When Emi had shrieked and had run into her parents' room, Niels had woken up immediately. He wondered what was wrong, that made his little girl cry. After all she had had a wonderful few last days, as had he.
Spending time with Aubrey she had enjoyed, let alone the fun she had at Lucie's birthday party, where she had been showing off all of her dance moves to her family. And when the little girl met little Rhea, his Kobedaughter, she had been even more excited. To Niels, these days had been amazing, and he couldn't belive how fast time had gone by. He could barely believe Christmas had passed again, and that now a new year was on its way. Emi's sniffling pulled him from his thoughts, and he looked at her caringly, making room so his daughter could sit on the bed or cuddle up to him. As she did so, he carefully wiped away the tears. "What's wrong, little Princess?" he asked, looking at her. "It's Bunny..." she said, immediately crying a little more. She hugged her daddy, feeling truly sad. Niels knew immediately what had happened from this reaction. "Oh no..." he said, "I'm sorry Emi..." he gently caressed her back, trying to comfort her. He knew how she felt, he had seen it before when Amanda's beloved ferrets, Midnight and Moonlight, had died. She had been unconsolable, and this had given Niels a good view of how people must feel when their pets died. He hugged his daughter tightly, letting her cry against him. When Amanda gave him a questioning look, no doubt already understanding what was going on, he whispered: "I'll handle this... I just need you for support..." Amanda smiled sadly and nodded, looking at her husband. She always liked how gentle he was with her and the kids, and now she would be able to see that again. Niels kissed Emi's forehead, and the seven year old girl looked up at him, her eyes red from the crying she was doing. "But I took good care of Bunny... What happened?" she muttered, not understanding this at all... Well sweetie," Niels said, giving the child a loving smile, "Bunny was getting quite old already. And when a bunny gets old, at some point he feels so sleepy he just falls asleep. And at some point, he'll fall asleep deeper than any other time... And when that happens, sometimes a bunny won't come back any more, like what happened to Bunny," he stopped for a moment, wiping away Emi's tears while she kept on looking at him, "But when that happens, they go to a place that's super nice, they go to bunny heaven... Now your Bunny is there, and he'll always look down at you. When he's there, he can run around as much as he loves to, and he can eat just as much of his favourite foods, and he'll always be happy and fluffy and bouncy. And he'll always be watching you, and you'll know he's always here, for you loved your Bunny, and he's always in your heart." Emi sniffled hard, hugging her daddy again. She still couldn't believe this had happened, not after she took care of Bunny so well. But indeed, she realised, she had had her Bunny for a long time, and according to her daddy, where Bunny was now, he would still have fun. "Okay daddy..." she sniffled, closing her eyes. Niels looked at her as Amanda got up, giving Niels a look that asked him to move. Carefully, she cuddled up to the other side of Emi after Niels had done so, and she whispered: "Do you want to go bury your Bunny with daddy? So you'll know where he is when we're here, and we can maybe get something small to put at his grave..." She swallowed, hating to see her daughter like this. But Niels had done a good job comforting Emi, in her opinion. "Yes mummy, I want that..." Emi said, giving Amanda a gentle smile through the tears. She was glad her parents were here to help her with this, and she looked at her mummy again. "Can I wear just my home clothes to do it?" she asked, making her parents chuckle before they confirmed she could. Niels got up, quickly getting Emi some clothes to wear before doing the same for himself. As he was in the bathroom getting ready, he quickly called the desk of their complex, asking if they had any shovels there. After some time, the kind lady affirmed the gardener hard a shovel. Niels then asked to buy some of the common lawn to bury his daughter's bunny, which he was allowed to do after some following phone calls. When he got out of the bathroom, Emi was waiting for him, giving him an impatient look. "Hurry daddy..." she said, "Mummy's putting Bunny in his travelling cage... So we can go bury him..." she swallowed, tears sprouting in her eyes again, but she was clearly trying to stay strong. Niels gave her a hug before walking to her room with her. Emi took the travelling cage and walked to the hallway to put on a coat and some shoes, an example Niels followed. He took the elevator down with her after, and once they got to the lawn bit, he walked to the gardener's cabin, grabbing a shovel and two pair of gloves from there. One for him and one for Emi. As he got back to the garden, Emi was standing at a part of the garden that was less well kept and a little further away from the grass. She pointed. "I want Bunny to rest here..." she swallowed again, tears running down her cheek as Niels began to dig. Emi put on a pair of the gloves her daddy brought her in the meanwhile, taking Bunny ouot to give him som more hugs, even when he was no more. After the grave was finished, Emi gave Bunny a final hug and put him in the little cardboard box they brought, putting it in. Her daddy then sealed the grave, and she quickly picked some flowers to put on the spot, writing "Bunny" in the soil with her finger. After this, Niels gave his girl a hug, taking her to the cabin to put away their stuff. He told Emi to go upstairs after, which she reluctantly did. Niels however had one final thing to do. He hopped into his car, driving to a nearby pet store. Once he got there and told them what he needed, they redirected him to a different store. It then took some more time, being redirected over and over, before he finally found what he had been looking for. With that set, he hopped back into his car and drove home again, where he went upstairs after. Emi was still crying as he entered, and he took her hand in his, leading her back outside as Amanda followed him with the other kids. Angelo had been trying to comfort Emi too, so he heard as they were in the elevator, but it had been to no avail. Now, however, he had a surprise for Emi. As they approached the spot of the grave, Emi's eyes lit up a little, and she ran to the grave, running back after to hug her daddy tightly. Amanda was looking at it also, giving Niels a look of approval. Niels looked at Emi and whispered: "So we never forget where Bunny is buried..." he then kissed her forehead. Now, Bunny was in bunny heaven for real...
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Niels at a glanceName: Niels van Loon Archives
September 2017
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