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Snapdragon was just a little child, still just a little child, but his family didn’t understand that. He liked cute things like frilly dress, animals and pinkish colors, not what a boy his age should like.
One day when Snapdragon walked along the river, he found a cute river bunny laying on the shore, it looked injured and suffering. Snapdragon just couldn’t leave it like that, so he brought it back to his hideout, a desolate gathering of discarded furniture. His peaceful retreat from his family, as they wouldn’t tolerate an animal in the house, especially not one injured like the one he picked up. It was the cycle of life, the strong survived while the weak perished. Snapdragon rejected that notion, some individuals needed help in life, they needed just a little push to get started. This little river bunny just needed a little care to restart its life, Snap would provide it care, just like he always wanted.
The river bunny’s wounds weren’t deep or lethal, it was just exhausted, soon its wounds would heal by themselves. “Don’t worry little one, your family may have abandoned you on the shore, but I’ll make sure you recover plenty, pinky promise!” said Snap to the bunny.
It looked at him, incredulous. Snap felt a little silly talking to a wild animal like it somehow understood him, how he wished it could understand him.
He fed it a few vegetables from his own barn. Its skittish frame looked malnourished, so he decided to take care of it until it could go back to the wild alone. “I won’t hurt you, don’t worry, I’m not like my family,” said Snapdragon, with a touch of melancholy in his voice. His family was quite oppressive, but they were still family, leaving them was out of the question.
“I’ll be back, little one. Let me close this door so you’ll be safe here,” said Snapdragon while closing the door of his outpost. He would come back everyday, that’s for sure.
While heading back home, he got accosted by a voice he couldn’t ever forget, “Snap!”
He jumped in fear, his brother was cruel and vicious and whenever he shouted at him, Snap knew another hit was coming. Like clockwork, he got slapped on the head, “Where have you been? I was looking everywhere for you! You still haven’t completed all your tasks!”
Snapdragon completed all his tasks, but often, his brother gave him more to do because he could. He was the big brother, so his words held far more weight than a skittish little boy. Snap responded, “Sorry, Yarrow. I’ll go and finish my tasks right away.”
His brother couldn’t just let him go without another slap behind the head, “Don’t forget next time, darling.”
Snap was on the verge of tears, he knew he shouldn’t because he wanted to grow up, he wanted to be taken seriously, he really wanted the recognition of his family… Crying would only impair that goal, his brother and father would laugh at his display of weakness and would only treat him harsher.
When he arrived at the sawmill, his newest task today was to clean all the sawdust, his brother made sure to leave it all on the ground. He went to fetch the broom to dust it all off into the garbage bin. Some sawdust got in his eyes, making him cry a bit, if that went on he would get teased again. He took thirty minutes to clean all that he needed to, so his father wouldn’t get angry. He headed back home for dinner, on the way he proceeded to get some apples, his brother asked him to fetch some after work, “Thanks, lady Room!”
The old woman was taking care of an orchard, she grew most of the fruits in their little city, “You’re welcome, little Snap, You’re quite dusty today aren’t you?”
Snap had to admit, “Yes, I had to clean our sawmill, tons of sawdust got on me.”
“You should clean yourself as soon as you get home, sawdust isn’t good for the skin you see,” said the lady with a wink.
Snapdragon didn’t understand what she referred to, he was still far too young. He thanked her again before leaving for his home. His house was at the edge of Cobblestone land, a small village nearby Witch City. They grew grapes and other fruits in droves, they had to feed the whole of Witch city, the metropolis of Witch Country. Cobblestone was quite a poor village, and Snapdragon's family were the main providers of lumber. They manufactured all the wooden furniture in the village, that’s why they were high in demand.
Snapdragon arrived home, a moderately large house made exclusively from wood. He crossed the door silently, not wanting to get attention.
“Oh! Snap! We have some undesirable guests at our door!”
“Shut up, Yarrow. Be more respectful towards your brother.”
The father who just reprimanded the brother, came under the arch going from the kitchen to the vestibule. He hugged his son, “Snapdragon! I thought you were gone!” The father was huge, he was taller than the ceiling and his arms were thrice the size of Snap’s arms, he had no trouble lifting whole pieces of furniture by himself.
Snapdragon apologized, “I’m sorry father, I had yet to complete my task at the mill.”
His father, Hawthorne, noticed Snap’s red eyes, “What’s that? You went to cry again Snap? Wipe those tears away, you make us look weak.”
A ball of anguish came to lodge itself in Snap’s stomach, he hugged his father back, “Of course, father, I will.”
Hawthorne’s voice deepened, “Don’t cry again, only little boys do.”
Hawthorne let Snap fall to the ground on his ass. His father gave tough love, meant to harden one’s spirit and physique. Snap would have a bruise on his behind for the next few days. His father then addressed him, “Crying isn’t for men such as us. You’ll toughen up with time, now come to the kitchen, we have important matters to discuss.”
Snapdragon knew that ‘important matter’ was just an euphemism for punishment and sanctions. He reluctantly followed his father and sat across the table
His father then questioned Snapdragon, “So, Yarrow told me you fled your duties at the mill, why?”
Snap argued, “I didn't, it was Yarrow…”
His father looked disappointed, “Why? How many times have I told you to stop lying! You wanna disappoint your mother as well!”
Snapdragon shut his mouth, nothing he said would have alleviated the situation. His brother looked at him with a smirk. His father kept berating him, “That’s why your mother left! You’re incorrigible! You’ll never grow up like that!”
Then, his father addressed him seriously, “Also, why did you pick apples at the market? Do you think we’re rich enough to spend on luxuries?”
Snapdragon was confused, shocked by the sudden question amidst a barrage of unpleasant remarks, “What?”
Yarrow lifted his bag full of grapes, grimacing at poor Snapdragon getting chewed by their father, “I-I-It’s Y-Yarrow who t-told me.”
A huge bang was heard, the table split in half, his father was bright red, “STOP! Lying! Why are you like this? You dishonor your mother’s wishes!”
Snapdragon didn’t argue, it would be pointlessly adding fuel to his wrath. He grew used to getting these rants pointed at him, with his brother and his father constantly picking on him for being different.
His mother left on his fifth birthday, without telling anyone but Snapdragon. She told him her plans and her wishes for him. Even though Snapdragon was a bit too young to fully understand the implications back then, he came to understand that her mother saved herself from this environment. He could never blame her, he would have probably done the same. She told him to be strong for her, to be proud and to be responsible. She told him she would come back for him once he was grown up. He just wanted to see her again, to tell her how much he had grown.
Snapdragon was about to leave when a crackling sound startled him. His father looked at him in contempt, “You’ve been bad Snapdragon. What do we do with bad little boys? We discipline them…”
Snap looked in horror. His father swung the whip, hitting him on his left hand, coincidentally his dominant hand. The pain was outstanding, his tiny hand was numb and bloodied. His father then spoke solemnly, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, Snap. We’ll make a man out of you yet.”
Snap had stinging pain in his hand all night long, so much that he couldn’t sleep. Morning came at the right time, just as Yarrow slammed Snap’s door open, “Wake up! Darling!”
Time for work. Snapdragon spent the whole day at his post in the sawmill until their father came for them, he wouldn’t let Yarrow screw with him again. Their shift over, Snap went on his way without noticing the shadow following him.
He was exhausted, a full night awake and a bruised hand would do that to anyone. He just had another responsibility to take care of. He arrived at his hideout and got in without an itch. The little river bunny was running around, slightly terrified. Snap spoke calmly, “Don’t be scared, little one. I came to check on you.”
The little critter didn’t understand, it was excitedly racing all around. Snapdragon managed to grab and restrained it to look at its wound, it looked better, but still not healed. The bunny squealed in fear, Snap used his most calm voice, “Please don’t fear me, I don’t intend to hurt you.”
The bunny kept wiggling, Snap forgot to bring vegetables to feed his little companion, maybe it would be more docile with an offering of food. Also, the wound wasn’t healing fast enough, Snapdragon didn’t have much time to keep caring about his new friend. Snap was about to leave to fetch some vegetables, “Wait for me, little one, I’ll be back with food.”
As soon as Snapdragon released his grip on the bunny, it kicked his hand in panic. The pain was felt immediately, his bruised hand didn’t have time to heal either.
The pain was so intense he slammed his other hand on the ground. Enraged, his hand still hurt and adrenaline flowing, he squished the culprit hard. He tried to squish it to stop it from moving, “That hurt!” The bunny was squealing in terror. Snapdragon then had a moment of clarity, he released his grip to let the bunny move. Its wound opened again, bleeding from the stress induced upon its tiny, frail body.
Snapdragon looked in horror at his own hands, he was shaking horribly. He reacted on instinct, so why did he do that? He tried to stop the pain, so he hurt the little bunny? Was his pain really greater than another’s? He had a vision, he saw himself whipping tons of little bunnies on their legs, scarring them for life.
Snapdragon couldn’t continue like this. He would end up the same as his father, perpetuating his pain to others. That’s when he realized the truth of his situation; Hurt people hurt others. Was it really worth it, to remain in this environment waiting for his mother’s return?
Snapdragon didn’t have the time to really ponder the question, an unpleasant voice was heard, “Daaarrliiinng! What are you doing in the trash?”
Yarrow opened the door to his hideout, Snapdragon panicked a bit, “Y-Yarrow!”
His brother grinned, “You wouldn’t happen to be feeding this creature with our food now would you?”
Snapdragon’s fear resonated through his voice, “P-Please, keep this a secret.”
Yarrow then had the evilest smile, “A secret for our family sure.”
Snapdragon looked at him leaving, whistling away towards town. If their father learned about this, he would surely be very mad. Snap then caught the injured river bunny and left running. Where was he heading? He didn’t know, but he would follow the river. He reached the edge of the town until he got caught by his brother, slamming his head in the dirt, “Where are you going, Darling?!”
The river bunny was squished further, it squealed lightly. Yarrow pulled his brother by his hair, “Not very ladylike of you, Snap. Running away from the man of the house, all dirty like that!”
Yarrow then pulled the poor critter from Snap’s hand, “Now give me the river bunny, wuss.”
Snap reacted violently, “NO! Not it!”
Yarrow tried to throw the poor, inert bunny, as far as he could, but he was stopped by massive arms, “What’s going on, Sons of Hawthorn!”
Yarrow was no match for his own father, he got pulled aside like a rag doll, “Ouch!”
Hawthorn was mad, but not at Snap, “What is this behavior, Yarrow?! Bullying the weak is prohibited in my household!”
Hawthorn let the little bunny go, it ran sloppily to escape this madness around it and got in the river. Hawthorn reprimanded his son, “You do not bully the weak! You let them be, they’ll cull themselves and let the strong survive!”
Snapdragon was more than exhausted, he just wanted to cry, his day had not been great. His father leaned over him, “I don’t want to see tears. Show him how strong you really are!”
Snapdragon repressed his tears, looking as angry as his sleep deprived face could. His father congratulated him, “That’s the spirit! I knew you could be strong!”
They all went back home, Yarrow was suspended on the ceiling for his attitude of the day. Snapdragon couldn’t ignore the feeling he felt at the sight of his brother, suspended upside down by his feet. It felt so good to not be the target of their antics, so incredibly good…
He thought all night about his current path. Did he really want to be strong, if it meant becoming more like his family? He couldn’t stop thinking about the little bunny and his mother. He wanted to see them again.
He left in the middle of the night for a walk since he couldn’t sleep. He walked along the river, watching the flow of water. How mesmerizing, he sometimes felt like following the stream to see where it went. As he walked along the flowing water, he stumbled upon a bump. He crouched to see what was at his feet, the moonlight illuminating the river. A little river bunny laid down, lifeless. Snapdragon saw the wound on its leg, it was the bunny from today, “Wake up, little one. It’s not the place to take a nap.”
He nudged it a bit, trying to make it move, ignoring the tears flowing down his face. Was that really all he could do? Was that what he wanted in life? His young brain wasn’t developed enough to answer these complex questions, he just had this hunch in his stomach. Maybe it wasn’t worth waiting for his savior to come, maybe he should claw his way out of this situation, unless he ends up like this poor, careless bunny.
He kept walking, the river crisscrossed endlessly, the sun rose and set overhead. How much time had he walked? He couldn’t tell, he was just so sleepy. He would just take a nap here on these stairs, maybe his mother would come to comfort him.
Snapdragon collapsed on the stairs leading to a mansion. He wouldn’t know it, but he would owe his life to the most impromptu savior of all.