Article by Dr. Ng Wai Sheng
Image by Gavin Allanwood @ Unsplash
I never had a pet in my life. In fact, ever since as a child I saw my brother came home with a bite mark from a dog, I never liked animals. To make things worse, as a young adult working in a children’s home, some kids tried to play a prank on me by putting a puppy over my body and then laughed their heads off when they saw how I screamed. So yeah, I’m a little OCD when it comes to touching or being touched (however slightly) by any animal… with the exception of homo sapiens!
And then I went to Chiang Mai for a silent retreat. Lo and behold, I was surprised to see many rabbits running around in the retreat center! There was a white bunny that initially caught my attention. It has beautiful white fur. But this white bunny seemed preoccupied with itself and didn’t seem to notice my admiration.
Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, a black and white bunny charged towards me. And it stopped just right in front of me, staring me in the eyes, and moving its mouth and nose in such a synchronized manner, I thought it was talking with me!! I just don’t know about what!
But something in me said “Stay there…” So I stayed, and that little fella also stayed. We just stood there and looked at each other for a good few minutes… I didn’t know that rabbit talk can be so intense! And then, when it finally turned around and left, almost as quickly as it came, I found myself laughing in disbelief. “This is so strange!” I thought…
The next day, I found this little bunny again in the same area. This time, it was just resting under some trees on the roadside. Somehow its location was just clean and convenient enough for me to squat down and look at it closely. I said “hello”, it looked up and stayed very still. I also stayed very still, and I could see its body relaxed. We just stayed in silence with each other for a few more minutes, and then I said goodbye and went about my day.
I went back to the same place the next day, and the next. While other rabbits would run around, this particular one was always found resting at the same spot. Finally, one day, I gathered enough courage to put my palm over its fury body. Surprisingly, it didn’t seem too startled or resistant in any way. It just relaxed and allowed me to touch its back, its side, even its ears gently. It felt so soft and warm, so welcoming and accepting… I was beginning to look forward to my daily routine of going to see my little bunny, my joy!
2 days before my departure, I was as usual visiting my little bunny. While I was caressing it, another white bunny came near to me. And I thought, hmm, maybe it wants my attention too. So I reached out my other hand towards the white bunny. However, the white bunny moved away instead. Feeling a little duped, I thought I’d go back attending to my black-and-white bunny. But, oh no, this little fella now refused to let me touch it! I tried to get close again, but then it just ran away! Gosh, was that rabbit jealousy or what?! Haha…
The next day I tried to visit my bunny again, see if we could make up. But it was no longer there! The whole day I went searching high and low for my bunny, it was just no-where to be found! I began to feel a little sad… like I’ve lost a friend… and I was beginning to think that perhaps I won’t get a chance to say goodbye… Perhaps it didn’t want to see me again….
On my last day before I left the retreat center, I did one final visit in the morning to the usual place where my bunny normally hung out. It still wasn’t there. I felt like I had no choice but to accept that perhaps our chance had past.
By noon, I took a quick lunch and hurried back to my hostel to collect my luggage. And as I was approaching the front of the hostel, I saw a little black-and-white thing hidden under the bush, right in front of the hostel where I was staying. I quickened my steps towards the bush…
It was my rabbit!!! And as far as I know, this little fella had never ever come near to this area! What was it doing there?? I was overjoyed!
Normally I don’t like to climb over bushes and have dirt over my shoes. But I had to see my bunny! I had to say my goodbyes. And so I climbed over the bushes and my bunny saw me, but this time, it didn’t run away. It stayed still, and let me caress it again, just like old times…
I almost didn’t want to go. But the little bunny seemed to know that I had a taxi to take in 15 minutes, and I still had some final packing to do. So, after a few minutes, it fidgeted and moved away. So I knew I had to say my final goodbye, climbed out of the bush and hurried back to my room. When I came down with my luggage, that little bunny was still chilling inside the bush. As I passed by, it looked up momentarily, and then put its head down again in its usual resting posture. I said a silent goodbye in my heart, and walked towards the taxi that was waiting outside for me.
My heart was just filled with gratitude that I got to see my bunny again, and it was waiting for me all along where I least expected, and we got to say our final goodbye. I imagine that many people come and go in this little bunny’s life. But it will always have a special place in my heart….
Sometimes life surprises us in the most ordinary of things. Dear friends, may you too find JOY in the littlest of things wherever you are.