Back and forth. Back and forth. The first time the sudden movement of his playful antics caught my eye, he was running back and forth, from one end of the building next door to his home to the other. Back and forth he ran. It was if he had an invisible track at the back of that building. The first day I saw him, I thought he was very small. Now he's about a third grown. Watching from the front porch that first day, I wondered to myself, how in the world did he get there? Where did he come from? Was he born there? If he was, was he the only one? That would be unusual if there was only one. And where is his mother? Did she find this home for him and then abandon him there, or did something happen to her because the home where the little one now lives all alone is so close to several busy streets? To select a home practically on the court square is very odd.

And now, every single afternoon, I watch for him to appear. And usually, I'm not disappointed. Late in the afternoon, there he is. I've decided that he waits until the office he lives beneath is closed up and everyone is gone home for the day before he makes an appearance. Maybe the reason he does all that running is because he's stayed inside, cooped up all day long, waiting for everyone in the office to leave. His energy level must be in full swing by the time he hears the last car door slam and the driver pulling out of the parking lot. I really wish he wasn't by nature afraid of people, but he is. I've tried getting close, but he's not having any part of that. He disappears into the darkness of his home if anyone approaches.

I've wondered too how he spends his day. If he's only brave enough to come out late in the afternoons, what does he do all day? Sleep? It seems that would be almost impossible while just above his head footsteps and voices could be heard, not to mention the constant ringing of business telephones, and even worse, all the noise from nearby traffic.

The routine he has established must be really gotten out of whack during the music festival held on the square not too long ago. Vehicles of every kind were parked in all directions near his door and stayed there until way past the time he usually makes his appearance. I worried that he might have even gotten run over during that event, but thankfully, that didn't happen. Another interruption to his schedule takes place when the man comes to mow the lot near his home. That must be very scary to have all that big, noisy equipment so close by.

I must also admit that I worry about the fact he's alone. He doesn't seem to have another to share his life with or to care about him. If only I could convey to him that just across the street from his home, I'm watching for him to appear every afternoon just as twilight begins to set in. I would love to be able to reach out a pet his furry little head, just to let him know he's cared about. No one or no little being needs to be all alone without having companionship of some kind. Something else I've thought of is that maybe he would like a change from the kind of nourishment he has been living on. There sure isn't much of a variety there. Maybe I should drop by a store that sells the type of food made especially for him and place a small dish near his door each day. I'm sure he would appreciate a treat like that. I suppose the gesture of leaving a treat for him will have to do as far as trying to make friends, because it simply goes against his nature to be comfortable with someone of the human species.

I know in my heart that if he continues to live where he is now, and does so without some kind of terrible accident happening to him, eventually he will decide to move on. If for no other reason, he will go in search of a mate as nature intended him to do. I'll certainly miss him, even though I've only been aware of his presence for a few weeks now. I can only hope that when he does decide it's time to explore more of the world, he's able to cross the busy streets that run in all directions from the place he now calls home, and that he does so safely. I don't want to think about it, but I know I'll be brokenhearted if I should ever find his lifeless little body on the street some morning, and that's most likely to happen in spite of the fact that he's very fast on his feet. The odds are very much against his being able to make it to a wide open field or a woodsy area where he really needs to be. He could manage it though if luck was with him and his timing was just right. Rocky Crusher Mountain really isn’t that far away, and in his case, it would only be just a skip and a hop from his present home. But in the meantime, I'll continue to watch for him to appear every afternoon, and smile to myself when he does show up one more time. With each appearance, I know at least for the time being he's still around.

By the way, I've given this playful little guy a name. It's Benjamin Bunny. Just in case you haven't figured it out yet, he's a little wild rabbit that lives across the street from my home. The funny part of it all is that for all I know, he may really be a "she," and in that case I’ll need to think of another name. I don’t think she would appreciate being called Benjamin.