Who would have thought that a family man and successful entrepreneur would meet his doom 500 feet beneath the Fortune 500 sky scraper he built? Hoping he’d land in the street where a crowd could see him, instead he landed behind a tall evergreen bush impaling himself on a wrought-iron fence.

Once, a young rabbit whose name was Small, was abducted from his home in the briar. Brutus the family dog finally had his way.

But this is how it happened.

Every other morning, around thirty minutes before noon, Brutus would gaze out the window while Small scampered across the lawn. Regularly, their eyes would meet if only for a brief moment. Small was unlike the other yard residents, he was well mannered, inquisitive, and friendly. All summer, it was only a sliding glass door separating the two, and their gazes grew longer with each passing.

Small was excited, for he hoped that one day he would learn more about this new friend. But Brutus daily salivated at the perchance of sinking his teeth into nape of this helpless young fauna. When Small stared back at him from across the lawn, Brutus became anxious and pool of saliva collected on the tile floor below.

One day, the door opened.

Moments before he bled to death, a glisten of hope raced across the reticulated membrane of Small’s iris. Small remembered the home in the briar that he left behind, he remembered his goals, his dreams, and newly wedded wife. At that moment, Brutus punctured the rabbit’s skull with his teeth. When Brutus heard his name being called from the back door, he dropped the rabbit and ran to Grace, his 4 year old owner. “Brutus, commme 'eeer you. Whos a good dog? Want a treat? Where have you been all morning? I miss you!” Said Grace as she smothered her pooch with kisses.

Falling to the ground, Small thought to himself, “Perhaps I’ll live! Perhaps someone will save me? Perhaps I’m only dreaming?”

 20 minutes passed and it began to rain.

-Lija

"Memento Mori"