Well, now we're plugging and chugging as my physics teacher used to say.

Adventures in the Afterlife

A Bunny's Life For Me

James moved his eyes to the fire a bit his bottom lip in a moment of frenzied thought as if he were deciding whether or not to be honest. Then he heaved a very dense sigh and leaned back in his chair with his shoulders slumped forward.

"She doesn't live here." James said in a tone that begged that that would be the final word on the subject, but Sirius was not satisfied. He wanted answers: real, deep, in-depth, spill your guts onto your mum's clean floor, answers.

"Well…" Sirius was sliding back into the subject. "That doesn't exactly answer my question, now, does it? I asked where Lily was. So…" he stopped for a dramatic pause, "Where is she?" Sirius smiled sweetly at James, but stopped when he took another look at him. He looked exhausted. If Sirius didn't know better he may have said James aged ten years while he was sitting there in front of him. He had one hand curled under his chin. His eyes didn't meet Sirius' when he gave him his response.

"She's gone, Sirius. I…" he started to explain but a lump in his throat temporarily stunted his speech then he continued "I haven't seen her in years."

"Well, where could she be?" Sirius blurted out. "I mean, I know this is eternity and all, but I found you easily enough. We could just go look her up. It'll be cake." James was still avoiding his eyes looking grim. Sirius figured that even with his impenetrable logic, James still knew more about the matter.

"She decided to be reincarnated soon after we got here." began James sounding a little more composed, but his words still carried the tone that this was a story he hoped he'd never have to tell. "After we died, we were…transported, I suppose, to the same place. We spent our first few days meeting up with old relatives, but there weren't a whole lot of them residing here in The Afterlife. Most of them were living other lives or had decided to move on. So we asked to be placed here for awhile while we considered our options. Death was new and sort of…exciting. The possibilities were tempting. Lily was set on doing something other than laying around here existing in a normal fashion. She started spending a lot of time at Booking, the marble building where you found me." he added hastily noticing the look of confusion on Sirius' face.

"Anyway, she was spending a lot of time at Booking. Meeting with different people who had been reincarnated. Her grandmother on her dad's side was reincarnated and he said it was worth looking into, so that's what she did. She met this one man, and I'm sure he's the one who convinced her she wanted to be reincarnated, who told her in-depth about all the lives he had lived. See, when you've been reincarnated and then you die…again, you instantly regain the memories from all your previous lives as well as the appearance you had when you first lived. There could be thousands of different lives you remember. Well, this one particular man told her this long list of people and creatures he had lived as: a general, a slave, a nun, an elephant, a lemur, a murderer, an oak tree, a fisherman, a salmon, a rapist, a muggle, a politician, a black man, a white woman, an Asian hermaphrodite, a gay albino, a lesbian, a cat, a dog, a boxer, a ballerina, a grave robber, a witch, a film star, a prince, you get the idea. He pretty much lived every lifestyle imaginable. He was glad he had too. He said it gave him so much 'perspective on humanity' or whatever."

"Well, she was just fascinated by his stories. She told me she wanted to feel the same peace and enlightenment that reincarnation had given him. I couldn't stop her. I didn't want to. She was so sure that this was what she wanted. I on the other hand, wasn't so convinced. I'm still not, really. It think it would be more of a burden to have the hardships of so many lifetimes on your soul, you know. I figured I'd let Lily have a go at it, then after she came back and told me all about her other life I'd make up my mind about it. Until then, I could just relax here and wait. But…" James paused for the first time in his long diatribe and took a long, steady, and very much needed breath. "I haven't seen her since." The was a stiff pause while James took a few more deep breaths.

"Sometimes…" He began again. "I think of her." There was a real pining in his words now. "I imagine her being a cute lil' bunny rabbit, hopping along in a flower filled meadow or some such thing."

James finished and leaned back into his chair. He looked a little less exhausted, but not at all more comforted about getting the whole thing off his chest.

"James, look…" Sirius was scrambling in his mind for words to say because he was sure James would start sobbing if he let the silence linger too long. "You've only been dead, for what?" He paused to count. "Fourteen years, now? I don't see what's got you so down, mate. She's probably still hopping along just pleased as plum. I mean, how long to bunnies live, anyway?"

"Oh, Sirius." James waved his hand back in fourth in front of his face. "You don't understand." Sirius had the desperate urge to say 'Obviously' but he repressed it to be more sympathetic to his heart broken friend.

"Time works differently here. One day here is worth a fortnight on Earth. That's two weeks." he added just in case Sirius was confused. "How long does a bunny live, anyway? She could have lived twenty bunny lives by now. I mean even if she went back as a human she could have lived and died at least twice since I've been waiting. What if…" James bit his lower lip and shifted his eyes. "What if in one of those lives…she met someone else? Someone she would rather be with other than…me."

"James?" Sirius was trying his absolute best to keep the evident shock he was feeling out of his voice. He decided that the best way to do that was to keep his voice low like a whisper. "Do you think Lily would abandon you for someone else she met in another life?" James made no motion or sound to respond, but he didn't need to. "You know Lily would kill you, metaphorically speaking, if she knew you were thinking silly things like that, right?" Again, James didn't answer, but again, he didn't need to because at that moment a thought occurred to Sirius and he was trying, with a lot of difficulty, to figure something out. "James, I think you got something very important, very wrong. Get me a quill, some parchment, something!" James slid a stationary box across the table and Sirius immediately dug into the box and in a matter of seconds he was scribbling furiously. He took several minutes to write sometimes scratching things out and muttering to himself.

"James." Sirius picked up the parchment and held it at arms length regarding it with delight and triumph in his face. "You're an idiot." he insulted James in the same voice of delight and James shot him a look of pure venom. Sirius saw the look and hurriedly explained. "See you've got this whole time thing all wrong." James raised his eyebrows and Sirius continued. "If it's true that one day here is equal to fourteen days on Earth. That's two weeks." added Sirius in the same condescending manner that James had used earlier. "Then one month here is fifteen months on Earth. So, you and Lily have been dead about fourteen years, Earth time. That's one-hundred and sixty-eight months, divided by fifteen months. You've been here eleven months. Not even a full year!"

James grabbed the piece of parchment and gave it a thorough look over before throwing it back at Sirius. "I suppose you're right." James' voice was snobby and he didn't look at Sirius. "Maybe I exaggerated a little bit, but it's because…" James drooped the snob attitude, "It's because I miss her." James' sincerity at this moment was disarming. He put his elbows on his knees and leaned forward, interlocking his fingers.

"Jimmy…" Sirius' voice was soft like he was speaking to a new born. "She's coming back. You know she is. I've never seen two people more in love with each other. I'm convinced you two are soul mates."

James' face broke into a wide appreciative smile that conveyed the relief he felt at finally having a friend to rationalize every one of his silly fears again. He leaned over the coffee table and picked up a small cake. Sirius did the same. "Still…" James implored with a mouth full of cake, "She's been alive for fourteen years, How long do bunnies live, anyway?"

Aw, how cute and sweet and touching and stuff. Well, I hope this chapter brought you untold joy. Please review while I keep writing. PLZ! OMFG!