Waiting Up For the Easter Cybunny

     Thinkerbell729 eyed her little brother, a Baby Tonu, with an all knowing sneer and pointing her nose up in the air, retorted, “No it’s not. Only babies believe in him anymore. Everyone knows it’s our owners that get us our baskets.”

     Tender couldn’t believe his Disco Wocky sister. If the Easter Cybunny didn’t exist, then there were a whole slew of other mystical creatures that didn’t exist either. She had to be wrong. “That’s not true, Silent’s always told us that she doesn’t get us the baskets and what about the neggs? She doesn’t get the neggs.” He pawed at a tear that had slipped past his defences and was dangling from his chin.

     “Don’t be so naïve, Tender; the Negg Faerie takes care of the neggs. D’uh. What evidence do you have that the Easter Cybunny exists?” she teased, crossing her arms over her colorful chest and daring him to come up with something. Tender stuck out his tongue in concentration, his eyes almost glazing in his effort to think of something.

     After a few moments of his desperate proof seeking, he cocked his head at her and replied, “What evidence do you have that the Easter Cybunny doesn’t exist?” It wasn’t much, but it was all he could think of. What if Thinker was right? He’d have to rethink his whole perspective of things and his little world would be forever different. Why’d Thinker have to be so cruel?

     “Come on now, what evidence do I have? Where do I begin? The Negg Faerie, for instance; you thought the Easter Cybunny did the neggs, but I’ve already pointed out that she does. Many a neopet has caught their owners putting out baskets for them but not one has caught the Easter Cybunny bringing them any goodies. Doesn’t that say anything to you?” She was getting more smug with every passing second. She was so sure of herself and it was more than Tender could bear.

     “Stop it. I believe the Easter Cybunny is real; I believe in him and just because you don’t, that doesn’t mean you have to ruin it for me,” he cried out and bolted for his room. He slammed the door shut before Thinker could follow him and make him feel worse than he already did.

     It was all he could think about because try as he might, he couldn’t think of what proof there was that the Easter Cybunny was real except for that Silent had told him so. When dinner rolled around, he was silent, mulling over the very likely possibility of the Easter Cybunny simply being a faerie tale, and he was unable to eat.

     Silent noticed and said, “Tender, what’s going on? You’ve hardly touched your omelette and you look as if someone told you that Dr. Sloth had finally taken over Neopia.”

     “Nothing, really,” he mumbled, poking at the lump of yellow egg on his plate and finally pushing the whole thing away from him. Thinker never looked at him; she ate while staring at her plate.

     Though Silent didn’t push Tender to reveal what was bothering him, she did notice that there seemed to be some unspoken quarrel between Thinker and Tender. So, after dinner, she pulled Thinker aside while the other neopets went into the living room to play a round of Gormball.

     “What did you do to your little brother?” she pressured the Wocky but Thinker was good at keeping her silence.

     “He told you that nothing was wrong; why do you think I did anything? It’s not always me, you know.” She crossed her paws over her chest and stared defiantly at Silent. It was no use and she knew it, so she let the older neopet escape to the living room to partake in the merry making.

     When it was time for them to head off to their beds, Thinker caught up with Tender. “Hey, wait, I want to talk to you.”

     “I don’t want to talk to you; you’ve said more than enough today,” he hissed and drug his paws against the carpet. Thinker was not to be put off that easily.

     “You will listen to me.” She ran in front of him and blocked his path so that he had to look at her. Tender growled at her and thrust his shoulder into his chest. Though he was a little thing, he was solid muscle and he easily knocked her aside. To add further insult to injury, from dragging his feet against the carpet, he’d built up an electric charge and zapped her.

     “Fine, be that way. I was just going to suggest that we wait up to see if we can catch the Easter Cybunny putting out the baskets, but if you’re going to be a dunghead about everything, forget it,” she huffed and puffed and started stalking her way to her room.

     “You just want to stay up to prove to me that he’s not real. You can’t fool me.” Tender was blinking back tears again; his little baby heart was broken. Thinker actually began to feel bad. She wanted to make him grow up, but she didn’t necessarily want to make him cry.

     “You’re not looking at it right. I mean, yeah, I do want to prove he’s not real, but if you believe he is, shouldn’t you be agreeing to prove to me that he is?”

     Tender shook his head violently and then blurted, “I don’t think he is anymore, thanks to you. How can he be real?” The shaking of his head must have shaken his restraint loose for his tears began to trickle down his tears and splash silently into the carpet.

     “Come on, we’re staying up. Either you’ll find that you don’t have any reason to cry or we’ll get to laugh at Silent trying to be sneaky.” She smiled at her little brother, but the smile was not returned. Now, she was feeling really guilty. Perhaps she should have let him believe but something inside of her didn’t want him to believe if she didn’t anymore. It seemed unfair for some reason but she didn’t dwell on it too much.

     After everyone had gone to bed, Thinker and Tender snuck out into the living room and hid behind the couch. Trying to stay awake, they told each other stories and jokes. Well, Thinker did anyway; Tender more or less just moped, and the more she tried to make him smile, the more depressed he seemed to get. Finally, despite her best efforts, Tender’s snores were louder than her story telling capabilities.

     Thinker leaned up against the wall, frustrated that her brother couldn’t stay awake and mad at herself. She knew that she should have let him go on believing; she just couldn’t let him be a kid anymore since she wasn’t. It wasn’t very nice of her and she knew it, but sometimes, she couldn’t help but be selfish. In the morning, no matter what, she was telling Tender that she’d seen the Easter Cybunny. That way, he could go on believing even if she couldn’t.

     A few minutes after she had decided that, she heard the floorboards creak. Expecting to see Silent, she poked her head around the corner of the couch and found herself face to face with an oversized Cybunny. The Cybunny’s neck tuft was a beautiful pastel pink with yellow, green, and purple spots and his eyes were a rich blue shade.

     “Uuga uhg gu,” she gurgled, sounding like a Tyrannian JubJub with a case of the neoflu. The Easter Cybunny laughed and nodded his head as if to reassure her that he was indeed real.

     “But you can’t be; I’ve met other neopets who have caught their owners putting out baskets for them,” she balked, quietly reaching behind her to shake Tender awake but her paws couldn’t find him and she was afraid to turn away from the Cybunny in case he was gone when she looked back.

     “I only come for those that believe. You were going to take that away from him.” He gestured to the sleeping Tonu and set a basket filled with chocolate Cybunnies and neggs next to the couch.

     “Yes, but I’d decided that he needed to still believe, that it wasn’t fair of me to make him not believe. I promise you, he will still believe in the morning.” She looked back at Tender, tears welling up in her own eyes.

     The Cybunny nodded his head again and bounced over to the door where he placed another basket down, “I know; that’s why the basket by you is for you. Bet you believe in me now.” Unable to resist smiling, she nodded and in the blink of her eyes, he was gone. The only sign that he’d been there were the two baskets in the room, one for her and one for Tender.

     Remember, the Easter Cybunny will come to those that believe and only them.

The End