The class was in complete silence, pretending to concentrate on homework. But you could
see the nervousness in the air and the stealthy glances at the clock. The children were like
a troop of soldiers, ready to go into battle at a signal. However, in this case it was
a war of everyone against everyone. Mary knew that,
and she wasn't willing to let anyone beat her,
As soon as the bell rang, they all dropped their pens and ran to the door. She was sitting
at the nearest table and was the first one out. She had it planned from the day she chose
her desk. It was her favorite holiday of the year, after Christmas of course, and it was
worth spending the year in the front row to be the first to arrive in the courtyard.
The sun was shining, it was the perfect day. She picked up one of the baskets and went
in search of her precious treasure: Easter eggs. Although they were clumsily hidden and
there were plenty for everyone, the competition was fierce, and the longer it took the less
there would be left. She heard all around her the joyful cries of those who had already
found some, and she got more impatient.
She decided on the wisest strategy: splitting up and searching in remote places where there
were fewer classmates. Without realizing it, she stepped out of bounds and into the dark
grove next to the courtyard. It seemed illogical that there should be eggs hidden so far away,
but time was running out and she had only found a couple, she was desperate.
Mary could hardly hear the screams of the other kids in the distance, and her footsteps
echoed over the ground and the leaves. Suddenly she noticed other footsteps beside her, and
turned around. In front of her there was a big rabbit, as tall as an adult, standing
and looking at her. His mouth could be seen despite his costume. "Cold, cold... you're
going the wrong way."
Mary listened to the stranger and retraced her steps… while he followed her. When she
reached some stones at the edge of the grove, she smiled confidently and bent down to look.
"Hot, hot... you're getting close." The rabbit bent down too, very close to her. She finally
found the prize, two brightly painted eggs that she kept in her basket. The rabbit smiled
through the costume and patted her face. "Excellent! Now, go back to your friends,
there is nothing else here".
That same night, Mary went to bed later than usual, but she fell asleep right away, worn
out from the exhaustion and the chocolate binge. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Lynn, were
a young couple who knew how important this party was for her, and they let her do anything
she wanted. After midnight, when the house was completely silent, something woke Mary
up. A hairy hand caressed her face and she opened her eyes.
Sitting on the bed next to her was a huge rabbit. She could hardly see him in the dark,
but he didn't look the same as that morning. He looked a lot more realistic, his eyes were
alive and he looked at her with a sinister glow. His fur was dirty and messy, and his
mouth was much larger, with pointed fangs sticking out. "The search is not over yet,
little one. There are two more eggs to be found." His voice sounded much hoarser and
she could feel the stench of his breath on her face.
Mary was scared, she didn't understand anything, but she decided to listen to him. She got
up half asleep and went to the hallway, keeping her eyes on the rabbit. She looked to the
side, towards her parents' room. "Cold, cold... you're going the wrong way." She turned around
and walked through the darkness into the living room, leaning against the wall.
She noticed something hot and sticky on the wall. There was a trace of liquid that followed
down to the bottom, but she couldn't guess what it was. She wiped off her hands on her
pyjamas and moved on. When she got to the living room, partially illuminated by the
light coming in through the windows, she looked around thinking what would be the best hiding
place. She looked at the group of flower pots in the background. "Hot, hot... you're getting
close," she heard in the distance.
As she moved the leaves of the plants aside to check, the light from the window let her
see that the liquid in her hands glowed with a scarlet red color. Her intuition had worked
once again, and hiding in the corner she found the two eggs. But they were different from
the rest, much larger and roughly painted. They were also covered with a strange layer of hair.
She turned one of the eggs, with difficulty, it was really heavy. And she discovered, terrified,
her mother's face painted on it, upset, showing horror. It looked crazy, but the blood surrounding
it left no doubt, it was her head separated from her body. She didn’t need to turn the
other one, it was obvious who it belonged to.
She rushed instinctively to her parents' room terrified, and her fears were confirmed. The
spooky rabbit was lying on the bed, bent over one of the bodies, devouring its entrails.
The rabbit turned to Mary, with bright eyes and a hot breath coming out of his mouth.
"See how cold it was here? All right, now it's my turn to find the last egg."