Short Stories and Nonsense. W.R. Lacy

      Snow Bunnie

      As I sat thinking about what to write a short story about, I looked out the window at the accumulated snow on the ground. Suddenly, I saw a small head peek out from under a pile of snow; bright black eyes, rabbit-like ears, pursed lips, and snow white hair appeared. I blinked my eyes to clear them, but the small creature was still there, looking around. I shook my head, thinking I was out of my mind. As I sat staring, another creature peeked out, only this one had purple hair. Same look, but the hair was different. They looked around some more and slowly inched further out of the snow. They were about twelve inches tall. Their upper body was formed much as a human’s; however, the fingers on their hands were much different. I didn’t get a good count, but there were approximately ten fingers on each hand. Wow! I was stunned.

      As I sat watching; several more creatures began to come out. They all looked the same except for their hair, which was all different colors—yellow, pink, orange, green, blue, violet, and one even had stripes! They looked around very carefully. Their feet were different too. They were very long and had about thirty toes on each foot. How could they walk with all those toes? The answer is, they didn’t. They hovered slightly above the ground. They moved about with ease. They reminded me of a butterfly, fluttering here and yon.

      Soon there was about twenty of these creatures fluttering about. They were wearing skimpy little suits but didn’t appear to be cold. I couldn’t tell what they were doing flittering around. Nothing but snow was out there. They appeared to be gathering something. Hands and toes were flying so fast, they seemed to blur. My eyes could not keep up with their movements. Something must have spooked them, because quicker than a blink, they flew back where they came from. All was still for a while. I realized I had been holding my breath. I took a deep breath and waited to see what would happen. Slowly, I saw movement around a small hole in the snow. I waited with bated breath. Sure enough, the white-haired one peeked up. I guessed he was the leader. Soon, they were all out and about again.

      I eased out of my chair to see if I could see what spooked them—nothing. They resumed their fluttering, and soon, they were busy as bees again. I sat mesmerized for what seemed like hours, but it was only a few minutes. As I watched, one of the creatures caught me watching it. It didn’t leave or appear to be afraid. I watched, not breathing. Slowly, one of the creature crept toward me. I could hardly believe my eyes. Such a cute little thing. I smiled. It smiled back at me, but what a smile. Its teeth looked like daggers, and so many. I know I backed away. I surely did not want that thing to bite me! I really didn’t know what to expect from it. The little creature continued to approach me. Good thing there was a window between us. In the next instant, it was standing right in front of my face! I must have jumped back, because the creature returned to the hole where they came from but did not go in.

      I continued to watch them.

      Suddenly, there was a noise, and they flew back down the hole! Just as suddenly, a large cat jumped at the hole, just missing the last creature. The cat stuck his nose close to the hole. All of a sudden, he let out a howl, jumped sky high, and took off down the street running for his life! When the small creature poked his head out of the hole, there was a kind of fluid dripping from its mouth. Ugly color, not red. Poor cat. Now I was wary of getting closer to these little monsters. I sat watching them until the sun started to sink. I closed the curtains and let them be.

      I wondered if I was going crazy, or had I really seen such a thing? As it got dark, I took my flashlight and went outside to investigate. No sign of a hole or anything else was there! Well, now I knew I must be dreaming. I went back inside and got ready for bed. I read for a while and then turned out the light.

      Early the next morning, I rushed to the window and opened the drapes. Nothing. Well, good, maybe they left. For some reason, I could not leave the window. I pulled a chair up and got comfortable. Soon, out popped the white-haired creature. I took him to be the big boss, because he was always the first one out. Then the rest of the crew came out and began to flitter and flutter about. I wondered what they were gathering because it was apparent they were collecting something. I also wondered how they came to be here.

      All day long they worked. No coffee breaks, no lunch breaks, and apparently, no potty breaks. Nothing bothered them. I guess the cat spread the word not to go anywhere near that place! I watched all day, but I had to have a potty break. Nothing unusual happened. I wondered how long they would be around. Surely, they would leave when the snow melted. I guess I would have to wait and see!

      As the winter progressed and the more snow accumulated around the hole, the earlier and longer the creatures worked. Somedays, it was dark when they started and dark when they finished. It never seemed to bother them. They continued to flit and flitter. Suddenly, I noticed a different creature! It looked smaller than the rest and didn’t have as many fingers and toes. It seemed to stay with one of the other creatures. I wondered if it could be a baby. Its hair did not seem to be as long, and it had trouble flittering and fluttering. Could it be a baby! How I wished I could get closer to them so I could know what was going on. Where did they come from? What were they? Could they understand me? What were they doing?

      The hole in the snow never changed. It stayed the same size all the time. I made it my goal to get closer to them, but every time I thought about it, I remembered all those teeth! Oh well, sometimes you have to do what you have to do. I moved my chair closer to the window. I was going to try to make contact with them. I watched intensely, every move they made. I waited for one of them to notice me.

      Suddenly, the baby came to the window I leaned down, and it put its face on the glass. I smiled and waited for all those teeth, but when the little one smiled, it had no teeth. Great! Safety! Just as I started to place my hand on the window, one of the larger creatures snatched the baby away. Well, so much for that plan. Still, I wanted them to know I wouldn’t hurt them. I stayed close to the window for the rest of the day. Finally, I put my hand on the pane. White hair came up! He placed all twenty of his fingers on the glass. I could feel heat, not hot. I smiled and nodded. He smiled and nodded back. Just as I expected, it flew through the glass. This time, I didn’t jump back.

      “Who are you?” I spoke quietly.

      In a squeaky little voice, it answered, “We are from the planet Xaynox, not of your solar system. We are here to gather germs from your planet. We need them to help us survive. We thought the winter would be a good time of the year to come. You seem to have more germs during this time. We come often and gather as many as we can carry back to our planet. They are a staple food for us. That is why we have so many fingers and toes, as earthlings call them. We catch the germs and contain them until we have a full load. Then we go back to our planet and process them.”

      “You could get a lot more if you were in a hospital or inside houses,” I said.

      He seemed to think this over.