Yellow flowers and a bag of bones
an excerpt

The rabbit turned and looked at me expectantly. “Come on,” he said. “The worst that can happen is that you find what you’re looking for.”

I hesitated at the door, looking out through the small crack the rabbit had left open. It was meant to entice me, I was sure of it. But I still hesitated; I had thought about doing this for a long time already, but going from thinking about it to actually doing it were two very different things.

The small glimpse I could see from my position was intriguing, that much I had to admit. Impossibly green grass overstrewn with small, yellow flowers, and a bright blue sky above with a few white clouds. There was a light grey pathway cutting its way through the grass, leading off to a city in the distance. I could see a few people walk along the pathway, and yet some others sitting on the grass.

It looked peaceful, and not at all dangerous. Not even intimidating.

“Nothing to be scared about, right? You have no reason to stay hidden away in here,” the rabbit said and pushed the door ajar a little further, making it even easier to see what was waiting for me outside. If I were to take the step and go outside, that was.

I still hesitated, and looked back to the room behind me. The Waiting Room, as it was known as. There were people sitting on the benches along the wall, but none of them were speaking to each other. That was the rules; you were not to talk to each anyone but the blue rabbit, and you were not to attempt to go outside until the blue rabbit came to get you.

I knew all the rules. I had read them extensively; so much that I had practically memorized them all. I knew what I was getting myself into. Or at least I hoped I did. There was no knowing what would happen if I somehow got myself in over my head – I could only hope that nothing bad would come of this.

The rabbit seemed to sense my hesitation, and looked up at me with bit blue eyes, a shade lighter than his fur. “If you need more time, you are welcome to say so,” he said, and I thought I could detect a hint of resentment in his voice. Not so strange, maybe. The line was long to get in, and it had probably taken a lot of time to screen me, even more time and effort to approve me. If I were to change my mind now… Well, let’s just say that I wouldn’t be given a second chance.

Finally I nodded. I didn’t say anything, but I knew I didn’t have to – the rabbit would understand.

And he did. He pushed the door open all the way and hopped out into the green grass beyond, once again turning back to me, as if he didn’t quite trust that I would follow. I couldn’t really blame him. I wasn’t sure myself if I was going to follow, not until I took a deep breath and then stepped out onto the grass as well.

The second I was outside, the door slammed shut behind me with a loud bang, as if it wanted to demonstrate that no, I was never going to be able to go back through it again. This was a definite choice; there was no doubt about that.

“I’m going to be your guide,” the blue rabbit said as it led the way from the grass to the pathway. “But you already knew that, I presume. And you also know that I’m not going to tell you what to do. I’m just going to show you around, make sure you won’t do anything too wrong while you’re new. After that, it’s all up to you.”

I wanted to say that I knew all of this already. Hell, I probably knew everything that he was going to tell me already. I had done my research, probably far more extensively than anyone else who wanted in. For me, this wasn’t merely something to do to pass the time. It wasn’t about the green of the grass or the blue of the sky, or the alluring lights of the cities visible. I suspected that the rabbit knew all of this, but that he was going to give me the same standard tour no matter what I said. So I said nothing. Let him lead the way and be the guide. Easier that way. Maybe I could pick up a few things I didn’t already know as well. Information could never be a bad thing.

“You have already read the basic rules over and over, I’m sure of that,” the rabbit continued, talking a little louder because he hopped from the pathway to the grass, though he still stayed as close as possible. “Everything is simple, really. This will be what you make of it. Everyone comes here looking for different things. Someone wants to find something – or someone – and other wants to escape something. Or someone. I haven’t read your file, I don’t know which group you belong with, and there’s no need to tell me either. I am just the guide.”

We were approaching the nearest city quickly, almost too quickly. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to go there just yet; I had to admit that the open space with its flowers and birds and trees spaced out so evenly that it couldn’t possibly be random was soothing to me. The fact that there weren’t too many people out here helped as well. However, I knew that the first guided tour went like this; it had been described to me more than once. It always started from the room, down the pathway through the grass, and into the nearest city.

“First off, you need to go to the Town Hall to get registered, and you have to sign in there every time you’re in town. This will be your home city, so I suggest you get to know it, and quick. Second, you’re not required to get any kind of job, but it is encouraged, ‘cause it helps everything run smoother. Third, go to the Library and read the rules and regulations. All of them. Of course the ones for your city are the most important, but if you want to go to the other cities, you should definitely learn their rules as well. Breaking them will be punished, I’m sure you know this.”

The rabbit stopped not far from the gate of the city, sitting down as he looked up at me. “Are you following me so far? I’m not going too fast for you, am I?”

I shook my head in response, looking up at the gate instead of at him. It might have been rude of me, but I had long since lost interest in him. The city, the one that was going to be my home town for possibly the next few years, was far more interesting. Not that I could see much of it yet; the brick walls surrounding it blocked out any view apart from rooftops of varying heights. The large metal sign over the gate read -Ixero-. My home. I supposed it could be worse.