“I’m walking here. Why the hell don’t you look where you’re going eh? What are you blind-oh”

Rabbit looked the squinting mole full in the face, lowered his voice and suddenly felt very guilty. “So… I’m sorry. But you really think you ought to be out this time of day? I mean…you’re a creature of the night right? You can cause a lot of damage crashing around like-yeah? Yeah? You too. You too….you…you creep”

Rabbit returned the offending gesture at the retreating mole, turned his back, closed his eyes and began to count to ten under his breath “….eight, nine, ten…” .

He took a short breath in and blew a long one out just like he’d been taught. A moment. Rabbit opened one eye, paused, then smiled. It had worked. Rabbit’s missing karma had been restored. The red mist had lifted, his pulse had steadied and he could hear his pounding heart no more. No blood had been spilt and he was feeling really good. He hadn’t felt the need to pop a pill and he hadn’t coloured up, well, maybe just a little. In short, he was doing just fine. The cost of the anger management sessions had been a good investment and hadn’t, as his friends insisted, been squandered. Mrs Rabbit had been right all along. Talk-don’t balk. Think it.-don’t drink it. This time last year and Mister Moly there would have walked off with a fir cone stuck firmly up his ass. How Rabbit had changed. Or not, as the case may be.

Rabbit was pleased with himself. He shrugged his shoulders, shook his ears, put the last few distressing minutes behind him and moved on down the pathway feeling ten years younger. He laughed at his exaggeration. OK, so maybe five years younger.

Rabbit always came this way. Apart from it being a lot quicker it had the added bonus of being much more peaceful than the long way round. For this reason it was good for him health wise. Sure it was a minor workout as far as workouts go but anything that took the stiffness out of his hind legs and made him feel this alert had to be good. However, the realisation that once, not that long ago, he would have hopped down this path in half the time it took him now, cut deep, but, the truth had to be faced up to. Rabbit was no bunny anymore. Time and boisterous living had taken their toll but hey…what the hell, no regrets.