Her parents had taken her out to a nice restaurant one night, as they often did, not for any celebration, but because it was just something they did. Bunny was accustomed to it, as it had always been the way of things. She wore a dainty dress with pink ribbons in her hair, and knew her good manners were to be used.
They had eaten, and laughed, and greeted friends as they came and went. Everyone had commented on how polished she looked, patted her on the head, and smiled at her. She’d smiled back, not because it was expected, but because she was a warm and generous child, full of love.
As they left the restaurant and walked the short distance to their car, she skipped and listened to the warm conversation of her family. It was a cool spring evening, and to Bunny, it felt like a magical night, where if she wished hard enough, anything could happen. Of course, she thought every night was like that.
Then, out of the darkness, came the man. Tall, menacing, and frightful to look upon, he had brandished a gun at Bunny and her parents. He spoke, saying terrible things, demanding money, and jewelry from them. She had stared up at him, frightened, for she’d never seen a real monster before, and found him much more terrifying than any storybook ogre or troll.
The man had looked down at her and smiled in a way that wasn't warm, friendly, or loving. It had filled her small heart with the kind of fear she had no way of understanding, for she’d never experienced it before in her life. He had reached out a hand, touching her head, but it made her want to run away screaming instead of making her feel loved.
Her father warned the man to keep his hands off his daughter, but the man laughed, an awful sound with no trace of humor in it. Her father said the man could have whatever he wanted, but asked him only not to hurt their daughter. Again, the man smiled that evil smile, and grabbed her, pulling her to him tightly, and asked them how much she was really worth.
Bunny had trembled in his grasp, overwhelmed with fear, so much she couldn't even cry, only stand there, the man's hand on her arm hurting so much. She had looked at her parents and seen the terror written on their faces as they pleaded with the man not to do anything rash. Her father offered all the money he had in his pocket, and her mother offered all the jewels she wore, if he would just let Bunny go.
Suddenly, from nowhere, a new voice came, a woman’s voice, strong and clear, demanding the man put down the gun and let go of Bunny. He did so without question or complaint, and she ran to her parents who embraced her tightly, her mother crying into her soft hair.
Looking back, Bunny saw the woman. Tall, and beautiful, she wore the uniform of a police officer. She took away the scary man's gun, placing handcuffs on him. She asked if Bunny's parents were all right, and when told that they were, she’d looked down at Bunny and smiled.
Another police officer came to take the man away, leading him to a car nearby, but Bunny barely noticed. She stared up at the policewoman in awe as she bent down to touch Bunny's head. Her badge flashed in the light, as if justice were a living thing inside it, winking at Bunny to tell her that all was well and good.
The policewoman asked Bunny if she was okay, and Bunny nodded slowly, stricken with the power the woman held, the power to defeat monsters with her voice alone. She had no way of knowing the officer had held a gun to the man, or that another officer had been only feet away. To her child's mind, the woman before her was a hero, more amazing than any prince in any story.
The policewoman told her she’d been very brave and that she was proud of Bunny for not crying. Bunny had smiled at her, overwhelmed in ways she didn't have words for. Even when the officer stood and spoke to her parents about things Bunny couldn't grasp, like statements and charges, she had continued staring at the woman, enraptured.
After that night, dolls and tea parties and pretty dresses faded from her interest like the darkness fades from the sun. Handcuffs, badges, and uniforms dominated her every waking thought, almost like an obsession that grew stronger with every passing year. Dreams of a handsome prince riding to her rescue were replaced with ones where she rode to the rescue, dashing monsters and bandits with her just commands.
As she grew older, and understood things better, Bunny knew what she wanted to do with her life. Nothing else ever touched her heart, or moved her spirit, the way being an officer of the law, a defender of justice, and a servant of the people did. Even when her parents dismissed it, or outright forbade it, she pursued that goal with a single-mindedness no one could shake.
To Bunny, as a child, a teenager, and an adult, there was no greater calling, no nobler cause, than being a police officer. As a child, she dreamed of banishing the monsters that prowled the dark streets, preying on the innocent. As a teenager, she dreamed of locking up bank robbers who frightened people with masks and guns.
As an adult, Bunny had dreamed of cleaning up the streets, not from monsters or cartoon villains, but from the very real predators who stalked normal people every day. It was the dream she gave
