Tundra

This photo reminds me of a very special day- the day when it was proven that parents can indeed be broken down. The date was October 5th. It stands out in my memory, as if it were a birthday. Essentially it was. I had been praying, nagging, and annoying my parents for weeks. In our truck, we approached a large house. Sitting out on the lawn, in a cage, was my rabbit. He was surrounded by at least 5 children, all of which lived there. His white fur was in disarray and was knotted. His pink eyes shifted constantly, uneasily. That's when I fell in love. Without hesitation, I walked towards the small cage. In that moment he looked up at me, and I knew he was coming home with me. The children groped him occasionally in the cage, as the mother talked with me about him. My dad had gone to get the 30 dollars we owed. His name was Mr Barbos. I reasoned silently to myself, that the name would be trashed most definitely. Simply she told us that he had gotten loose in the garage last night, and had been running around all night. I glanced over to the dirty cage, sympathetic now, for he had no water, and no food. Perhaps he will settle down when there is less excitement. When my dad returned, we loaded him up, and I watched him all the way home. When he was safely in my room, with food, water, and a clean cage, I let him run loose in my room. Tundra... Tundra sounded right and the name stuck. He bounded around, gazing at his new surroundings. Within the few days at home, he began to calm down. He would casually lie down beside me when I'd do my homework, as if we had always been friends. Days when I was tired, he'd nap beside me. Days when I would not want to see the light again, he would nudge me, reminding me that someone still loved me. We've had our squabbles; he has a stubborn personality. We also have had our desperate moments when he was so sick, we thought we would have to put him down. But we have survived it all. Now when I look back, October 5th was a birthday- the birth of an amazing friendship.

submitted by A.M. Calgary, Canada

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