Lagomorphs & Lunacy

no rabbits were harmed in the making of this illustration and micro-fiction

This is the Shrouded Grouse, and here you’ll find free supernatural short stories and novellas, essays and musings, zines, and illustrations that explore the liminal spaces and moody places.

Lagomorphs are the scientific group that includes rabbits, hares, and pikas. (If you don’t know what a pika is, look ‘em up. They’re darn cute little fluff balls.)

I enjoy watching the rabbits in my backyard. They are nervous, shy creatures. I can relate.

Once I rescued a young rabbit from the clutches of a well-known neighborhood cat. He had the bunny in his jaws by the back of the neck and I ran outside to stop him. My mind was racing with thoughts of blood and broken bones and having to race an injured rabbit to the wildlife rehab center. Luckily, the cat dropped the bunny, who scampered away unharmed, back to its home beneath my deck. For a while after that, I sat on the deck every day while that bunny sat next to me on the lawn. I talked to it so it would get used to my voice. It looked at me from time to time. I named it Sweet Pea and I watched that bunny grow up into an adult rabbit. I’ve seen generations of rabbits now, and I often tell them the story of their ancestor, Sweet Pea, and his rescue from the wicked cat.

illustration by me: traditional pencil, ink blots, digital drawing

A Note About This Very Short Story: I do not condone harming animals, but there is mention of harm to rabbits in the following story.

Also, I have had a relative and a friend with epilepsy. The mention of epilepsy in this story is meant as a way that adults are trying to explain the girl’s “illness,” not an implication that people with epilepsy act this way. Okay, done. Thanks for reading!

Lunacy

My dad says I’m getting better. It doesn’t happen every full moon.

When I was seven, my parents found me in the moonlit backyard, my hands and face bloodied, a rabbit dead and mangled. I don’t remember much. I remember enough.

My mom left us a week later.

My dad reads about epilepsy and seizure disorders. I take my pills dutifully.

Once I read about those old lunatic asylums. Some of the patients were just sad or strange. But some did unspeakable things.

I don’t want to do unspeakable things.

Last week, full moon, it happened again. Dad ushered me into the house to take a shower. “Minor setback.” He paused. “Brush your teeth.”

The next day I found the remains of the rabbit, half-buried in the compost heap.

I started middle school today. Dad handed me my lunch. “It’s a new beginning. You get to remake yourself, be whoever you want.”

A teacher made us do one of those icebreakers. ”I’m a _____” was written on the board. I thought about what to say. I’m a writer. I’m a good daughter. I’m a hard-working student.

But when it was my turn, I looked up and said, “I’m a lunatic.”

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Got a favorite werewolf movie? I want to know. Here are some quirky options I enjoy:

• “American Werewolf in London” (of course; 1981)

• “Werewolves Within” (2021)

• “Brotherhood of the Wolf” (2001)

• “Howl” (2015)

• And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the MST3K episode featuring “Werewolf” (aka “Arizona Werewolf”)

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Wanna see some rabbit bones? (Of course, you do.)

(bones from a found dead rabbit) Look at those articulated vertebrae!

Want more weird stuff about rabbits?

Check out this British Library: Medieval Manuscripts Blog article about killer rabbits in Medieval manuscripts.

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If you feel like it, Buy Me a Cuppa Tea on Ko-fi. Read my previous post: a zine entitled Twelve Nights

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