It all started going downhill-and I mean that quite literally– with the arrival of the rabbit. 

Let me backtrack a few hours to when I was having a perfectly ordinary day in every sense of the word. We were on a field trip to Tarbert with the goal of trying to locate as many herbs as we could, to take back to university. Trying being the keyword here. For one we were all deadbeat from waking up at the crack of dawn for the journey and two ( which incidentally should have been one but I’m feeling sorry for my botany professor so there you go. I’m quite gracious that way thank you very much) none of us could recall the first thing about identifying these dratted plants. 

So we’re stumbling along half asleep through the still gloomy woods and trying to identify something beyond the obvious green color while the professor glared at us from her perch on a tree branch.

‘’Give me one reason to show how this is going to help me in the future?’’, my friend Helen grumbled from beside me. 

Being the ever-positive ray of sunshine, I responded with,‘’ When the world faces an apocalypse or is overrun by aliens, we will have to go into hiding and leave all technology behind. Then I’m pretty sure that it’s these herbs that’ll help cure all your illnesses and satisfy your hunger’’ to which she rolled her eyes in exasperation. 

‘’Nobody except you would think of things like that, remind me again why are we, friends?’’

‘’You were in awe of my awesomeness and came begging me to accept you as a friend. Me being benevolent enough did so to put you out of your misery’’ I replied swinging my arms around dramatically to which she laughed.

‘’Madam is looking this way, behave. Let’s see if we can do some actual work now. Do you remember what we are supposed to be looking for in these plants?’’ Helen began going through the guide we had been given.

‘’I think we need to check the leaf shapes and the surface texture. Come on let’s go a bit deeper, everyone is combing this place we won’t find anything new here.’’ I replied dragging her along into a densely wooded area.

Halfway through, I sorely regretted it as we had to keep pulling up vines and creepers to make way for us. Not wanting Helen to give me an ‘I told you so’ look I doggedly went on. Soon we were drenched in sweat and seemed to have thoroughly succeeded in getting lost. I didn’t let the niggling fear within take root and stopped to take stock of our surroundings. 

We were in some sort of a clearing surrounded by tall trees with the sunlight filtering in as tiny ribbons of light from odd places. We spun on the spot looking for the right way out. Neither of us was the outdoor hiking type so it was safe to say that we didn’t even know which was east or west let alone the direction of our party. 

‘’Maia listen, what do you hear?’’ Helen murmured indicating for me to quiet down. 

I decided to humor her and listened but was disconcerted to realize that I was being met with silence. I distinctly remember hearing the chirping of birds and a whole cacophony of other animal sounds upon entering the woods but was suddenly, disconcertingly aware that all was silent. It seemed like a heavy oppressive silence, almost as if the woods were holding their breath waiting for something to unfold. Instinctively we stepped closer to each other as if our bodies sensed something amiss before our minds did. We spun slowly in a circle trying to locate a way out. 

It was then that I saw the rabbit. It wasn’t even the rabbit that drew my attention, more so it’s peculiar coloring. It was silver-coloured and seemed to be glowing softly, almost with an otherworldly light. I slowly pointed my finger at it, bringing Helen’s attention to it. I heard her sharp intake of breath next to me. 

‘’What in the heavens is that?’’, she whispered next to me. 

‘’My guess is as good as yours, are you sure we aren’t caught up in some twisted dream?’’ I asked in wonder.

‘’Trust me, my imagination isn’t as weird as yours to conjure up something like this. Now what do we do?’’ she asked still without taking her eyes off the creature.

‘’I don’t know maybe follow it? That’s what happens in books anyways. Maybe we took the wrong turn somewhere and stepped into a different dimension’’, I said trying to lighten the mood while Helen groaned next to me.  

‘’Not now Maia’’, she all but growled at me. And then gasped. I followed her line of sight.

When did it move closer to us?

The rabbit-creature was looking straight at us. It put forward its head sniffing in our direction. We held our breaths. It opened its mouth. I started racking my brains trying to remember what sounds rabbit made. Never in a hundred years did I expect it to speak to us.

‘’Are you lost?’’, it asked. In perfectly clear English.

Next to me Helen started sputtering while I stared gobsmacked, still trying to process things.

‘’Please tell me I’m not hearing things and a rabbit did not just speak to us.’’

‘’I hate to disappoint people but apparently are speaking to a rabbit’’ I responded.

‘’I can hear you, you know.’’ The creature responded cocking its head to one side and regarding us as if it was an everyday occurrence to come across lost girls in the woods. 

‘’I think it was all those berries you stuffed yourself with in the bus ride here. I told you that much of sweetness in the early morning wouldn’t do you good. But do you listen to me? Never in a hundred years. And now are lost in the woods talking to a silver rabbit of all things.’’ Helen threw up her hands in frustration.

‘’You stuffed yourself right with me.’’ I whispered back furiously’ ‘’and we’re totally missing the point here.’’

‘’If you two are done arguing among yourselves, I’d like a word with the Harbinger myself.’’ The creature interrupted us.

My brows drew together in confusion. ‘’The who?’’

The creature regarded me with its black eyes. They seemed like endless pools holding infinite wisdom. 

Where did that thought come from? Helen is right. My mind is probably going into overdrive with all those sweets.

‘’Harbinger. Isn’t that who you are? We’ve been waiting for you for a very long time.’’

Did I mention that things started going downhill at this point? 

Welcome to my world.

Author: Rtr. Aaysha Sufran

Co-authors: Rtr. Manushi Rathnayake and Rtr. Gayanjalee de Silva

Graphic design by: Rtr. Sathmi Dinanja