An encounter of the eighth kind

After a couple of hours of staring into a screen, I stepped out into the darkness that had fallen onto the road outside the lab. The road was wide, lit by sodium vapour lamps. They weren't enough to probe into pockets of darkness that hung beneath the trees. Well manicured grass stretched evenly from the illuminating haze into the darkness beneath the trees. The sky was clear. A thin crescent moon hung low in the sky; a face with a faint smile.

Under the tree, I saw a shape in the grass. It munched on the grass, in the cover of darkness. Shy animals by nature, the clever rabbit had found a safe dark clearing in a spot where two roads crossed and four lamps threateningly watched. People walked right by without noticing him. I biked right along him, too see what he looked like. He was shaped like a grey furry easter egg. His back was facing me but both his large ears followed me as I biked in an arc around him; like a radar antenna following a plane. I slowed down as I passed him; he gave me a sideward glance; not alarmed, but seemingly annoyed, "can't you see i am eating?" I apologized without saying a word and went on my way.

Further down the road, the lights had dissapeared. A large family was walking down the sidewalk with two of their dogs; enjoying the cool night. While one dog walked with the group the elder fellow took it upon himself to scout on ahead. I suppose it was route he knew well. I was biking a few feet behind him on the road while he trotted on ahead. A pedestrian crossing came along. He turned towards the road and looked the other way and then, saw me. He didn't expect to see me and was fully prepared to cross. As soon as he did see me, he stopped and looked at me, and smiled, "after you". I biked on ahead and turned back to see him cross, along a straight line, right in the middle of the pedestrian crossing.

In a couple of minutes, I was at a red light. Trucks and cars whizzed past me as I stood and wondered.