Another rainy day. It didn't really matter to Jericho. His life had gotten a lot better ever since the little girl had started visiting him everyday. She would come by at around the same time, give him a hug and talk with him about things. It was always small things, child things, like what her favorite color was, what flavor ice cream was the best, and so on. Jericho had never had ice cream before. He had forgotten what food tasted like, but it didn't really matter, nothing really did anymore. The only thing that mattered in his mind was keeping the little girl happy. If she was happy, Jericho was happy, and he very much liked feeling happy.

One day, the little girl brought a friend with her, another little girl. "Sally" she said her name was. Sally's red hair contrasted greatly with the dismal pallet that the rest of the world was colored with. Even the little girl's short brown hair seemed grey compared to Sally's.

To Jericho, Sally seemed a bit different than the little girl. She was loud, obnoxious, easily angered, and prone to show off a lot. Jericho didn't like her, and Sally didn't like Jericho.

"Ewwww! He's all dirty and stiched up and stuff!" Said Sally. "He's nothing compared to my dog Mr. Squiggles! My Mr. Squiggles is a PURE bred!" She blared with an upturned nose. Jericho felt hurt, turning his eyes to the little girl, who just held her tongue, not wanting to lose her only popular friend in school. Jericho didn't know the backstory, nor did he want to. He only knew that for some reason, the little girl put up with Sally's insults and hurful comments. Jericho hated Sally. He hoped to never see her again.....

Yet, to Jericho's dismay (though he was unable to protest to it anyway), the little girl continued to be friends with Sally, even going as far as to walk home with her. From then on, the days repeated themselves: The little girl would visit Jericho, and Sally would stand with her arms crossed and scoff at them. Something inside of Jericho grew, something he didn't like. It wasn't warmth, it wasn't love, and it sure wasn't friendly..... Yet he pushed it back and forgot about it day in and day out. Till one day....

It was another rainy day of many in a row. Jericho peeked out of his box, waiting for the to girls to come by (they usually came around at this time of day). He listened, but nothing came. No sounds of the two girls talking, no splashing of puddles, no nothing. Suddenly, the little girl came running down the wet sidewalk, crying. Jericho's heart jumped, as she came to a stop at Jericho's alley, her hands wiping the tears away, her shirt wet with mud and rain, and her umbrella missing. She picked Jericho up and held him, sniffling.

"Oh Mr. Bunny! It was terrible! Sally was just pretending to be my friend! When school got out, she pushed me into a puddle and took my umbrella! She said that I'm just a little crybaby that hangs out with dirty filthy rabbits! She said t-that I would never be as cool as her with a lousy pet like you!" With that, the little burst into tears again, crying her eyes out as she clutched Jericho.

Jericho didn't know what to do except hug her back. Maybe his small hug would make it better. Yet she continued to cry, until she couldn't cry anymore. Jericho felt her pain. He knew what it was like to not be loved. He was determined to make her happy, no matter what. The little girl sat down with Jericho, holding her knees.

"Oh Mr. Bunny... If only I had a dog like hers, maybe I would be accepted. But thats never going to happen. My dad hates dogs!" The little girl sighed, her eyes all cried out. She stood up, and walked away, sniffling, not saying a word.

Jericho hurt. His chest hurt. His heart hurt. His eyes burned. His head ached. Anger. Hatred. More emotions that were unfamilier to him filled his body. He had to do something to make the little girl happy. And he thought of something. He didn't like it, but then again, he wasn't the one who deserved to be happy....

To be concluded in part 3

Art and story idea by  lvhaseo

Jericho character and his personality were created by me