“Oh, you poor thing. You’re lost… aren’t you?
Ah… a hallucination. Almost the end. It was beautiful, in a way. Like a small girl, but inhuman. Ethereal. White and pure. If it was an angel, it was certainly an angel of death. The bunny ears were a surprise. And yet… somehow not so surprising. Bunnies on the moon? Wasn’t that an old ledgend? Lack of oxygen to my brain made recollection difficult. ‘What harm could it do? I’m dying anyway’ I thought.
“I suppose I am lost… our ship… it was so close to our goal… I was… I was making repairs on the outside and then… I dont know… something big… I got disconnected and the ship… and now they are gone. All gone. They’re all stardust now. And I suppose I will be too… very soon.”
Tears brimmed the apparition’s eyes. “How sad. How very very sad. Isn’t there anything I could do for you?” She held my helmet in her hands tenderly as a child holding a bird that fell from the nest.
I stiffened. Afraid she would take it off. Silly. I was going to die anyway. Her nose and mouth were inches from the helmet. I expected it to fog up, but none came. Silly. No air here. Of course she wasn’t breathing.
“How do you do it?” I asked without thinking.
She tilted her head, curious “do what?”
“How do you live out here with no air or water or food?”
She laughed. The sound was like wind chimes: melodious, haunting and oddly nostalgic. She locked her eyes with mine. I noticed for the first time how strange and red they were. But for some reason I wasn’t afraid. “I can’t tell you… it’s a secret ”
“Only if you are certain. Only if you truly wish to know.” Her gaze searched mine for my answer. And I gave it to her: a simple determined nod.
She smiled, then kissed the helmet- as if giving her blessing or approval.
I blacked out for a moment, and when I came to, I blinked at the silvery white expanse. We were on the moon and we weren’t alone. Several of her kind were leading me along- presumably to show me something.
“You’re almost there, just a little further!”
“Is this your first time on the moon?”
“What’s it like on Earth these days?”
“We hardly ever get visitors!”
I couldn’t answer them- I didn’t have the strength to. But I was able to go along with them. Something pulled me forward like a trance or a dream. Perhaps destiny. I had to know. I made it this far.
It echoed of a fable or a nursery rhyme. Perhaps a cautionary tale. The hairs on my arms stood up with goosebumps. I was surely playing the part of fool. But what did it matter if I would die anyway? I already felt myself blacking out again, perhaps for good this time.
Four little bunnies, And one astronaut
Hopping around on the moon
Four little bunnies, Believe it or not
Four will be five pretty soon.
Five little bunnies, Hopping around
The helm from the astronauts head
Five little bunnies, Never wondering why
The astronaut is sadly now-
My eyes were wet. Droplets of saltwater trailed behind me as I spun around. Falling too slow in the low gravity. Low gravity? It was always like this here. Normal gravity. Right? But I did feel lighter, and smaller for some reason. I couldn’t place it though.
“The bunnies of the moon”
“What was left behind of one who was lost”
“It was, but now it isn’t. We have a new sister! It is her birthday.”
…yeah, silly. Of course thats how it was. I didn’t question further. Though I did wonder why the others were stained red…
