Walk to the store : A roommates side story.

by R-i-Perils

The plastic bottle stood accusingly empty, in one hand Bonnibel held the brightly coloured plastic bowl full of despairingly dry cereal and frowned. Her morning routine had run into an unexpected road block already and no one was around this morning to help.

She had set her morning out to start with a helping of sugar coated puffed wheats mixed with the brightly coloured mallow shapes, and everything else followed that. With the foundation of that routine stopped in its tracks everything else was falling apart.

Things started to spiral away from her.

"No" She took a long deep breath in through her stubby bunny nose and mentally put her foot down (the gentle stomp of her own actual foot helped). Everyone else had done so much in the last year, everything Mike had been through, all that had changed after he arrived, it was her turn now.

She was going to step up too.

She was going to fix this.

A few minutes later the pastel blue lapine propped a note written in her clearest writing upon the table and straightened her summer coat, slipping on her favourite shoes (the white ones with the little flowers on them) she patted the few of her own dollars nestled in her pocket and stepped out the door.

It was bright and cool this spring morning, the clear sky a dazzling blue after the winter months with the first blooms of flowers budding in the green borders around.

It only took a minute for Bonniel to realise she was outside, on her own, in the now seemingly vast open space around her that pulled away into the distance of the courtyard between the complex buildings, the bright light of day seeming only to make the wells of shade deeper and darker, making ever crevice and corner the home of countless horrors in her minds eye.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, against increasing pulse and against her desire to run back she walked forward at a brisk pace, covering the distance of the footpath and out the gate, she ran the route in her mind to keep going, concentrating on the way ahead to the stop where mercifully the bus had just pulled up, a solid point in a steadily swirling world.

She hopped in and fumbled some change over to the driver, asking for the usual ticket she would get with Chicca.

They looked at her questioningly in her shaky state but took the money and dispensed her the ticket.

Clutching the strip of paper she moved quickly down the aisle and sat down.

Bonnie breathed a long sigh of relief as she settled down and the bus pulled away from the stop, the open stretch of side walk had been traversed and now she was now safely in the enclosed space of the cabin. Gathering herself together she looked around at the almost empty bus and froze.

She has sat directly across the one and only other passenger this morning.

She was alone on the bus with a stranger.

A scary looking stranger.

They were a black bear, a really large one, huge even by ursine standards he took the better part of two seats on the bench in his worn out suit, an almost comically small bright red bow-tie around his neck matching the tiny red hat he held carefully in his great big paws.

As she stared at him, wrapped in the mute terror of her situation he looked back with his one amber eye. He was big enough to two and looked like he'd taken the lumps for them, his disjointed jaw did not sit straight on the side where one missing eye was long ago stitched shut.

"Miss." He said in simple acknowledgement.

She began to hyperventilate.

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everyone panicking about Bonnie

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"There you go Miss, just breathe"

She felt much better now, breathing steadily into the paper bag he had puled from a shopping bag and given her, his words were calming and not just by the ones he chose but rather something in his voice that ran deep and smooth, like slowly being buried in an avalanche of hot, dark chocolate that rumbled like the assuring sound of far away thunder.

The bus driver had lingered at the next stop, looking back to check everything was okay and at an assuring wave for the bear resumed.

"Th-thank you... I'm, I'm so..."

"Think nothing of it" He said with the a reassuring quality that genuinely soothed her worries.

Finally levelling out again Bonnibel lowered the bag.

"Thank you" she said guiltily, wringing her paws, she'd made it this far and fell apart, maybe this wasn't such a great idea after all.

The battered bear read her obvious expression and offered a vast paw, one finger extended to take "It's nice to meet you miss, my names is John."

Bonnie shook his proffered paw daintily, his hands were enormous with stubby fingers all crooked and disjointed, as though each one had been broken at some point. "I'm - I'm Bonnie" she stuttered, but only a little "I'm sorry, it's just..." She petered out whimperingly.

He chuckled heartily "Hmm-hmm-hmm! It's understandable, I'm a scary looking guy, life on the inside will do that to you"

"Make no bones about your past, it will come to bite you all the harder if you do, it was a mis-spent youth and some middle age" He huffed "I did my crimes and I did the time for them, then I changed my ways"

She gripped her coat a little tighter "what happened?"

"Father Henry. I listened good as that preacher put the fear of hell in me. after all miss, I don't want to burn."

He smiled and breathed deeply looking out the window at the world passing but "Now here I am, riding the bus in the sun, talking to good folk like yourself" He smiled warmly for some one so disjointed. In spite of herself she smiled too.

"So what brought you out today?"

The smile melted away "I wanted to do something for myself, to show everyone else I could help... just going to the store... but everything just got so much, I feel like I'm such a burden to them some times"

"I'm sure they don't think that, you tried and I know that will mean allot to them."

"I wanted to but... I just got afraid" Bonnibel was wringing her hands, if nothing then just to stop them shaking.

"There's nothing wrong with being afraid Bonnie"

She looked up at John, almost having to crane her neck, he was enormous and one of the scariest looking people she had ever seen "Don't you ever get afraid?"

He nodded thoughtfully at her "All the time miss, all the time"

Bonnie couldn't help but feel some awe at this bear, he seemed to radiate a contagious calmness.

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Going to find Bonnie

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The bus rattled off as they both stood on the corner, the store jsut a bit down the way

A taco truck was pulled up in the parking lot in front of the store

The beaver in the truck waved at them with a broad grin emphasising his strong front teeth "Hey! Lefty! How ya doing?"

John chuckled and shook his head "Good morning Chip, seen Music Man today?"

"Eh, half an hour ago, always off to some gig that guy, who's your friend?"

"Bonnie this is Chip Chipperson, Chip this Bonnie"

"Lefty?"

"What we call him, what? you were expecting Freddy?"

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cant find her

everyone freaing out

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