Chapter 202: Puzzle Skin V
1986, Doonbeg
Seven-year-old Levi held the bunny in his hand, one of its paws was caught in one of the bear traps lying around their property a few days back. And he had been secretly feeding it, caring for it since keeping it inside a shoebox with a cloth. He hasn’t named it, refused to if he was honest for he knew the chances of his father finding it and taking it away from him.
Giving things names after all, only made him more attached. That’s why he never gave the other kids names.
Russia was it? That’s where all the other kids who never returned went, his father had always confidently stated every time he asked when one of the kids staying in their shed had gone missing.
He wasn’t a fool, after all, he knew they were dead somewhere. He also knew that his father wasn’t a good man, but he was still his father, there was nothing he could do. It was just him and his siblings and the kids in the middle of nowhere in Ireland.
Levi released the bunny in his hand, coaching it to hop away, but it was still too weak to do so. It was safer out there in the wild than with him after all, and his father didn’t allow pets at home. Animals in his eyes were either for food, like cattle for their meat, or horses or herding dogs that helped around the ranch; any other animals who didn’t fall in that category were useless in his eyes and not worth any attention. He rubbed the bunny’s soft coat and put it back inside the box and draping the cloth over it partially then pushing the box under an old collapsed lumber, hiding it from view. Hopefully tomorrow it would be strong enough to fend on its own.
The blond turned, still wearing his school uniform, and headed home, he had chores he needed to complete or his father would be cross. None of them liked it when he was cross.
It was around 1 in the morning when he stirred, the noise woke him and kept him from falling back to slumber that night, the crying from the shed was too loud. Why they were crying he could only imagine, he had brought them food and water after dinner. His father must be ’playing; with them as he casually explained before.
Levi got up to get himself a glass of water returning minutes later. He paused in the hallway, noticing his younger sister peeking from her bedroom door, blue eyes looking up at him. She was only 4, he could barely remember his mother had left soon after she was born. She had blonde hair just like them. Her face he couldn’t recall, he was too young.
"Darcie, go back to sleep," he told her, pushing her back to her bedroom. "Wevi, can’t sleep," she muttered arms open up to him. He took her in his arms and carried her back, putting her in bed. He took note of the empty bed on the opposite side of the room. He scowled, Anna used to sleep there but she left them just like their mother.