The Cajun Conundrum

PETER

Those who strayed too far from the grassy knolls and cemented sidewalk of Mother's shotgun cottage were sure to face a bad case of juju. Living in New Orleans as pet rabbits hadn't been a difficult ordeal while Mother watched over us. It was a comfortable place, brightly painted yellow with a triangle roof and stairs that lead to a porch that circled around long enough for me to stretch my legs. Me and Snoball had our own spacious enclosure inside, a never-ending supply of food and water and even a cushioned space to sleep. Outside was just as nice, there was a large oak tree in the east side of the yard that stood tall with a large sturdy branch where we'd swing with Mother enjoying the cool breeze between our ears and overlooking the glimmering waters of the bayou nearby.

Bon dieu, Mother loved us dearly alright, we were her two little darlings. She named me Peter, after her favorite book growing up. I was her beloved white Belgian Buck quick and nimble. Then there was Snoball, my older companion, a stocky grey Holland Lop that Mother named when she was a child. Snoball shared all of his wisdom with me for the year and a half knowing each other. He was a six-year-old and had a wide range of wisdom about the creatures around New Orleans along with a good survival instinct. He'd been outside of the four fences before and had even met the old animals who lived in the house before me. He'd share stories about the late Maltese house dog that lived in the house one day, curiosity unfortunately got the best of him as he was found on the side of a street one day. You'd be sure to find adventure and then some, he said. It wasn't worth it, so never run off. There were other dangerous animals as well beyond the fence populated by reptiles of all sorts. There were vultures and the worse animal of all the red fox with the shadow face. He'd bark in the middle of the night three consecutive times, an ungodly high pitch scream. We'd hear it almost every night and always followed by cries of small rodents it would eat. I didn't need that noise in my life, so I stayed put in my safe space never too far from Mother or Snoball.

Then one day Mother received an important call that left tears pooling down her cheek. She ran out to her car and drove off never to look back. She left us in a box on top of a bench in the porch during a humid evening. It was a lively day where the mosquitoes swarmed out in numbers and the birds chirped loudly. I wondered what compelled her not to take us with her. It felt like betrayal to me that I could not fathom. Snoball was more forgiving than me having known Mother longer he swore she'd be back to get us, but those long hours that had passed unrelentingly. We were at odds with our feelings with her, but the sun had gotten stronger and our stomachs emptier. We thought we would bake in the sun, but instead we ran out looking for grass to eat. There wasn't much out there however, Mother had been careless with the well-being of the lawn, much like with the two animals she swore to love and protect.

We had pushed the end of the box until we stumbled down onto the floor then noticed the front doors to our home had been closed shut. Me and Snoball agreed to mind our surroundings and hunt for green grass to eat so we started hopping away together. We walked a little whiles to a good patch of healthy moist grass by the fence then we were startled by a strange guttural sound so deep and raspy. We wondered if it could be the Fox around but then a large horizontal mouth covered in ashy green scales and disfigured teeth poked in through the fence.

"Pssst! How’s-ya-mama-an’-them?" said the old gator, one of her eyes had been white with cloudy specks. The top of her long mouth had holes from the mangled teeth that protruded it all those years ago the skin had adjusted to them. She turned her long head sideways to get a better look at us with her one eye that still functioned. She opened her mouth the widest she could through the horizontal wooden plank fence and tilted it as a gesture it to come closer.

"Don't move, Peter" whispered Snoball moving sideways against the Gators good eye.

"C'mon boys, come an greet yah poor lonely neighba!", she grumbled, her throat resonating a sound so haunting to me it made me tremble. We kept our distance still. "I mean well, I promise", she continued.

"What are you doing outside of our home ?". I yelled thumping my back leg.

"Me? I'm just vibin' here boys, hehe, won't yah join me through the fence, there are plenty of leafy weeds out here we could share, come take a look!".

"Don't think that's a good idea, Green one" said Snoball observing her closely while we kept our distance, his nose twitched from the putrid smell coming from the gator. 

"Hehe, boys trust me, you dun want to go back to that woman. They'd just enslave yah again or the circus monkey on the oak tree gone put that gris-gris on you. It's much safer out here besides rabbits belong don't belong in confined spaces.". 

"I think I'll listen to my good friend here" said Peter. Though it was true there were plenty of green weeds out over the fence and open space for running.

The gator growled loudly as it grew impatient, startling me and Snoball. We thumped again to express our dissatisfaction while our ears pinned forward, and our noses continued to twitch rapidly. The Gator had kept pushing and pushing so hard she cracked the bottom of the horizontal plank and went in through it. Me and Snoball ran around it as it waddled into the yard. Then she stopped and waited for a sound or a quick movement.

"Don't move" whispered Snoball. 

"I mean no harm, boys" it grumbled. "Just trying to pass a good time is all".

Snoball had gestured to a soccer ball nearby with his ears and I carefully walked next to it and pushed it away towards the other end of the fence. The gator had snapped around hissing and clamping her jaws missing us by a small fraction. Then it waddled over towards the soccer ball. 

"Have you heard of the Monkey she's talking about?".

"No, don't fall for her tricks" said Snoball. 

Suddenly we heard the same repetition of high-pitched barks we recognized; we didn't see any Fox around the area. We still felt vulnerable being out in the open. There's no way it caught our scent already? Then the loud eerie screaming bark grew much louder than before, followed by another soon after. Me and Snoball ran as fast as we could but unintentionally towards opposite directions from each other.

*****

FOX

I could sense the two little rabbits from before, their smell felt stronger this time. I could almost taste their meat from the desperation and fear, it seemed sweeter to me somehow. It felt like catching them would be the culmination of my patience and hard work, I knew I was close. There were no smells of the human anywhere, nowhere else to hide from me. I walked over and squeezed under a little area in the fence to look for the perfect moment to strike. The subordinate animals weren't enough for me, I had feasted on a few squirrels yesterday and an opossum today, but it wasn't enough. My stomach still longed for more, it grumbled and craved Rabbit meat. I wanted the two that have eluded me for far too long.

I let out a few barks again to make sure the other foxes steered away. I knew some from the other pack were around the area. I barked again this time much louder than before. I needed them to know I meant business, the territory was mine and mine alone. Suddenly I heard heavy stomping several feet away, the sound of a humans. They had been dressed in colors of the grass and trees, but they weren't fooling me. They clumsily rustled through the tall grass further away, why must these disgusting humans intrude on our quaint home?

I closed my eyes and remembered my goal, I needed to get close to the rabbits before dusk. I must persevere and make my way back to the burrows to hide, where my young slept and waited for me. The swift sounds of the man tracking me and throwing sticks in the air were frightening. Now wasn't the right time to get the rabbits, I ran away through the other side of the field, I was afraid.

*****

SNOBALL

I though I saw those bright yellow eyes piercing from the dark face of the fox for a moment before it disappeared. Peter had ran as fast as he could somewhere else. I looked back and he wasn't there. That terrible gator had distracted us, like her ancestors before reptiles were as stupid as they come. They never put their medulla oblongata to good use. They only acted on instinct. I ran away and memories of Mother filled my head I missed her dearly, but it was getting harder to forgive her the more time that passed. I know she had no choice leaving us alone, I couldn't imagine a good reason. I knew she had still cared about us. I had found myself under the shade of the old oak tree in the yard reminiscing. Then suddenly I felt the sickly thick air compressing around me, suffocating me. I had foolishly forgotten about the creature the gator had briefly mentioned. Then I remembered an old story Fluffy the terrier had shared with me, about the monster that robbed any wanderer of their thoughts and inhibitions.

"Are ya enjoying your self down there in dat open field, lil rabbit?" an eerie voice crept from up above. I looked up and could only see the shadows of it and his blue eyes clear as day. It looked like an octopus up on that tree, it was a silhouette surrounded by five articulating appendages moving independently.

"You are the monkey... I've heard stories about" my eyes widened, and ears shifted forward. "You're real..."

"Hmm, Ah, where are my manners lil rabbit? My name is Guillaume LeBlanc, won't you come and join me up here on this branch and I'll tell you my story. You'll get a good view of the bayou from here as well. Unless you want the cocodril to get you? He He He" The monkey started to lower himself down to a lower branch and divulged bits of himself. He was an old spider monkey with a body riddled with scars, black circles around his puffy eyes. He was balding from the top of his head. I thumped my back leg out of nervousness. Then thumped again.

"Stay back or I'll bite". I warned. I began to move back but then he swung down from a flexible branch. He began to swing his long tail behind him side to side in slow meticulous motions.

"Haven't they ever told you never to trust a human" he said while his tail continued fluttering like a pendulum. I had made the mistake of watching it too closely which made it difficult to focus on anything else. I thumped once for another warning but couldn't focus anymore. 

"Oh, lil Rabbit, you mustn't leave" he smiles. "You have so much to learn".

I felt frozen watching the motions of his tail, they were like slow tranquil rhythmic waves. I couldn't move.

"Let's be real, Rabbits live miserable short lives, what better purpose do you serve than become my nutrients for the new few days". I felt my ears unable to move. My mind had drifted and I dreamt of the fox loud screams again. I watched a vision of my corpse surrounded by an emotionless trio, Gator, the old Monkey and the Fox all taking turns eating me. My eyes began to grow more weary and heavy and my body felt lethargic.

*****

PETER

I thought I saw Snoball running towards the tree. I was so scared and looking around for that hungry melanistic fox. He was nowhere in sight. Instead, I found some delicious tall grass to eat as my hunger grew stronger. I had planned to take a few bites before looking for Snoball. Then an old crow landed on the top plank of the fence nearby me. I observed it closely while I ate, wasn't sure if I could trust it or not. I'd usually look to Snoball for that guidance. He did mention some crows loved to hear themselves speak, they were accidental philosophers the short sentences they spoke. I figured maybe it wasn't a question of safety, but one of patience and time was of the essence at the moment.

"Greetings, little one! Caw Caw" he croaked turning his head in quick motions.  

"Crow, I don't have time to talk".

"Little one! I won't take...A lot of time. Caw Caw.

"Let me enjoy this meal and fly off!" 

"The wind spoke... Little one. Caw Caw...". The crow had jumped down to meet my eye level. "My duty binds me. To share my wisdom, Caw Caw".

"Beware...The Old Oak tree... 

"Why the old tree, Crow?"

"The Monk-"

Suddenly, in an instant, the sound of a loud gulp interrupted, and the poor crow had been swallowed whole by the Fox. It had snuck up behind it clamping the poor bird between his jaw. It's final croak was a high pitched one, startling me. I then had realized its warning, I ran as fast as I could while the fox spat out the bird and chased me around the house. I had lost its sight and hid in the porch for a moment. The fox had then returned to chew on the crow it had gored.

I had run as fast as I could towards the tree where Snoball would be before the fox had finished. I saw him from a distance drooling black feathers and meat paste from his mouth. I ran over and saw Snoball frozen and constricted around by a long tail. He had been possessed by the Monkey. I pushed Snoball to try and relieve him from the hypnotism but he wouldn't budge. The fox finally dropped the remains of his prey from his mouth and ran over to the tree looking for me. He took a bite out of the monkey's tail until he retreated. The monkey howled and climbed back into the branches. He had rustled the branches and leaves on the tree while the Fox growled to it. Then the monkey swooped down to pull the hind legs of the fox and tossed him a few feet forward.

"Who say dey gonna best Guillaume LeBlanc?"

I was worried about Snoball who had barely been reacting. He was bred with short stubby legs so he couldn't move as fast as I could. Fox then focused his attention on Snoball who had been sluggishly staring and moving slowly. The fox had opened his jaw to try and bite him. I decided to gnaw on his leg and he let out a loud cry and stepped away for a moment. It wasn't giving up though, he grabbed a big bite from the tips of my ears and shook me side to side. He finally let go and ripped the ends of them spitting out blood. 

"Bastard!" I cried out.

I grinded my teeth and wanted to keep fighting but didn't know if I could. Then I heard a faint thud sound and the fox had twitched. He walked away and took a few slow steps towards the sun setting on the bayou. The water reflection below impersonated the skies colorful displays of orange and pink. He slowly turned around back to me and Snoball. That's when we noticed the long arrow pierced deep into his sides. The wound had been heavily gushing out blood.

"Farewell, little Rabbits, leave me to enjoy this beautiful sunset and feel the wind".

Me and Snoball trembled side by side, we sighed as he watched the fox losing his strength. The blood continued sprinkling down from my ears onto Snoballs grey fur. The Fox's slow deep breaths were growing less abundant. It felt like the chirping of the crickets were getting louder. The fox had finally fallen and laid peacefully on the ground.

There was a stranger that later appeared wearing a camouflaged vest in the front of the property. He held a large bow and arrow on his back. Mother had parked by just in time onto a sidewalk nearby. She looked very distressed and was sniffling. After speaking with the man for a moment, they both entered in together. I had already forgiven her, me and Snoball ran to her feet and she picked us up apologizing and crying. The man with the bow and arrow had walked over to take the fox. C’est tout.