Holly Day writes

The Little Rabbit

I saw the little rabbit when I was taking the trash out

to the communal apartment dumpster

lying in the middle of the drive on its side, chest moving up and down

a little wet, red bubble forming in one nostril. Someone had hit the rabbit just right

just enough to break its neck or its back but not dead-on, not enough to flatten it

or kill it outright. I put the kitchen garbage in the dumpster and went over to the rabbit

knelt down beside it, saw it tracking me with its wild, wide open eyes.

In every movie I’ve ever seen, every story I’ve read

you’re supposed to put injured animals

out of their misery, but it just never seemed right to me.

How much is too much for an animal? And if they’re so close to the end,

like this tiny brown rabbit was

what if they want every last minute they’re allotted? Who am I to steal those

last, precious moments from it?

Carefully, I slipped my hands under its warm little body, felt its heart

beating so fast against my palm, took it over to the side of the driveway

set it down beneath a hedge, somewhere it could feel soft grass and dirt

one last time, instead of the hard, rough asphalt

that smelled of oil and garbage. I thought if the rabbit was going to die anyway

it might as well die somewhere sweet and soft.  It squeaked a little when I set it down

I probably hurt it, I hope I didn’t.

I don’t know why, but a few weeks later

when I was filling out an application form for a job I really wanted to get

when they asked me about something I’d recently done

that I’d been particularly proud of, like some kind of award or achievement.

all I could think about was that rabbit, and how I really felt good

that I’d moved it from the driveway to the grass to die.

I wrote a few lines about the experience, which turned into something

that wrapped around the bottom of the page

and needed to finish somewhere near the middle of the blank back side.

I  guess I shouldn’t have been surprised

that I never got called back for an interview

but I’m not very good at filling out those things anyway.