Bear & Bunny slowly recovered from yet another fit of shared laughter.
“Hey Bear, I got one for you: What is love?” Bunny asked.
Bear’s laughing smile widened even further: “Love is the feeling I get when we play hide & seek. You know, that moment when I am getting my old bear legs moving to a hiding spot & I can hear you slowly count.”
“You mean when I count: 1…2…3…?” Bunny giggled and prepared to fall back into more shared laugher.
Bear giggled too: “Yep. Just hearing you count I feel a feeling in my tummy all warmy-tingly-good.” They both laughed.
Bear started again: “You see Bunny, I know my fluf is not that fluffy anymore, my twinkle is not that twinkly. At times I even feel forgotten.
I used to like to think I was so very big, & fluffy, & twinkly all over! But now I am old & slow & shrinked.”
Bunny looked at Bear as those words hit the air.
Bear’s smile got smaller, quieter, a smile just for Bunny: “I know I am not very good at hiding. But when we play you never say a peep about it.
And that’s the love thing! ‘Cus that’s when I feel like maybe I am still big, or big to you. The crazy thing is that at the same time I also feel like maybe your big, big, big to me; or maybe you’re just big enough for me to be small.”
Bunny’s tummy felt like it knew what Bear was talking about & Bunny liked looking at Bear just then.
& As Bunny liked looking at Bear, Bunny’s eyes got soft, & softer & then very, very soft. Looking at Bear, feeling all those tummy feelings, Bunny showed a small, quiet smile, just for Bear, & whispered:
“Oh. I like counting.”
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Written by Tara Boothby November 7 2021
Image by Jared Robinson