Is it true that if Mr. Truck runs you over, you would get transported to another world? Well, I thought it was just fiction.
A humanoid half-rabbit person sat in his room, his hands writing in his diary. The oil lamp on the wooden table lit up the pages. Except for his fluffy white bunny ears, and his lucky bunny feet tapping the wooden floor, he looked human.
His amethyst irises, like gems, reflected his experiences in the magical world - the hardship he endured, the bonds he made, and the love he found. A shiny silver ring rested in his left hand, snugly fitting his ring finger.
His eyes gazed at them for a second, recalling that moment in his life. A small smile carved on his pink lips as he continued writing. His long ears moved left and right; his short fluffy tail twitched.
Well, reincarnation is real... and I got hit by the infamous truck-kun. It was devastating when I think about it. It wasn't the death or the pain per se... it's just, I left everyone - my family, my friends, and my cat - just like that.
Maybe if I can turn back time... I would have tried to avoid it. I still miss my mom and dad.
But then, there are things I wouldn't want to let go now that I have them. My husband is one of them. And I guess it's also the current me. I feel I have changed a lot. But I regret nothing, even if there are some bitter ones.
It is unbelievable that I am reincarnated as a rabbit, to begin with. At least I am not re-born as a fly, I guess.
A lot of things happened. I am writing this diary just because... I felt like I had experienced a lot since coming to this world. Maybe I just want to write it all down, to see how much I have gone through and, maybe, have grown.
It all starts with my new family. My new mother is a rabbit. I don't know her much, not really... she can't talk after all. And maybe there's nothing going on with a rabbit's normal life to begin with. But I feel her care and love for me. And that's something I will always remember.
I remember back then. I think I was just on the way back home from school. I think it was a blind-spot at a sharp corner. The driver was probably driving carelessly. Otherwise, how did he crash into me?
After everything went dark, the next time I woke up, I was so scared. First thing I saw? A freaking Godzilla-sized rabbit. It's crazy!
***
Everything turned dark; senses numbed. It felt as if my whole body was floating in space, with no sense of direction, yet still moving.
In the world of Ardé, on a large continent near the Human Empire, natural formations hid a valley on the highest point of a mountainous range. In the valley, magic filled the air, the full moon bloomed in the night sky, and the aurora painted the already magnificent starry sky.
A rabbit with fur as white as snow, eyes like pink diamonds, was in labor at this juncture.
The female rabbit grunted, and with a push, the Moon Rabbit gave birth to one, two and finally a third kitten.
Mother rabbit quickly cleaned them with her tongue. While two of the kittens had their eyes closed, the third one was different.
The kit's eyes opened, looking around almost curiously. But as his eyes truly focused and locked onto the giant rabbit face, panic instantly reflected in their amethyst irises. The sight of a Godzilla-sized rabbit was enough to frighten the just-reborn human soul.
KYAAAA! DON'T EAT ME!
***
That was how the used-to-be human found himself reincarnated as a rabbit. It took a lot of time to get used to this bizarre new life. But it already happened, and this was reality.
I really... died back then, didn't I...
The little rabbit, the size of a small tennis ball, recalled the last memories he remembered. It felt distant somehow. As if the memories were... realistic dreams, or a show he watched.
I didn't get to say goodbye to them...
His family, his friends, his cat Yuki.
As if sensing the little kit's sadness, the mother rabbit came closer, wrapping him under her embrace like a cocoon along with the rest of his siblings. Her thick fur gave a sense of being on a cloud.
My new mom in this life is a rabbit...
Even though she's a rabbit, he could feel the warmth from her. Safe and comfy too...
Well, I am a rabbit now. I have to accept this... He sighed inwardly in resignation.
It took him an entire week to accept his changing worldview. He stayed in the earthen burrow in the first week, since his mother wouldn't let them go out. So he could only wait patiently.
Time didn't flow too slowly in fact. Shou drank milk, buried himself under his mother's fur for warmth, then slept. The next time he woke up, it was just the same routine.
Finally, a week passed, white fur covered him and his siblings thinly, and all of them were energetic. As if it's time, finally the mother rabbit led her kitten out to see the outside world!
Shou gasped upon seeing the outside world. A grassland with a clear view and a breezy wind surrounded by mountainous structures. He looked at the range surrounding them, with white on top - probably that was snow from the cold.
Wow... this place is so pretty...
Shou felt awe seeing the scenery. Then, his gaze turned to the other rabbits in the distance, each coming out from their own burrows. All of them feed on the endless grasses outside, some simply basking under the sun, some chasing each other and rolling to play.
Seeing his siblings and mom start to munch on the blue grasses below, Shou followed and gave it a try.
Munch... munch... so fresh!
He found it quite delectable. A little on the plain side, but there was a hint of faint lingering sweetness on his tongue and herbal-ish flavour. But the feeling of coolness that spread along his throat down to his stomach felt really nice. Almost as if the grasses were magical.
And they were, in fact, magical.
When the day curtain closed, the gibbous moon rose brimming with white-bluish light, gently illuminating the grassland. As the breeze blew, the blue grasses emit soft cyan light, moving like waves in the sea as the grasses wavered.
So beautiful...! How can the grass glow! Or are they reflecting the light? Are the grasses glowing or are they glowing microbes on them?
Shou tried to comprehend the scene. It was hard to put this view into words. But as magical as they appeared, they had to be a scientific explanation, he thought.
He looked up to see the bright gibbous moon, wondering at the celestial body.
The moon was especially big, perhaps twice the size in appearance compared to where he stayed on Earth before. The view of the night sky was stunning, with the appearance of the aurora at the darkest hour of night.
Shou, and all the Moon Rabbits like him, would bask under moonlight every single night. It was in their nature to do so, needing the essence of the moon to grow.
Through observation, Shou figured out the different animals living in the valley. Smaller mammals, birds, some insects. But they were no predators.
It was a unique ecosystem. Perhaps the valley and the high altitude gave birth to this uniqueness.
During the day, Shou often ran across the patches of grass, moving his feet with vigor. There wasn't social media to browse, no short videos or novels to spend time on. He took the chance to run off wildly in the morning.
The feeling of earth and dew touching his feet, the fresh grassy scent and cool breeze filling his lungs tasted like freedom. At night, each of his steps would cause the grasses beneath to leave some glowy paw prints. At times he drew shapes with his feet, leaving shapes made of light from the grasses he touched; not that other rabbits understood what he was even doing. Mother rabbit only thought that one child of his might had dropped his head when she gave birth to it and cared for it a little bit more.
Aside from the abundant blue grass, their diet also included shrubs of various kinds. For one, a shrub with white bell-like flowers, with dark green leaves shaped like a heart. Interestingly, the dark green leaves had faintly glowing veins on them visible at night.
At least it wasn't so boring as there's plenty of different food. As for fruits and berries? Shou adored them a lot! They were sweet and so juicy!
But the mother rabbit always slapped his head whenever he secretly sneaked some to eat.
Shou pouted his cheeks, feeling aggrieved. He couldn't understand it! Even rabbit moms won't let their kitten eat sweets!? Can I get cavities from fruits!?
Of course, Shou can only complain inside and try to sneak some fruity snacks into his own personal burrow he dug up. Hey, he wanted to be an independent rabbit, of course he made his own burrow early.
Life wasn't that eventful.
It's not bad... living like this. No trouble, no responsibility, no classes, no capitalism...
... It's just a little lonely.
Sure he had a mom. But still... a human soul longed for another person. Shou longed to travel outside, to find fellow humans. But it was just an unrealistic dream. He knew it wouldn't be safe. This place had no predators, weirdly. But outside this unique valley, a hawk might fly down and eat him. A snake might swallow him in one gulp. A tiger would pounce on him like he had any meat.
Just the idea of it was scary.
Shou can only dream of the future where he could meet fellow humans, and have a normal life like he once had. He accepted that maybe he would live the rest of his life here; and really it's not bad at all.
It's peaceful.
Days passed, the gibbous moon turned into a crescent, then into a new moon, and another moon cycle began.
Within tens of days, a full moon bloomed again tonight. This was the first time Shou saw the moon in its full glory - and along with this scenery, a magical scene happened that struck awe in his heart.
The Moon Rabbits were basking under the moonlight as usual. But as the moon glow reached its peak, one of the male rabbit stood.
Yes, standing.
His ears raised upward, curved into a pair of crescent, almost shaping a circle. And then the rabbit glowed in gentle white light.
Whoaaaa!
Shou looked at the rabbit in a daze. How could he glow?
Then the rabbit began to move its ears, almost gently, fluidly, like a kind of a dance. The rabbit came back down, moving its head and ears, and stood again.
These... could it be...
Shou had a guess in his heart.
And just as he thought, a female rabbit in the distance seemed to be attracted to the dance. She hopped forward to be closer, and started to glow as well. The two as if came to a tacit understanding, both standing and coming back down on their feet, their ears moving in unison.
From a pair, another male rabbit did his own dance. Then another, and came another. The pairs formed, each moving in harmony made Shou's eyes wet in tears. He never thought his kin would be so magical.
He looked at his mother, who seemed uninterested in the show in front of them. Then he observed other rabbits that weren't participating. Most of them were basking in pairs. Shou can guess their kin mate for life and that was why these couples and his mother weren't joining in the fun. The female rabbit would lead the male rabbit to the burrow after the courtship ritual, where life would soon be conceived.
Shou wondered if he grew up, he would have to do a courting dance like this too?
But with another rabbit?
He shuddered at the thought. Maybe, he would rather stay single...
Shou let out a small sigh. It's a sigh of peace and acceptance really. Even if he couldn't have a normal human life, this peace was something he treasured.
Free food, cuddles with his kins, and basking under the moon... not bad, not bad at all.
A year passed, the moon finished many of its cycles and began anew. Peace seemed everlasting, the valley remained serene, each day filled with lightheartedness. But little did Shou know that this peace...
... was fleeting.
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