I killed a rabbit last night.
I was cycling home from my girlfriend's flat, in the dark, in the rain. Going up Langsett Road toward Hillsborough, very little traffic although it was only around 9 pm. A car flashed past in the opposite direction, white headlights then red tail lights reflecting on the wet tarmac and the tram tracks, and suddenly there was this long furry shape twitching in the road.
It must have chosen that moment to run across the road, just in time to be hit by that random car. Behind the shops and flats on that side are allotments and there's a stretch of woodland on this side so, even though we're barely a mile from the city centre, there's a good bit of wildlife.
The rabbit seemed huge, stretched out perhaps two feet I reckon, fur slick and seeming golden in the streetlights. It must've been still trying to run but every time it tried it would just twitch with enough force to spring into the air before landing, broken backed, on its side again. I stopped my bike and watched for long seconds, but it wasn't ready to die yet. Another car or bus or tram might be along any time to finish the job, or maybe not, and who knew what pain and terror the rabbit was going through.
So, leaving my bike on the wet pavement I walked across the road. "Hello, rabbit. I'm sorry." It seemed only polite to say something, to acknowledge the creature. The heel of my shoe came down twice on the delicate skull and it stopped twitching forever. I stood for a few moments wondering whether to just leave it there, but moved it to the undergrowth beneath the copse of trees; I wouldn't want any foxes or crows feeding on the carrion to meet the same fate, the rabbit become grisly cheese in a weird mousetrap.
I can't help wonder if anyone was watching from one of the windows of the low-rise flats to see me, a figure in the rain-drenched dark stamping on some helpless furry creature, how such a tableau may have looked, my small act of mercy some random horror.
Perhaps there's a lesson in there about perspective and needing the full facts, or perhaps I'm overthinking things.
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