HOME | DD

Description
This story took place about 20 years ago, when Paprika was 9 years old.

Here's the story that explains why Paprika will never hide in the bathroom during a game of hide and seek ever again.

The Bunny family was getting a visit from Dad's sister, Aunt Tamara, her husband Uncle Pete, and their at-the-time 9 kids. They were coming over for dinner, and to just have a nice get-together to catch up and visit as family. The Bunny kids like getting visits from their cousins, especially the ones who were the same ages as them, because then they had some more kids to play with.

The adults were in the living room and kitchen talking and getting dinner ready, with the babies of the family staying with them. Meanwhile, the 17 older kids decided to play hide and seek all around the house. Cousin Zara was "it", and while she started counting to 100 in the basement play room, the other kids all ran off to hide in different parts of the house.

Paprika, in particular, was struggling to find a good place to hide. With there being so many more kids than usual, all the best hiding spots were taken. She looked in each closet and under each bed on the second floor, but they were all taken. She looked around, and noticed the bathtub in the master bathroom. The shower curtain was drawn about half way so it was covering a good amount of the inside of the tub. She looked in the tub, and there was no one there, so she took that spot. She decided to not close the shower curtain all the way, so that it looked less suspicious and obvious that someone was there. She found her spot right on time, because she then heard Zara shout.

ZARA: Ready or not, here I come!

Paprika stayed hidden, excited for Zara to come find her.

Meanwhile, as the adults kept chatting, Uncle Pete excused himself to the bathroom. Someone was already in the powder room on the ground floor, so he went upstairs towards the master bathroom, trying not to bump his head on the doorways on the way there (he's a Flemish Giant rabbit, and is taller than the doorways in the house).

Paprika could hear footsteps approaching the bathroom, and started giggling to herself, thinking it was Zara, until she realized how big the footsteps sounded. Zara was only 10 years old at the time, so her footsteps weren't nearly as big as the ones Paprika heard approaching. In fact, it didn't even sound like any of the older kids, or even her parents. It wasn't until she heard the sound of Pete saying "ow" as he bumped his head slightly on the doorway on his way into the bathroom when Paprika realized who it was. Uncle Pete has a very distinctly low voice, so it's very recognizable, even if he's not in sight.

But then, Paprika heard the sound of the door closing and locking, and that's when she realized what was happening and she started getting really scared.

PAPRIKA: "to herself" Uh oh.

Yep, Paprika now had to sit there and stay completely silent and completely motionless, so that Pete didn't find her and think she was intentionally trying to invade people's privacy. When she heard the sound of the toilet seat being lifted up, Paprika covered her ears, not wanting to listen to what was happening. She sat there with her paws over her ears, not moving and barely breathing, just waiting for Pete to finish and leave. About 30 seconds later, she uncovered one ear to see if the coast was clear, but nope! She re-covered her ear and stayed motionless in the tub for another minute or so.

Finally, Paprika faintly heard the sound of the toilet flushing through her covered ears, and she kept still, hoping Pete didn't see her as he walked towards the sink, on the other side of the room. Luckily, he never saw or heard her the whole time. He washed his paws then finally left the room. Paprika sighed in relief, but by that point, she wasn't in the mood to play anymore, so she just got out of the bathtub (making sure Pete was nowhere in sight), then walked out of the bathroom towards her room.

As Paprika was approaching her room, Zara spotted her.

ZARA: Found you, Paprika! But why aren't you hiding?
PAPRIKA: Uhh, I... I don't really feel like playing anymore. I'm just gonna read until dinner time.
ZARA: Oh, uhh, ok.

So Paprika stayed in her room and read her book by herself while the other kids kept playing. Reading helped her calm down a bit, and by dinner time, she felt a bit better, until she saw Uncle Pete again. Of course, she didn't dare say anything about what happened, and avoided showing that anything was wrong the whole rest of the visit. Her parents picked up on it, though, but decided to wait until their guests went home before asking her about it. Paprika was worried her parents would be mad at her, so she didn't want to tell them. They didn't force her to tell them if she was uncomfortable, but they told her that they were ready to listen when she was ready to talk, and promised they wouldn't be mad when she did.

Paprika didn't tell them until the following day, and true to their word, her parents weren't upset with her. They understood that it was just an unfortunate mishap that could have happened to anyone. Of course, despite his large size which made him look a bit intimidating, especially when he was upset, Pete's a very kind, gentle rabbit and would have understood. However, Paprika still asked her parents not to tell him, and they didn't.

It took a while, but Paprika eventually got over most of her discomfort regarding this memory, to the point where she was comfortable with telling Pete about the incident herself years later. Of course, he was understanding about it, and was glad that the incident didn't spoil the positive uncle-niece relationship between them.

Awkward moments happen to pretty much everyone, but it's good when you can move past them, and keep relationships with beloved family members as strong as possible after they happen. That may take a while in some cases, but that's ok. Kindness, understanding, and strong family bonds can power through anything life throws at the Bunny's.

Description
This story took place about 20 years ago, when Paprika was 9 years old.

Here's the story that explains why Paprika will never hide in the bathroom during a game of hide and seek ever again.

The Bunny family was getting a visit from Dad's sister, Aunt Tamara, her husband Uncle Pete, and their at-the-time 9 kids. They were coming over for dinner, and to just have a nice get-together to catch up and visit as family. The Bunny kids like getting visits from their cousins, especially the ones who were the same ages as them, because then they had some more kids to play with.

The adults were in the living room and kitchen talking and getting dinner ready, with the babies of the family staying with them. Meanwhile, the 17 older kids decided to play hide and seek all around the house. Cousin Zara was "it", and while she started counting to 100 in the basement play room, the other kids all ran off to hide in different parts of the house.

Paprika, in particular, was struggling to find a good place to hide. With there being so many more kids than usual, all the best hiding spots were taken. She looked in each closet and under each bed on the second floor, but they were all taken. She looked around, and noticed the bathtub in the master bathroom. The shower curtain was drawn about half way so it was covering a good amount of the inside of the tub. She looked in the tub, and there was no one there, so she took that spot. She decided to not close the shower curtain all the way, so that it looked less suspicious and obvious that someone was there. She found her spot right on time, because she then heard Zara shout.

ZARA: Ready or not, here I come!

Paprika stayed hidden, excited for Zara to come find her.

Meanwhile, as the adults kept chatting, Uncle Pete excused himself to the bathroom. Someone was already in the powder room on the ground floor, so he went upstairs towards the master bathroom, trying not to bump his head on the doorways on the way there (he's a Flemish Giant rabbit, and is taller than the doorways in the house).

Paprika could hear footsteps approaching the bathroom, and started giggling to herself, thinking it was Zara, until she realized how big the footsteps sounded. Zara was only 10 years old at the time, so her footsteps weren't nearly as big as the ones Paprika heard approaching. In fact, it didn't even sound like any of the older kids, or even her parents. It wasn't until she heard the sound of Pete saying "ow" as he bumped his head slightly on the doorway on his way into the bathroom when Paprika realized who it was. Uncle Pete has a very distinctly low voice, so it's very recognizable, even if he's not in sight.

But then, Paprika heard the sound of the door closing and locking, and that's when she realized what was happening and she started getting really scared.

PAPRIKA: "to herself" Uh oh.

Yep, Paprika now had to sit there and stay completely silent and completely motionless, so that Pete didn't find her and think she was intentionally trying to invade people's privacy. When she heard the sound of the toilet seat being lifted up, Paprika covered her ears, not wanting to listen to what was happening. She sat there with her paws over her ears, not moving and barely breathing, just waiting for Pete to finish and leave. About 30 seconds later, she uncovered one ear to see if the coast was clear, but nope! She re-covered her ear and stayed motionless in the tub for another minute or so.

Finally, Paprika faintly heard the sound of the toilet flushing through her covered ears, and she kept still, hoping Pete didn't see her as he walked towards the sink, on the other side of the room. Luckily, he never saw or heard her the whole time. He washed his paws then finally left the room. Paprika sighed in relief, but by that point, she wasn't in the mood to play anymore, so she just got out of the bathtub (making sure Pete was nowhere in sight), then walked out of the bathroom towards her room.

As Paprika was approaching her room, Zara spotted her.

ZARA: Found you, Paprika! But why aren't you hiding?
PAPRIKA: Uhh, I... I don't really feel like playing anymore. I'm just gonna read until dinner time.
ZARA: Oh, uhh, ok.

So Paprika stayed in her room and read her book by herself while the other kids kept playing. Reading helped her calm down a bit, and by dinner time, she felt a bit better, until she saw Uncle Pete again. Of course, she didn't dare say anything about what happened, and avoided showing that anything was wrong the whole rest of the visit. Her parents picked up on it, though, but decided to wait until their guests went home before asking her about it. Paprika was worried her parents would be mad at her, so she didn't want to tell them. They didn't force her to tell them if she was uncomfortable, but they told her that they were ready to listen when she was ready to talk, and promised they wouldn't be mad when she did.

Paprika didn't tell them until the following day, and true to their word, her parents weren't upset with her. They understood that it was just an unfortunate mishap that could have happened to anyone. Of course, despite his large size which made him look a bit intimidating, especially when he was upset, Pete's a very kind, gentle rabbit and would have understood. However, Paprika still asked her parents not to tell him, and they didn't.

It took a while, but Paprika eventually got over most of her discomfort regarding this memory, to the point where she was comfortable with telling Pete about the incident herself years later. Of course, he was understanding about it, and was glad that the incident didn't spoil the positive uncle-niece relationship between them.

Awkward moments happen to pretty much everyone, but it's good when you can move past them, and keep relationships with beloved family members as strong as possible after they happen. That may take a while in some cases, but that's ok. Kindness, understanding, and strong family bonds can power through anything life throws at the Bunny's.