(Girl to Rabbit)

Ellie was excited. Today was the opening day of the brand-new petting zoo! Ever since it was announced, she started counting down the days immediately. She enjoyed going to the zoo two hours away, so having one locally was a dream come true. Ellie was a massive fan of all creatures big and small. However, the main animal she wanted to see was the bunnies. She had always wanted one, but her father was allergic, so she never could.


The opening day fell on a Saturday, which was perfect for Ellie’s schedule. No school or extracurriculars to worry about. She asked off of her part-time job weeks ago. Nothing was going to get in her way. The zoo opened at nine in the morning, and she was determined to get there half an hour beforehand. She set three alarms, each five minutes apart. She had issues of sleeping through them before, so she wanted to be extra precautions.


Ellie woke up on the second alarm. She got up, filled with energy. She rushed through her morning routine, throwing on the outfit she had prepared the night before. She quickly wolfed down her Froot Loops. She hummed to herself as she washed her dishes in the sink. She took one final glance in the mirror. She knew it didn’t matter, but she wanted to look her best. Ellie combed her long black hair a couple more times. Satisfied, she went to the garage and grabbed her bike. Today is going to be a great day!


Meanwhile…

“What do you mean you lost one? How hard is it to keep two rabbits in an enclosure?” The owner of the zoo yelled at his employee. The owner was a big fellow, with an even bigger mustache. His right-hand man was quite the opposite. He was as thin as a rake and clean-shaven. He was running his fingers through his long blond hair. He was nervous. His boss was not someone he wanted to upset.


“I’m telling you, sir, when we closed last night there were two in there. I have no idea where the missus went.”


“We advertised two rabbits, and by damned we’ll have two rabbits!” The fat man poked him with one of his stubby fingers. “Jerry, I don’t care how you get another one, but we need a female rabbit by opening. You have two hours until opening.” He stormed out.


Jerry began to panic. Where am I going to find a bloody rabbit at this hour? He pulled out his phone. He searched for pet stores, hoping to find one open this early. He was relieved to find one, but it was an hour away. He sighed and headed to his truck. If he sped, he might make it, if they even had a rabbit. Suddenly, his phone buzzed. It was his boss. “Don’t worry boss, I think I got a handle on this situation,” Jerry said as he answered the phone.


“Forget that, I think I found a cheaper alternative. Meet me at the front gate.”


When Jerry arrived, he found his boss talking to a young woman. “What’s the situation boss?”


“I happened to glance at the gate and I noticed we already had a customer. I decided to let her in for a sneak peek for being such a loyal customer.” Jerry’s boss laughed.“What did you say your name was again young lady?”


“Oh, um, I’m Ellie,” she said shyly. She looked away as she said it.


“Ah yes, Ellie. Ellie here is excited to see all the animals, but she said she’s really excited to see the rabbits. Why don’t you go show her?”


“Um boss, a word?” Jerry and his boss walked out of Ellie’s earshot. “We discussed this already; we can’t keep doing this. You got greedy at the last place and that’s why we’re here.”


“Jerry my friend, it’s going to be fine. In fact, better than fine. It’s going to be a show stopper. We can change her in front of everyone. It’ll be fine.”


“But boss, what about cameras, or eyewitnesses?”


“Don’t worry about those. I can take care of that. I'll let everyone think it's special effects. We’re going to open soon. Go put her in the enclosure and lock it.


“But…”


“But nothing Jerry. If you don’t want to help, you can always replace it yourself. It was the female one missing, right?”


“Alright, I’ll do it, but only this once.” Jerry reluctantly agreed.


“That’s all I ask.”

Back to Ellie

Ellie was ecstatic. Getting there early had paid off. The zoo owner had let her in early. And even better, she was getting a sneak peek at the rabbit exhibit. After the owner had had a conversation with one of his employees, she was now on her way to the rabbit exhibit! They finally arrived at a fenced-in area. Inside was the rabbit enclosure. She only saw one rabbit. “Aww it’s so cute, is it a boy or a girl?”


“It’s a boy. The female will arrive, erm, shortly.” The thin man opened the door with one of the many keys on his keyring. He ushered her inside. “Take all the time you need.” It was a quaint little enclosure. Small enough that the rabbit couldn’t get that far away so one could pet it, but large enough so they wouldn’t feel cramped. The rabbit eyed her curiously. She heard the door close behind her.


“Aww, hi there little guy!” Ellie edged closer to the rabbit, trying not to startle it. She got within an arm’s reach before it scampered off. She tried again and once again failed. She sat down, hoping that if she stood still, he would come closer. It worked. The rabbit slowly came closer to the girl. He even brought a carrot with him. He dropped in on her lap. “Aww, aren’t you a cute little boy." She picked up the carrot and held it out. The rabbit started eating it. “Is it a good carrot?” The rabbit looked so happy eating the carrot. Thoughts started to creep into Ellie’s mind. Maybe the carrot really is good. She brought the carrot up to her mouth and took a bite. It was delicious! She quickly finished the carrot. “Eww, did I just eat a half-eaten carrot?” she asked out loud, realizing what she had done.


Her nose started twitching, but she didn’t pay attention. If she had, she would have realized that around her nose, small hairs were growing. They grew longer until Ellie had whiskers sticking out from her face. She looked up and noticed other people were starting to enter the zoo. She hurried over to the door and knocked. “I’m ready to leave now,” she said. But no one answered.
She reached for her phone, but it wasn’t in her pocket. "Must have left it on my bike basket. I hope no one takes it.”


She knocked again, but again, no one came to her aid. She tried the door itself, but it was locked. The crowd around her grew thicker. As a last resort, she tried calling out to them, hoping one would grab an employee. She opened her mouth but found herself unable to talk. She tried yelling but found only air escaping from her mouth. Why can’t I speak? She closed her mouth and bit her upper lip. Owww. She rubbed where she bit her lip and made a surprising discovery. Her teeth were longer, noticeably longer. They no longer fit into her mouth, and then she closed her lips she could feel them sticking out. She ran her tongue over them. They were sharp. They felt like, rabbit teeth? If only she had a reflective surface to look at herself in.


Ellie began to hear things from the crowd. One particular comment caught her by surprise. “Mommy, what’s happening to her ears? What is happening to my ears? She reached up and found that they were pointy. She could feel them growing longer and changing shape. Fur grew along with them. She pulled them forward so she could see them. The fur was white, just like the rabbit that was now sitting at her feet. Ellie heard laughing in the crowd and could feel her face turning beet red.


She tried to get the crowd’s attention by waving, but all they did was wave back. She wanted to yell. I’m a girl, not a rabbit. She stepped backward, right onto a rock. She fell on her rear with a large THUD. She reached to rub her rear and was shocked when her hand met fluff. Nyeh? A very large and fluffy tail had torn through her jeans.


Ellie let out a whimper as the changes began to take a harder toll on her body. As she sat there, her feet began to change. It began in her right foot. Her foot grew longer like her ears. She felt pressure on her toenails. She reached out and wiggled it and her toenail felt loose. She pulled on it and it gave, revealing claws. Her toes became stubbier, and they grew pads on the bottom. They grew itchy, and she began to scratch them furiously as tufts of white fur started to grow.


She should have tried harder to resist scratching because it revealed that her hands were not faring much better than her feet. Scratching her itchy feet had caused her fingernails to fall away as well. Claws revealed themselves, just like her feet. 


Ellie could feel hundreds of eyes watching her change. Why won’t anyone help me, don’t they see that I’m a girl, not a rabbit? It was a sick twist of irony really. The girl who loved bunnies was fighting the chance to become one.


The pain from her appendages slowly consumed her whole body. Some internal instincts told her how to adjust her position. She went from a sitting position to being on all fours. The pain faded as her body locked itself into this position. She tried standing but found it impossible to keep her balance. She tried walking, but her large feet kept getting in the way. After some trial and error, she found that hopping was the best way to move.


She hopped over to the edge of the enclosure. Maybe if I can get out of the enclosure, I can get help! But she found herself too heavy to jump that high. She was running out of ideas. As a last resort, she hopped over to the rock that had tripped her earlier. She hoped she could move it and use it to get some height. But she couldn’t grab it! Her fingers had grown stubby, and she now had paws, not hands.


Feeling hopeless, she started to cry. The other rabbit in the enclosure hopped up to her and started nuzzling her. It was oddly reassuring. Ellie wiped her eyes with her paws. She could tell her was trying to console her, and it helped a little. As he was comforting her, the final changes started settling in. Her nose shrank, taking on a pink hue. After her nose, the rest of her body followed. Her sandals slipped off as her feet became too small to wear them. The crowd watched in awe and the bunny girl disappeared into the pile of clothes. They applauded as the cute white bunny emerged, hopping around curiously.


“Thank you, ladies and gentlemen! What a wonderful performance to celebrate the opening of the zoo!” The fat man paused, allowing time for applause. He basked in it. He covered the megaphone he was using. “Jerry, go get the clothes out of the cage.”


“Yes sir,” Jerry sighed. He went over to the cage and went inside. As he grabbed the girl’s clothes, he noticed that the rabbits were watching him at a distance. “Sorry miss, it’s just business.” nodding at them. He started whistling to himself as he left. Better her than me.