Читать онлайн Just You Wait, Bunny! Years Later

Chapter 1: Old Wolf, Old Tricks

Wolf groaned as he hauled himself out of his beat-up old car. His joints cracked like an entire orchestra of castanets. The courtyard of the drab apartment block greeted the new day: somewhere nearby a garbage truck screeched its brakes, a pair of crows squabbled over scraps, and on a bench two pensioners were already whispering about politics as if it were a state secret. Wolf sighed, stretched his aching back, and grumbled under his breath.

“Eh, what an old nag I’ve become… Used to run so fast the dust would fly, and now…” he muttered. He gingerly massaged his lower back, which was throbbing in protest, reminding him that these days his only “second wind” came from an inhaler.

More than forty years had passed since Wolf’s wild youth. Back in the old Soviet days, he’d been quite the troublemaker—chasing Hare across every beach, construction site, and stadium he could find, endlessly shouting his signature catchphrase: “Just you wait, Bunny!” At the time it felt like life was endless, that youth would last forever. But in the end, only one thing truly turned out to be eternal: that never-ending chase, which, alas, never did conclude with Wolf’s triumph.

Now Wolf was pushing seventy (in human years). Life had knocked him around a bit. He’d even worked as a supermarket security guard for a while—until he got fired for trying to chase down a certain long-eared shoplifter who bolted past the checkout. He’d worked as a taxi driver too, which he actually enjoyed; turning a steering wheel was easier on the bones than hauling heavy loads, and the variety of passengers kept life interesting. Plus, in his cab he could play whatever music his heart desired—be it schmaltzy Russian crooners or classic Queen rock anthems. The only downside was how stiff his back got from all those hours sitting, and how his eyes struggled to see at night these days.

Wolf pulled out a cigarette—a habit left over from his youth, despite the doctor’s constant scolding: “Quit it, you old fool, your lungs aren’t made of rubber!” He flicked his cheap lighter (a giveaway from a tire shop) and only managed to spark a flame on the third try. Inhaling deeply, he let out a ring of smoke and gave a wry smirk.

“Ah, to heck with it…” he rasped to himself, watching the smoke swirl. “Out of all the joys of youth, at least I’ve got a bit of smoke left. Before you know it, they’ll ban that too—can’t let an old wolf have any fun, can they?”

He leaned back against the car, squinting into the rising sun as he took another drag. Inside him stirred a familiar longing for the days when adrenaline coursed through his veins from morning till night. A little excitement would be nice right about now, eh? Wolf thought. He often still dreamed he was young again—dashing after Hare across a rooftop or roaring down the embankment on a motorcycle. But then he’d wake up to high blood pressure, shortness of breath… and those pills lined up on the nightstand like a row of little soldiers. Wolf heaved a heavy sigh.

Suddenly, a bright peal of laughter rang out from an open fifth-floor window above, followed by a familiar cry: “Just you wait!” Wolf swallowed wrong and nearly choked on his puff of smoke, jerking his head up. On a balcony overhead, framed by flower pots, he glimpsed the silhouette of someone with long, tall ears.

“No… no way…” Wolf whispered, the cigarette dangling forgotten from his lips. His heart gave a lurch—whether from the nicotine or the sudden excitement, he couldn’t tell.

Could it really be him—Hare? Here, after all these years?! Wolf squinted upward. Sure enough, on that balcony stood someone who looked an awful lot like his old long-eared rival—older, of course, but unmistakable. Instead of the jaunty striped sailor shirt Wolf remembered, the figure wore a comfy bathrobe. A pair of glasses perched on his nose, and a mug of tea was clutched in one paw. But those ears—those were unmistakable. And the voice that had laughed was just as clear and merry as ever, as if the decades hadn’t touched it. Hare was chatting on a phone, laughing loudly as he retold some amusing story. Wolf caught a snippet drifting down: “…can you imagine, he goes again: ‘Well, Hare, just you wait!’, and I said to him— hahaha!” Another burst of that contagious laughter floated through the morning air.