ANY COLOUR YOU LIKE
In the afternoon, a hundred thousand rabbits stood side by side before a grand stage. The lights were stinging and in front of them, with a set of scissors in his paws was The King and beside him, a set of his generals and suited businessmen and two scientists in white overalls and a host of engineers aligned to the right.
Behind The King was a single small door.
And behind it, the other side of the moon.
And with it, the sun.
“My dear rabbits, of all kind; thinkers, growers, doers and burrowers I welcome you to a new dawn, to the future we have all been paving with our own collective paws. Behind me stands the greatest achievement in the history of the rabbit. For centuries we have lived in perpetual night, here on the dark side of the moon and for this great time, that darkness has weighed upon our thoughts but it has not heavied our hearts and it has not blanketed our vision for it had been said by my father’s father that a time would come when rabbits would bring light unto the void and the sun, unto the dark side of the moon and my dear rabbits, I, King Rabbit III, take great pleasure in giving you, here today, in our present, my father’s father’s future. Today, we will no longer live under fluorescent light. Today, we shall harness and live under the sun.”
The crowd erupted in cheer.
Theodore stood somewhere near the middle. He was being squashed on all sides by the larger rabbits all about him. And as the others raised their paws above their heads and clapped in unison, Theodore simply stood with his arms by his side thinking to himself that the air down here, amidst the celebration, was becoming warmer and thicker by the second and he felt his breath getting shorter.
“Now for the ribbon.”
King Rabbit took the scissors and cut the red ribbon and the crowd erupted again and all through the kingdom, in the tunnels and at home in front of their televisions, rabbits cheered and hugged and waited anxiously for the small door behind their king to open and; for the first time in any of their lives, to see the sun.
“They key please,” said King Rabbit.
He had his hand extended, but his servants all shrugged their shoulders and responded with blank expressions. They all turned to the royal guard who then turned to the scientists who then turned to the engineers, who were the ones who built the door.
Nobody had a key.
“My dear rabbits. This is a very embarrassing situation. As it turns out, someone has forgotten the key. Can we send for the key?” said King Rabbit looking at his servants.
They shook their heads.
“Ok then. The inauguration will be delayed until tomorrow. Thank you so much for coming, please respect one another on your way out and we thank you for being here for the ribbon cutting. Tomorrow, the grand festival of the opening of the door shall take place at dawn, where; we shall have for the first time, a real sun to wake up to.”
The crowd cheered.
But not like they did before. This time in an empty contrary kind of way and it sounded more like the natural tone of their voices and so they hanged on for one more day, quiet in their discontent, celebrative of their desperation.
At home, Theodore picked through some clothes that were lying about on the floor. They had their first gig tonight and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it. He wasn’t nervous and he wasn’t at all excited. Yet he wasn’t bored and he wasn’t indecisive.
“Can I tell you that thing?” asked Florence.
“Can it wait?” said Theodore.
“Of course, what am I thinking? You must be so nervous. I want this to be special anyway. What should I wear? I never know what to wear.”
Florence was opening all of his drawers and his closets and she was tearing blouses and skirts and high heeled shoes and fish net stockings and littering his bed with lipstick and eye shadow and blush and brushes and combs.
Theodore watched her busily readying herself and he stared not at Florence, but at the arsenal in her hands and at her reach.
“They’re not mine,” he said.
“Of course not. I’d be worried if they were.”
“But what are they doing here, in my house, in my room, in my drawers?”
“I put them here silly billy.”
“Are you moving in?” he asked, looking fraught and pale.
“What colour do think; red or pink?”
He looked at her holding the two dresses.
“Any colour you like,” he said.