The sun rays were shining tirelessly on the town, where a tender and refreshing breeze was blowing and the bees were buzzing around the meadows; the spring had finally come to Burgess.
Two magpies were resting on a branch of a maple and they did not notice that, just below their branch, a girl was observing them with enchantment, attempting to transfer the scene on a sheet of paper. She was so concentrated on the sketch that she got carried away by her enthusiasm – the drawing was turning out very well – and she let out a pleased laugh. Unfortunately, the sound reached the birds' alert ears and they quickly flew away.
"No! Why don't I get anything right today?!" She exclaimed.
The girl had passed a stressful day - bad grade at school, too much homework to do, and even an argument with mother left her in a very sour mood.
"Always me, always me…" She complained, putting her head between her arms and her knees.
The sadness invaded her and she did not see that something was moving right under her feet. The mysterious creature opened a hole in the ground and, before getting out, it raised its long ears, it smelt the air and it jumped out. Its spirited eyes were as green as the foresta round them and they kept moving, searching for their objective which was right opposite, leaned against a tree, with the face hidden by the arms. The creature's green eyes lost the sparkle they had a while before, and the fists tightened.
"I've come at the wrong moment" Thought the creature.
Actually, the creature could not have come in a more appropriate moment, but it was not aware of that yet. It took a few steps forward with caution, as if its paws could have trodden into sharp iron nails.
"Sophie?"
The girl slowly raised her head and she wiped away the tears with the sleeve of her sweatshirt.
"Bunnymund?" She opened her eyes wide, which were red from her weeping.
"Yes, it's me!" He yelled. A smile reappeared on the rabbit's face and his eyes returned to gleam. "Come here, little ankle-biter!"
Sophie stood on her feet and ran towards Bunny, forgetting for a while her enervating day and the tears streaming down her face. She perceived Bunnymund's gentle caress on her hair and she held him tightly.
"I can't believe it! It's been a lot of time since we've seen each other" Remarked the girl.
"Oh, little one", A delightful smile emerged on his profile, "Trust me, you believe in me, you truly do!".
The Guardian was right; she was able to see him, she believed in him! Moreover, the disconsolate look of some minutes before had disappeared and so, he also cheered her up.
"And I will never stop to!" She replied with a jubilant tone.
They settled below the maple where Sophie was sitting earlier and both of them were absorbed in contemplating the splendid vernal landscape.
"Do you like it?"
"You've done a good job"
Their green eyes kept meeting and they sparkled with happiness. Bunnymund made a leap in time through his memories, remembering the moments he had spent with Sophie, when she was only two years old. How much she had changed since then! From an innocent little ankle-biter she became a ravishing and playful teenager. He promptly rose to his feet and he approached a shrub, whose flowers had not bloomed yet.
"What are you doin'?" Sophie inquired, seeing the Guardian moving his hands near one of those buds.
"Do you see it? You're this, a tiny closed bud, waiting to blossom" And, that said, between his paws began forming a cloud of shiny dust, that landed on the the bud. "One day, this bud will open and become an elegant, beautiful flower".
Sophie stared at her friend in awe and approached her nose to the flower, to smell its scent. "This flower won't be just beautiful outside, but also inside. It'll help the butterflies and the bees growing and getting strong" Added the Guardian. "I heard you before below the tree, Sophie"
She did not know how to answer him because she was afraid that any word that would come out of her mouth, could have been unsuitable.
"You're not useless, alright?" Bunnymund said.
"Yes" She mumbled in answer. She felt her mouth getting dry and her eyes moist.
They hugged once again, and after that, the Guardian made all the flowers of the shrub bloom. Sophie was looking in amazement.
"I gotta go" Stated Bunny when he noticed that the girl's mother and dog were getting closer.
"You don't want to greet Abby?" She joked, referring to the greyhound the rabbit could not bear.
Bunnymund tapped his paw on the ground twice and when a hole opened, he jumped inside it and vanished.
Sophie bitterly smiled, she did not know when she would have met him again and the waiting was not surely going to be easy.
All of a sudden, a daisy srouted from the ground, making Sophie's joyful smile decorate her face. She usually did not pluck flowers because she thought the soft earth was a better place for them. But that time, she picked it up. And when the flower had been encased in her hands, the young girl felt overwhelmed by a huge wave of Hope. She was certain now: she was going to meet again Bunnymund and, why not, all the other Guardians.