Old man rabbit feels the call.
He is not so spry nor sharp of sight as he once was.
It is good that he is called; better than the young
ones with much life and potential still in them.
Old man rabbit is not afraid. More curious than
anything, “What is this will that calls me? I am
a rabbit, burrowing in the earth, gnawing on
roots, nibbling on leaves, ever wary of the
predator in all his mighty forms. I am quick
and sensitive, enough, while I am lucky, to
survive and become old – too old to count on
luck everlasting. I have never felt a call such
as this, overtaking a will I had not been aware
of possessing.
What is an old man rabbit to do?
Thought is a foreign concept. Action, reaction,
that’s what I do. An overwhelming power
pulls me closer. Without thought or emotion,
I follow the pull. Am I to be eaten by a mighty
foe? That is, no doubt, my destiny. I am to be
honored by assimilation into the great mystery
of life eternal. In this way, prey becomes predator,
becomes mulch, falls back into the cycle, becomes
the essence of life.”
“Come to me old man rabbit. I call you, with
deepest respect, to offer me your lifeforce that I
may continue to have the strength necessary for
my mission. I enwrap you in a happy, peaceful dream
as your life recedes. I consume your remains with
reverence, feel the essence of your sacred sacrifice.”
Thus Caela bespoke the creature in their
conjoined fields of consciousness, binding it to her
will. A special kind of hunter, conjuring the prey
into view, into giving itself to her need.
A very special power must be tempered with love,
compassion, humility. It is well that such power be
discovered in a time of liminal contemplation, that
it be honored and addressed appropriately.
It would not do to be overtaken by fear or bravado,
or a desire for self-aggrandizement. All of this Caela
understood as she sat there, in what seemed the beginning
of the world, in a state of reverence and awe.
She prepared and ate the old rabbit. It took a bit of
cooking covered by wet leaves on stones in the fire pit.
It was clear to her that what she had gained from this
lesson was much more than a full stomach or added
strength and vigor. It was clear that her strength and
will, her gift, were much stronger, subtler, more
powerful than she had dared to imagine when she
had lived as part of a bustling community.
It was clear that this knowledge was now being
revealed so that she could hone her skills for the
adventure ahead. Whatever was to fall across her
path to be overcome, this time alone, learning the ways
of her spirit, would surely give her the skills and
confidence to do what she must.
Replenished, Caela watched the last performances
of flame as the fire consumed what wood it had been
given. Darkening forest, ebbing, flames, tired body
ready to sleep. She found her way back to a nearby
sheltered grove noted in her earlier brief exploration.
Having improved it for her purpose in rudimentary
fashion, Caela lay down upon the soft forest floor
and relaxed into dreams.
