Dedicated to my dear friends in FOCO. You guys mean the world to me.
PART I – The Cave
In a quiet, wooded glen, there arrived a little Rabbit. She looked around, panting and blinking, her tiny heart beating anxiously. The sky above her was a dull, hazy brown, and dozens of evergreens surrounded her, their limp branches drooping heavily down towards the rocky earth. Several feet ahead of her was the base of a mountain, and dozens of small, narrow caves were visible. As the frightened Rabbit approached the row of tiny caves, she could see a glow coming out from one of them. Who could it be? Hunters? Rangers? She considered turning around, but her curiosity got the best of her. She hopped quietly up to the entrance of the cave and peaked inside, scrunching her nose nervously.
Inside the glowing cave was something entirely unexpected. There were other creatures, big and small, gathered around a small fire.
She saw a Deer, timidly and sweetly sitting closest to the entrance of the cave; beside her was a very tall Elk, and he seemed to be quite fond of the deer; across from the Elk was a small Bear Cub, rolling around and laughing contagiously. A Wolf sat close by and howled infectiously; a Raccoon peered out from behind a rock, and she snickered mischievously. A Falcon hopped up behind the Raccoon, and began whispering funny things in the Raccoon’s ear, making her laugh uncontrollably. Further back, there sat a Moose, and he smiled widely at the silly scene, as an Eagle and an Owl swooped in and perched atop of his antlers. All the while, a Squirrel and Chipmunk danced around the fire and giggled feverishly together.
The Rabbit, so taken aback by this scene, didn’t realize how close she had gotten. Before she could back away, the Owl called out, “Hey look! We have a new friend joining us!” All the animals turned to look at the Rabbit, and she timidly moved towards the fire.
Happy hellos echoed through the cave, and the Wolf and Squirrel approached the Rabbit and brought her close to the fire.
“What brings you here, my friend?” the Bear Cub inquired, with a smile spreading across her face.
“Well,” the Rabbit began, “I suppose you’ve heard about the Fire…”
All the animals nodded and murmured together.
“We know it well,” The Falcon began. “You see, that’s why we’re all here.” He looked around at all the furry and feathered faces. A somber silence followed.
“You mean,” the Rabbit gasped, wide-eyed, “You’re without a home too? All of you?”
The crowd of creatures nodded, sadly.
“I’ve had such a terrible time,” the Deer sniffled, “Finding a safe place to go.” The Elk leaned his head against hers and whispered, “Me too.”
The Eagle and the Owl looked at each other. “We were on our way to our new home when the fire began.” The Bear Cub nodded. She was on her way to her new home too.
The Raccoon blinked her dark eyes, holding back strong tears. “I spent so many years making my house a real home…” The Falcon put his feathery hand on her back while she quietly released tears.
The rest of the creatures all had stories to tell of their own, and the Rabbit felt so very understood.
“What about you, little friend?” The Owl kindly inquired, and all eyes turned towards her.
“Well,” the Rabbit swallowed, trying to gather her emotions. “I was on my way back home when I was told about the fire. I saw the smoke rising from the tops of the hill where I lived, and I was so afraid. I ran as fast as I could away from the fire where I could be safe, but…” tears began to well up in her big eyes, “I was so very lonely.”
She looked up for a moment, embarrassed by her tears, only to be met by dozens of compassionate eyes.
“So I left,” she continued, “looking for a new place where I wouldn’t be alone.”
The Chipmunk scuttled up next to her and put his arm around the Rabbit. “It looks like you found that place,” he said. All the creatures grinned and nodded together. Another silence followed, as they all stared deep into the fire, remembering their homes and aching to return.
“It seems,” the Wolf said, breaking the long silence, “that the only way this Fire will stop… is if the Rainmaker comes.”
You see, the Rainmaker was the one who brought life to their forest. He controlled the vegetation, the condensation, and every other -ation there was. The animals knew Him very well; they had met Him several times in their short time in the forest.
“I wish the Rainmaker would hurry up,” the Elk sighed, as he lowered his eyes. “I miss my home so terribly.” Tears began to stream down all the animals faces as they grieved their great loss together.
The Rabbit sighed. She couldn’t see how the Fire would ever stop. It had been raging for nearly a year, and it had destroyed so much of the forest. Even if it did stop, would her home be the same? What about her friends and family? Would they have changed after being kept apart for so long?
“We will go back,” the Eagle spoke up, lifting his head up confidently. “The Rainmaker will bring the rain soon.”
PART II – The Haven
Months had passed, and the twelve woodland creatures had grown very fond of each other. They all developed routines in the safe place they called their little haven, and each day brought them great joy in the midst of their grief and sadness. Every day they woke up, ate together and began to go about the work of living. Some were required to forage for food — different animals required different food, of course, and each animal was very considerate of each other’s dietary needs. Some were assigned to climb or fly up high and look for a safe path home. Some creatures were asked to keep an eye on the sky and keep their noses in the air, smelling for rain. Other creatures offered their love of laughter, in order to keep spirits alive.
One evening, all the creatures were sitting around the fire inside the cave, weary from sky-watching, foraging, and searching for a safe passage home; the brown, suffocating smoke had been especially bad that day, and the twelve felt very discouraged. The Rabbit especially was beginning to believe that the Rainmaker would never come. But as they sat around the fire, each creature began to share their memories of the Rainmaker. They told stories of despair turned into delight; they laughed over moments when they danced in the rain He gave them; they wept over moments when the droughts were so long, they nearly collapsed from dehydration — but the rain always came.
“He said He would always bring rain,” The Moose said gently, as he added more wood to the fire. “And I believe Him.” The rest of the creatures looked at each other and nodded slowly.
“That’s right,” The Wolf declared, running to the entrance of the cave. “He said we should call out to Him and ask for rain. Come on now!” She turned her face quickly towards the faded moon and began to howl.
All the other creatures moved towards the cave and stood next to her. They all lifted their heads high and began calling for the Rainmaker in their own language — they bellowed, howled, squeaked, squawked, cried, and roared — all asking the same thing:
“Come quickly, Rainmaker. Bring the rain.”
PART III – The Rainmaker
One morning, as the Rabbit blinked open her eyes, she smelled something. It was a smell she had almost forgotten. She roused the Squirrel awake. “Do you smell that?”
The Squirrel stuck her little nose in the air and took in two deep breaths in and out. Her eyes lit up. “Is it…?”
“I think it is.” The Rabbit squealed. She dashed around the cave and began jumping on all the slumbering animals.
“Wake up! Wake up! I smell rain!” All the animals jumped up and scrambled outside, with noses high in the air and hope shining like stars in their eyes.
“It’s coming! The Rainmaker heard us!”
They sat outside for a long time, looking up at the smokey sky, smiles never leaving their faces. Hours had passed, but hope never left them. They knew that smell. They knew it wouldn’t be long.
Then, a drop. Two drops. Twelve. And within moments, thousands of thousands began to hit the dry ground and soak the happy faces of the twelve creatures. They looked around at each other and sighed.
The Rainmaker heard them, and they were going home.