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Nine – The Burrow
I
wandered back to the fair in a daze. “Eric?”
I
had walked right past Jet in front of the archery range, not even seeing them
in my fog of love.. “Oh, hey. What’s
up?”
“You
tell me. This is the third time today I’ve been back here looking for you. I
thought maybe someone from last night’d recognized you and you ended up in the
keep. Where the heck have you been?”
“I,
uh, well,” I pointed vaguely back the way I’d come, “was practicing.”
“With
that girl from yesterday, huh? I knew it! That would explain the dazed look.
Watch out for fair romances. Eric. They’ll get you in the end.” I smiled and
Jet gave me a dirty look, “Crud. You’re in deep, aren’t you?. What’s her name?”
“Karn.
She’s amazing, Jet. I think I’m—”
“Save
it, lover boy. She’s bound to break your heart.” Jet said.
“You
don’t even know her, Jet. She’s an amazing shot with the bow.”
“Eric,
do you know her? What, you met her
when—yesterday? Heck, on that level you and I should be married.”
“Not
like that, Jet. You ever been in love, Jet? It’s like magic.”
“Have
you ever been in love is more like
it. That’s puppy love, mister. Anyway, I guess Walter and I will pick up your
broken heart regardless. Come on, we’re going someplace new.”
“Where?
Another tavern? ‘Cause if I am being honest, last night was not that much fun
for me.”
“No,
no more taverns for now; too much going on. Nope, this is better; quieter. It’s
a place not many folks get to see. Shush and follow me, lover boy.”
Jet
and I left the fairgrounds and went back down the road we had followed into
town. After a little ways we veered off the road, pushing through a hedge. On the
other side was a narrow, barely noticeable pathway that wound down a bank from
the road. We walked for about 15 minutes. Jet said nothing—she was good at that.
The pathway often almost disappeared altogether and it didn’t help that night was
falling. Finally we stopped in front of a small bush. I wasn’t sure what was
going on and began to feel kind of nervous. If Jet had wanted to do me harm she’d
had plenty of chances before—but I wasn’t sure.
“Okay,
Eric, serious business now. You gotta swear that you’ll never tell anyone about
this, okay?”
“Sure,
Jet. But you’re kinda worrying me here.”
“Sorry,
Eric. There’s nothing to worry about. It’s just that we’re about to go into a
burrow. You know what a burrow is?”
“You
mean like a rabbit burrow?”
“Exactly.
See, the Lepus like to live away from folks—no sense getting in the way. Most
folks don’t know or don’t care where the Lepus live so most have never seen a
burrow, and the rabbits like it like that. But I convinced Walter and Path to
let you come tonight. So stay calm and watch your step. I guarantee it’ll be a
better time than last night.”
“Okay.
Andrew told me about them. But, I meant to ask him; how are we gonna fit into a
burrow?”
Jet
looked at me like I had lost my mind, which I guess I had—Walter was about six
feet tall, almost as tall as I was. She turned around and pushed through the
bush. Behind it was a large hole, about three feet across, dug into the side of
a small hillside cliff, the top of which was about twenty feet up. You did have
to kinda duck going through the entrance but once in I was able to stand comfortably
in a spacious, long tunnel. I could hear voices echoing from the end of it.
“Come
on. This is Satchel’s burrow. She’s friends with Path and Walter and lives with
Andrew’s brother, Mike.”
“Okay.
Say, why is it that Andrew has such a normal name and everyone else seems to
have strange names?”
“Like
Walter? Well, anyway, good point, long story. Some other time. Now, relax. You’ll
be fine.”
That
was the second time she’d warned me. It wasn’t helping.
We
came to the end of the corridor and it opened into a large living area. In one
corner was a full-fledged fireplace with a roaring fire. The walls were bare
earth, but covering some of them were tapestries or colorful bolts of cloth.
All around sat Lepus, either leaning up against the wall or just sitting on
large pillows. There was no other furniture. In one spot there were baskets
with vegetables and pots with steaming stews.
Since
arriving in the valley I had never seen more than four rabbits together but
here there were easily a couple dozen, with all sorts of colored coats, from
midnight black to pure white. Most, however, were some sort of grey mixture
with perhaps a splash of black or white or brown.
The
air was heavy and thick, filled with smoke from the fireplace but also from
what I learned were pipes full of lavender. The Lepus smoked it to relax. The
smell was overwhelming at first, but as I stood on the threshold I slowly
adjusted to the smell and the lack of light besides the fire. I also learned
that Lepus have excellent night vision and prefer low lighting. What I could
not get used to was the chatter of many voices, almost all speaking in Lepus,
which of course I could not understand. The noise was not ugly, but sounded so
foreign on my ears that my head soon began to hurt. I found it better to just
try and tune the sound out.
Jet
went in first and I assumed I would slip in and sit beside her someplace, but
as soon as I came into the large area Walter’s booming voice rang out above the
chatter.
“Jet!
Eric! Welcome. Come in Eric, don’t be shy!”
Of
course that made me immediately feel about as shy as I could be, but I stepped
in and tried to smile now that every rabbit’s eyes were on me.
“Everyone,
this is Eric!” Walter said as he hopped towards me. He then repeated it in
Lepus. A friendly murmur went up from the crowd. As Walter came closer he put a
paw on my shoulder.
“Come
on, Eric. Come sit with Path and I. I’ve been telling everyone about you—all
good, I promise.”
“Really?”
“Oh
sure; I told ‘em all about how your sloppy shooting accidently saved my life!”
“Great.
Did you also mention me saving your life again last night? Or was that an
accident too?”
Walter
laughed and nudged me into a far corner by the fire.
Most
of the crowd had turned back to their conversations, but more than a few
rabbits kept looking in my direction. Jet had already made herself at home next
to Path talking to another girl, much to my surprise. I don’t know why I
thought we were the only people here.
“Eric,
this is Grace. She’s a friend,” Jet said as I came close.
I smiled and nodded at a slight
girl, who seemed younger than Jet and certainly less hard-edged. She had long
brown hair that was tied up in a fancy hairdo. She and Jet quickly resumed talking.
I
sat down next to Walter and Path, the rabbit I had met briefly the night before
at the drinking tent. He had been with the others around the campfire
afterwards. Path was brown with a dark, almost black, stripe running down his
back. He has green eyes and a black nose.
“Hello,
Eric. Good to see you again. Sorry to cut and run last night. Tonight should be
less, exciting—I hope!”
“Hi
Path. Nice to meet you, again. Yeah, I
hope it will be quieter. That was not what I call fun.”
He
laughed a hearty laugh. “So Eric, tell me the story of how you got here. Walter
says you fell out of the bamboo forest. Is that possible?”
“I
guess. I mean, I did. I don’t rightly know how
I got here. I was just walking and before I knew it I crossed a creek and
tumbled out into a field. Next thing I know I see giant rabbits and people.”
“Bet
that was a shock. I know; I’ve been there.”
I
was confused. “What do you mean?”
“I’ve
been to the other side. I know how small us Lepus are over there.”
“Really?
You’ve been back home? I mean, where I’m from? Why?”
“Some
of us have gone there from time to time. Not especially welcoming though.”
He
response was hurried, nervous, only later did I realize he had avoided the
question.
Walter
came back by this time with several mugs, “Beer. None of that cider junk. And
help yourself to some bean stew. It’s good stuff.”
“Thanks.
So is this some sort of tavern then?” I asked, after taking a deep draft of the
quite good if not exactly cold beer.
“Nope,
it’s Satchel’s place.”
I
was about to ask who Satchel was, exactly, other than being related to some
other rabbits I barely knew, when Path
cut in.
“So,
Eric, sorry to press, but did you know about here before you came? Did someone
tell you about it?”
“Uh,
no. I had no idea. Like I said, I was just out walking—”
“Hunting
rabbit more like it,” Walter said with a dismissive laugh.
Path
snorted, “So that’s what Walter’s problem is then! You should be able to handle
a kid like this Walter!” Path was laughing, mostly at Walter, I think.
“Look…,,
” I started defensively.
“It’s
okay, Eric,” Walter cut me short. He glared at Path. “We’ve both been there, to your side of things.
We understand things are different. The most important thing is you are here
now and you seem like a decent sort. What is past is past. Plus I can handle
you.” Walter laughed.
“If
he would just stop saving your life for a moment you might show him” Path said,
snorting even louder this time.
Walter
glowered at Path but then broke out into a broad smile.
“Path,
your ledger with me is a mile long. Pay him no mind Eric. Here, try the stew already.”
The
steaming hot stew was good: beans flavored with a hearty hot spice, with a
slice of rich, white bread on the side. I had more than I should and a few more
beers too. Walter and Path talked about where their jobs had taken them
recently: Walter’s, all over; Path’s, down to the Southern desert. Like Walter,
Path was a guard, in his case tax collectors. They talked about people I didn’t
know, often calling them their Lepus names, using odd sounds, clicks and even nose
twitches to say words that I could not follow. It dawned on me why Lepus had
such common names, they were not their real names but rather English names so
that people could say them. I asked Walter what his Lepus name was. The group
fell silent. I wondered if I had committed some sort of social faux pas. Walter
tilted his head and looked at me with a slight smile.
“In
all my days I don’t think a human has ever asked me that Mr. Eric.” Walter
said, half laughing, half in disbelief.
“Well,
I just figured.. It’s no big deal.” I stammered.
“No,
no. Here, I will say it, but watch all that I do, not just what I say.”
Walter
twitched his nose to the left and made a sharp clipped clucking sound in his
mouth. He smiled.
“Got
it?”
“Uh,
maybe.” I tried, best as I could, to twitch my mouth to the left while
imitating the clucking sound. There was a moment of silence and then all the
rabbits around me broke out in laughter. Walter laughed the hardest.
“Well!”
Path bellowed, “I don’t know about you Walter, but I wouldn’t let someone
insult my mother that way!” and he collapsed
in a fit of laughter.
I
looked in utter confusion, trying to remember what I had done incorrectly…
Walter
composed himself and held a paw up to silence the group.
“A
very good try little peffa, but you did not watch me closely enough. Watch
again.”
He
made the twitch and the cluck again.
“And
once more.” This time I focused on his body to see if anything else moved and
this time I saw it, his left ear twitched too. I rolled my eyes and threw up my
hands.
“How
in the world am I supposed to do that!” I asked. “I can’t even… my ears don’t go that way!”
This
brought on another round of laughter form the group. Path was no crying he was
laughing so hard. Walter put a paw on my shoulder.
“No
worries Eric, no worries.”
Path
drew in a great breath and put both paws on his belly as he leaned back. “Damn
better than most, good effort Eric, but, as you see, there are limitations that
humans can’t overcome easily.”
I
chuckled and Path and Walter looked at me.
“What?”
Walter asked.
“I
was just thinking, maybe I could get a pair of ears to put on top of my head.”
Walter
and Path were stoned faced for a moment but then Path burst out laughing again
and soon the whole group joined in. This began another round of animated
discussion and laughing about the foils of humans who try to speaks Lepus.
As
the night went on, I was more worn out than I had realized. My tiredness,
coupled with the heat from the fire and the strong lavender smoke, made my eyes
heavy. AS the fires burned bright and even more rabbits made their way into the
clearly too small room, I was soon asleep.
I
don’t know how long I slept. When I woke up, the fire was still going; the room
was full of Lepus and the overwhelming lavender smoke. The room was closing in
on me. The air was hard to breathe, the food and cider I ate earlier was not
settling in well. I suddenly felt panicked and had an urge to be sick.
I
stood up and made my way for the door out as fast as I could. Some rabbit I
didn’t know tried to stop me, asking if I was okay. I pushed past and ran down the
tunnel to the outside and stumbled into the cold night air, which felt
fantastically fresh and clean. I took deep breaths, as if I had been running
for a long time, to try and clear out the smoke. I stood up and fought back the
wave of rising sick in my stomach. Gradually my heads began to clear. Once the
feeling passed I found a small rock to sit on and collected my thoughts.
It
wasn’t long before Walter came and sat next to me, putting his furry bulk
uncomfortably on the edge of the rock. I scooted over to give him more room.
“You
okay?”
“Sure,
better now. I don’t know, I felt ill back in there. Too much I guess. Too hot,
too much smoke, maybe it was the cider. Not sure.”
Walter
did not reply, he just sat looking up at the stars. I looked up too.
“These
the same stars as you got, Eric?”
“Seems
so. I can’t always pick out the same constellations. But I’m no expert on the
stars.”
“Me
neither. My father knew them. He told me…”
“What?”
Walter
seemed lost for a moment and then came back. “He told me that the stars over
the mountain were different than the ones they have here.”
“So…
you’re a .. nat?” I asked, cautiously.
Walter
chuckled. “Jet filled you in some huh? Yes, my Dad was an over, one of the
last.”
“You
ever been back.”
Walter
took a long time to answer, as if he was giving the matter long and serious
thought.
“No”
he finally said.
“I
didn’t mean to pry.”
“
I know.” Walter said, gently. We sat there in silence for a while. It was
Walter who broke the silence.
“You
goin’ back?” The question caught me off guard. I hadn’t thought about it much.
And what got to me is that I hadn’t thought about it much.
“I
don’t know. I guess after last night it might be wise.”
Walter
snorted, but did not say anything.
“There’s
not much for me back home, you know?” I told him. “My parents died last year—got
killed in an accident. Got no brothers or sisters near me. All my friends from
school left early, got married. The rest of those kids were from down off the
mountain, in town. They might as well lived on the moon.”
“Are
people who live on the mountain different?”
“Sure
and no. Depends. We stick together. Down in town they got white folk, coloreds,
and issues. But up on the side of the mountain we just have neighbors, really.
It’s not perfect. We got some mean ones, but generally people are okay. People
look after each other. ”
“So
why not go back?”
“Dunno.
Why should I? No family, just a house on some land. Not even a farm, really.
Always felt at loose ends there; like I wanted to leave but couldn’t.”
“Why
not?”
“How
was I supposed to? Where would I go? I could have gone out West with my
brothers, but… really no motivation, I guess. But I got here and it’s all been
so easy. I met you guys, everything’s fallen into place, and then there’s Karn.”
Walter,
who had been slowly reclining on the rock, sat back up. “Aha! I knew it! You
found yourself a little snuggler and it has messed with your mind.” He said it
with a smile, but I could tell he was somewhat serious.
“No,
it’s different—”
“Eric,
you’ve known her for what, two days now?”
“You
sound like Jet. It doesn’t matter.”
We
sat in silence. I couldn’t offer a defense; he knew better than to push it.
“Ever
wonder why you’re here, Eric?”
“You
mean like life?”
“No,
I mean here, right here right now. Do
you know how many people have come from the other side?”
“No.
I guess not many, though.”
“Try
none. You’re the first person I’ve ever heard of coming through the bamboo. We
Lepus go back and forth a bit but not humans.”
“Why?
I mean why do you go there?”
“Long
story,” Walter said with such finality I knew he wasn’t going to elaborate.
After a while I stood up, stretching my legs and yawning.
“Could
I even go back then? I mean, is it difficult to go back and forth?”
Walter
said nothing, he gave a small shrug. I stood there, in the cold night air,
staring at the deep night sky.
“So,
Walter, why am I here then?”
“Not
sure, Eric, but I don’t think it’s an accident. Some Lepus think that we need a
human to speak for us, save us from…the way things are. But I say we gotta
fight the fight ourselves.”
“It would be neat to see where you all came
from. But you won’t let us through, right?”
“Right,”
Walter said, seeing the look in my eyes, “another long story.
“So
you think I’m the guy who is gonna save the Lepus? What from?”
“I
don’t know and no, you’re not the guy. I know that much.”
“Wait—why
not? Maybe that is why I’m here then.
It would make sense—”
“No,
it doesn’t. It will have to be someone who is more connected to things and able
to talk to those in power.”
“Well,
then, I’m off the hook. I guess this makes me just someone you have to lug
around then.”
Walter
laughed, “It’s getting late, Eric. Don’t worry about your place here just yet.
You seem to impress Jet when you wave that damn bow. It might be useful to have
you around. You’ll earn your keep I am sure, just not right now. I’ll grab a
blanket from inside. You can sleep under the stars tonight.”
Walter
hopped back in the burrow and returned a minute later with a large fuzzy wool
blanket. I think I was asleep before he even went back down the burrow.
