I stand at the edge of a cliff in the middle of a forest. The setting sun illuminates the view in a red glow, casting ever lengthening shadows across the landscape. I hear a noise behind me.

I turn around and discover it was only a rabbit making is way through the dense brush. It couldn’t help the noise. Peculiarly, it’s not running away from me. It looks like it has something to say, but it’s too shy to speak up first.

“Hello, there.” I state calmy. “Are you here for the same reason as me?” The rabbit looks surprised I initiated the conversation before calming it’s nerves.

“Of course I am. Every sentient being visits this place at least once in it’s life.” The rabbit answers in a solemn tone, like that of a sage

“Oh, I was just looking for nuts.” My beady squirrel eyes dialate. “What are you talking about?” A few moments pass, and the rabbit looks visibly embarrassed.

“Ah– well…” The rabbit stutters, awkwardly glancing away.

“If you know all about it you must’ve visited this place at least twice…” I think aloud, my eyes still focused on the rabbit. “Maybe this is just my time visiting it. Maybe it just happened to be for nuts.”

The rabbit seems to regain it’s composure after I speak. “So I assume you haven’t heard of why everyone eventually makes a pilgrimage here?” The rabbit inquires, tilting its head ever so slightly.

“No, I haven’t.” I turn away, scavenging the ground for nuts. A few seconds of silence pass. “Still listening!” I yell back, not yet having turned from facing the ground. The rabbit scratches its ear extremely quickly, as rabbits are known to do.

“Oh! I found one!” I hold the nut up like a prize before cracking it with my teeth and placing it in my cheek. “So, why do people come here?” I ask curiously, my speech impeded as you might expect from the nut in my mouth.

The rabbit stares blankly for a few moments before responding. “Well, they say that when you look upon the view from the cliff, you can see your future in the distance.” The rabbit looks down ever so slightly, breaking its eye contact.

“Huh.” I sit still thinking for a moment. “Is that really why everyone would come here? Don’t some people not want to know what happens?”

“Well, there could be other reasons… that’s the only one I’ve ever heard.” The rabbit promptly replies, before taking a brief time to roll around in the grass.

“That’s weird. So, is this your first time to come here then?”

The rabbit sits back up before answering. “No, I’ve been a few times. So far, I haven’t seen anything, but I hope that one of these trips I can at least see a glimpse of what’s ahead of me.” It pauses for a moment, then tilts its head curiously. “Did you see anything while you were looking out?” It asks, in a sincerely curious tone.

“I thought I saw a nut. Maybe nuts are my future!” I giggle and smile with closed eyes. “I don’t really believe in all that, honestly. I’m happy how I am, I don’t think the world needs much more.” I pause and turn around, looking at the sunset, which has nearly completely dissipated. I sit silently as I watch the horizon consume that big bright ball in the sky, the last rays of its light shining towards me, broken by the mountains in the distance. I turn back to the rabbit with a bright smile on my face. “Maybe it’s real, but I dunno if it really matters to me!”

The rabbit smiles back.

“So do you need me to get out the way?” I ask, preparing to step aside, considering where I should search next.

“No… I think maybe this time I’ll resist the urge to look…” The rabbit replies solemnly, looking me in the eyes.

“That’s the spirit!” I scurry over to it and point to the walnut tree nearby. “Wanna help me look for nuts?”

“I am a rabbit. I cannot climb trees.” It answers curtly. I giggle before replying;

“On the ground, silly! They fall on their own sometimes!”