Easter Bunny's Arc

Chapter 10 of 15

Easter Bunny lifted the eighth basket from the altar. Mrs. Robin. He'd watched her for years, building nests and raising fledglings, teaching them to fly before winter came. He'd chosen her for that steady devotion—the way she returned each spring without fail, rebuilding what the seasons had torn down. But as he held the basket, doubt crept in. Mrs. Robin's work wasn't like the others. It served only her own young, her own bloodline. The other heroes had given something beyond themselves—Racum told truth when it hurt him, Jayden tended creatures who weren't hers. Mrs. Robin just did what robins do. Easter Bunny needed to see her nest one more time, to confirm what he thought he knew about why she belonged here. He left the basket on the altar and followed the path she always took through the forest. The tall tree stood at the forest's edge, its branches thick with green. Mrs. Robin's nest sat high on a wooden platform that jutted from the trunk—too high for predators, too exposed for comfort. Easter Bunny climbed slowly, his old joints protesting. When he reached the platform and looked into the nest, he stopped breathing. Inside lay a baby hawk, its soft feathers barely grown, its sharp beak already curved. A hawk. The very creature that hunted robins. Mrs. Robin perched on the edge, watching him with one bright eye. She didn't explain. She didn't need to. Easter Bunny climbed down in silence, returned to the clearing, and knew exactly what Mrs. Robin's tribute required. He planted a young tree beside the altar and built a platform into its lowest branches—not hidden like a nest, but open where everyone could see. The forest would grow the tree tall over the years, lifting the platform higher, just as Mrs. Robin's choice lifted everyone who learned of it. When she arrived at dusk, he gave her the basket and told her what he'd seen. She took the seeds and berries inside, touched the young tree once, and flew back toward the hawk that wasn't hers. Easter Bunny had honored eight heroes, and now Easter Corner was complete.