Member-only story
The Empathy Bunny
How physical proximity fuels human connection
It was a warm spring afternoon, but the panting was strange. Theo and Romeo, my year-old twin cats, were sprawled under a pair of mopeds at the corner of our apartment block, tongues hanging out.
Curious, I strolled over. Romeo lunged. A rabbit broke cover.
My other cat, who is named after a goddess and acts accordingly, sauntered up. She likes food made from ground up rabbits, so that’s what I buy her.
As a lapsed vegetarian I had enjoyed meals of roast rabbit.
Yet instead of letting nature take its course I yelled at my cats (who rolled their eyes) and ran to the rescue.
It weighed almost nothing: a scrap of bedraggled fur with a cotton ball stuck to its butt, trembling. The sun caught its ears as I carried it towards the empty lot, revealing a rosy web of fine veins.
I could feel its heart thump.
For no sensible reason, I was relieved it was unhurt, happy to see it bounce into the high grass.
