It was an hour before midnight; barely a sound was made save for a few cars on the road. From the window, Techno City’s lights illuminated the horizon. It almost looked alive. A truly mesmerizing sight to behold.

  “Come away from the window,” Young rabbit ears perked up to the sound of his mother’s voice calling to him from the living room. He turned towards her slightly; he wasn’t ready to look away yet. “It’s time for bed, sweetie.”

  Standing in the living room, the rabbit’s mother- taller than him, dressed in only her nightgown and slippers- gazed at her child with tired eyes. He could tell it was from more than just lack of sleep. The past three years, maybe even more for all he knew, hadn’t been kind to her. He felt bad for keeping her up but maybe if he tried to convince her…

  “But mom…” the young bunny whined, but only slightly. “I wanted to watch the lights.”

  The older rabbit let out a tired groan, rubbing one of her eyes as she yawned, “Why?”

  “Well…” How could he explain it without sounding crazy to his mother? “Eikken told me the city changes colors at night so…” What else could he say?

  But from the way his mother looked at him, he knew he wasn’t going to win this argument.

  “Rikki…” His mother mumbled, moving to sit beside him in the little nook. “You can see the lights another night.” The younger rabbit, Rikki, perked up a bit. Does that mean… “But tonight… bedtime.” His ears slumped against his black hair, which was quite the contrast to his pure white fur. So close!

  Rikki was silent for a moment but soon his three-year-old mind gave in to the tired feeling he had been trying to fight for a while and yawned. He muttered out a response that was almost akin to an ‘okay’, allowing himself to be lifted into his mother’s arms as she carried him all the way to his bedroom.

  As they got further from the window, Rikki could just make out through heavy eyelids the lights shining through the window. They did change color…

  … Red…

  … White…

  Those were the only colors he could see before sleep consumed him completely. A small smile crept onto his face, the colors dancing in his dreams.

  Red… white… red… white…

  What other colors did the city have?

                                                      --------------

  “Three days?!” Cedric exclaimed, eyes wide at the news the hotel clerk gave him. “I only have three days… to leave?”

  The clerk nodded, stoic boredom etched on her face.

  “But… I thought I was spending the next few nights here?” Cedric was confused. He was sure he had paid enough money to last throughout the week, he was certain of it! “So why…?” He dared not finish that sentence. The last thing the teen needed was to sound whiny and desperate.

  The clerk’s expression softened slightly for a brief moment before instantly hardening back to their coldness, “Listen. I’ve given you two weeks already. We have a lot of guests coming in a few days and we need every room available.” Her tone was even, calm. She was not in the mood to argue her reasons but maintained her professionalism nonetheless.

  “I’m sorry, kid, but with summer approaching there’s very little we can do about it. The most we can give you is three days to pack up and go. If you haven’t left by then, we’ll be forced to take… drastic measures.” The way she adjusted her glasses as she said ‘drastic’ made Cedric gulp. She was threatening to call the cops on him, wasn’t she?

  With a heavy sigh, Cedric anxiously pushed his hair back. Today just went from bad to worse. He knew his stay was only temporary… but, honestly, he thought he had more time than that. But he had to face the facts: He couldn’t afford to stay here anymore, no matter how much money he tried to pay. Even with the money for the next few nights… who was he kidding?

  He could barely afford it anyway and what little of his paycheck remained went towards the Laundromat and cheap gas station food. What Cedric really needed the money for was for himself, but without a roof over his head…

  Closing his eyes, he made his decision.

  “Alright. I’ll be gone.” Cedric hated that he was giving in to this, but after the long day he had, he wasn’t in the best of moods to argue. “Thank you.”

  As he walked towards the elevator, the clerk piped up. Cedric looked back at her, noticing the guilt in her eyes as she spoke.

  “For what it’s worth… I am sorry.”

  Cedric gave her a halfhearted smile before pressing the button on the elevator.

  Three floors and five doors later, Cedric opened the door to what he once called ‘home’. The hotel itself was a very quaint place to stay in but the rooms were definitely made to feel cozy. The lighting was excellent, able to illuminate the entire room as he walked in. The furniture was well placed; the cushioning on some of them the softest he ever felt. And the bed was simply a delight, having clean silk sheets, freshly fluffed up pillows, and the mattress sunk in comfortably enough for him to just relax.

  Add the fact that housekeeping did an amazing job with making the room clean everything was orderly and spotless. The benefits of staying at a 4-star hotel.

  Needless to say, Cedric was going to miss this room. The lazy atmosphere… the complimentary breakfast… waking up to the sounds of the city coming alive in the morning… All of it would be missed.

  He sighed thoughtfully, carding his hand through his hair as he sat down in a nearby chair. It was close to the window, giving him a good view of the city district. All the buildings outside were tall and blocked most of the horizon, but it was good enough for him. Cedric rested his hands on the table in front of him, the weight of the clerk’s news fully sinking in.

  “… What do I do now?” he mumbled to no one in particular. But he raised a valid question: What was he going to do?

  Finding a new place to stay wasn’t going to be easy. Most of the hotels Cedric knew about would be completely booked for the summer due to vacationing families and even some upcoming events that were taking place in the city. The same went for motels.

  He could try asking one of his coworkers but that was out of the question too. Not only did he barely know anyone in his workplace but he couldn’t bear the idea of burdening any of them with his problems. That only left the homeless shelters…

  They weren’t the most well kept places to stay in. That and the fact that the only shelters available- that he knew of- were located in the shadier parts of town. None of these options sat well one bit.

  Cedric sighed heavily, leaning his head against the window. He needed to figure out something… but what?

  A few sounds caught his attention: the familiar rat-a-tat of raindrops against the window. It started with a few… then a few more. Before long, a steady stream of rain came cascading down, drenching the city streets below.

  Odd. The forecast hadn’t called for rain tonight.

  “How appropriate,” Cedric let out a halfhearted laugh at the irony.

  …

  Well, before he decided on a new place to stay Cedric needed to find himself a second job. And fast.