To Be a Friend...

It was his last day. I knew it. The way he slowly crawled his way around, how he couldn't keep his eyes open, how he wouldn't say a word. My beloved Angel Bunny was going to be gone. I had already known what I was going to do for his funeral. I had planned it ever since I had adopted this orphaned rabbit. I keep a lot of animals. Therefore I experience painful deaths, and I have cried many tears. But for Angel I will cry the most, because he was my very favorite animal. He was my favorite and only companion, and I will never, ever, EVER forget him in a million years.

I sat down on my bed. He tried to crawl over to me. 'Oh, no, Angel. You mustn't use up...e-energy....' I said. Angel sighed and stared up at me. He knew, as well, that he would not see my face tomorrow. I gave him a small, puny hug, so as not to break his fragile bones. I felt a little better knowing someday, when I passed on, I would see him again. He would be okay, hopping and jumping and making noise and eating....the way he used to do.

I found out that he had liver cancer a week before his last day. It was too late to save him, so the Doctor said to let nature take it's course. I feel it's my fault, because I took him in too late. I thought it was just the flu, so I thought nothing of it. I was very, very, very wrong. I imagined that Angel would hate me forever, but he was not angry at all! He didn't believe it was my fault. He must have thought it was his because he moped around a lot.

That last day of Angel's life, after I gave him a puny hug, he yawned, and began to close his eyes. I was about to tell him goodbye when I remembered something. A locket that I had made for this exact day. It had a picture of me and him on the inside. I wanted him to wear it when he passed on. 'Wait, Angel, just hold on a second longer...' I ran off and grabbed the locket. He stared at me, eyes half closed, breathing less and less, his heartbeat slower....and slower....

I slipped the locket around his neck. 'Remember me forever, my little Angel Bunny.' I told him silently. I hugged him gently, close to my heart, for a long, long time. During this time, his heart stopped beating, his breath stopped coming, and his eyes shut forever. I felt his last breath strong against my heart. I hugged him one last time, and whispered in his ear, 'Goodbye, Angel. Thank you for helping me overcome my fears.' And then, as the tears began flowing hard and fast down my face and into Angel's soft fur, I told him something that I had never told him before. 'I-I-I l-lo-love y-you....'

I carried him gently to the grave I had dug that morning. Gently, I laid him in the hole, put the locket over his heart, and put a beautiful rose in his paw. He had never looked better. I cried over his body, I cried for hours on end. I didn't want to let him go, but I had to. The gravestone I had chosen was pink stone, with the words: 'Angel Bunny, amazing friend, best friend of Fluttershy, an awesome companion. I love you.' There was also a carved drawing of Angel Bunny.

I buried him in the rich brown soil. I planted his favorite flowers, posies, on his grave. I water them every day, I give them plant feed, and make sure they grow perfectly. I planted them in the shape of Angel, so when I flew over them, a posy Angel stares back up at me. But before I buried him, I slipped a small envelope with a letter inside into his grave. I had poured my heart (and tears) into that letter. It read:

Dear Angel Bunny,

I love you very very much. Thank you for being with me. You are the most amazing thing I have ever been blessed to have in my life. You helped me make friends, overcome my fears. You kept me on my toes even when things were hectic and chaotic. You learned to appreciate my friends and me just as much as I appreciate you. Thank you, Angel, for being the best part of my life.

I love you...

Fluttershy

I had a hard time writing that letter. I couldn't stop crying. I wrote it the day before he had passed. I wanted everything to be ready when he was gone, so I wouldn't have to leave his body there, while I shifted about in my depressed state to get everything ready. He was suffering horribly. I know he was unhappy while he was alive in that last week. Now, though, he must be very happy. He's not suffering, I tell myself, he is strong and alive in the afterlife.

I was with him when he let go. He would've died that first day I had found out about his liver cancer. But he held on and wouldn't let go for a long time, for my sake at least. Yes, he was a part of me that I hoped I would never have to see off, but death is part of the cycle of life. My friends were sad when I told them that he was gone, forevermore. However, he is still living in my heart, and he always will be until my last day, too.

I know someday I'll see him again in the afterlife, but the wait is horrible! I want to be with Angel again, badly, but my friends are here.  Angel was the one that helped me get my friends, he helped me with so much more too! I will stay with my friends for a long time, and when I am gone, I'll be with Angel once more. Whatever happens, I'll be happy. And that is all thanks to Angel Bunny.

Thank you, Angel Bunny.

I love you.