Have you met my friend Pamchetta? You’re doing it now. He’s not one of my friends at school, neither is he one of my friends at the local playground. He’s my imaginary friend. He’s a brown cartoon rabbit. He has a pink, heart-shaped nose, a pink sparkly overcoat and two large feet with yellow toes. We always like to hang out together when I’m at school during break time, at home during free time and sometimes I like to whisper secrets to him when I go to sleep at night. However, there’s one downside - I have autism, which means I am sensitive to loud noises and have meltdowns whenever I feel overwhelmed or agitated. Whenever I have meltdowns, Pamchetta gives me his favourite purple rubber hippo to squeak until I feel better. Mum would ask me, “Who gave you this purple hippo?” and I would say, “It was Pamchetta!”
Pamchetta and I love Easter. Pamchetta claims he was born on Easter, surrounded by a stable full of cows and sheep and rabbits and chicks. This is similar to the birth of baby Jesus, only it is set at Easter. And we all know that Jesus was resurrected on Easter, right? Maybe. Pamchetta was born on Easter, and was given his first chocolate bunny as a present. He ate it all down in one big gollup! He has a sweet tooth, which means he can eat any chocolate that is in our fridge or what we have at birthdays or Christmas. Sometimes, he throws chocolates into the shopping trolley when Mum and I aren’t looking. “It was Pamchetta!” I’d yell. “Well, tell Pamchetta to put them back, we don’t want any chocolate on this list today.” My mum would say. Mum would pretend Pamchetta was there, and everyone thought he was real, even my teacher at school.
One day, I was very nervous. I was going to the shopping centre with Mum to meet the Easter Bunny for the first time. The only trouble was, I’ve heard terrible rumours about children who have been scared by the Easter Bunny upon first encounter. You’ve seen the photos of children crying as they sit on the Easter Bunny’s lap, haven’t you? Not me. Everything was about the change the way I see that white fluffy-tailed legendary figure forever.
“Pamchetta, I’m afraid,” I whimpered. “Of what? Have your shoelaces turned into spaghetti again?” asked Pamchetta. “No, not that. It’s just that I’ve never met the Easter Bunny before.” “The Easter Bunny is my cousin. You’ll grow to like him, I promise. Oh! Maybe we could do some training to practice asking the Easter Bunny what you want for Easter this year!” He turned confused. “What do you want for Easter by the way?” “A Barbie Dreamtopia Unicorn Pet Playset,” I replied. “Unicorns? I love unicorns! Better worth asking the Easter Bunny for a ride on one then!” “How can you train me to become an Easter Bunny tamer?” I asked. “Well, first, we have to go back to basics. I’ll pretend to be the Easter Bunny, and you pretend to ask me what you want for Easter this year.”
Pamchetta sat on the sofa and I sat on his brown, furry lap. Pamchetta cleared his throat and said, in a jolly and cartoony Bugs Bunny-like voice, “What do you want for Easter this year, kid?” I responded, “A Barbie Dreamtopia Unicorn Pet Playset.” “Good!” cried Pamchetta, clapping his paws. “Now let’s try it with one of your toy bunnies.” Pamchetta ran upstairs and sorted through my toybox. Teddies, dolls and squeaky toys flew in all directions, until he found Arnold, my beloved plush bunny. He raced downstairs like an electronic lightning bolt and put him on the sofa. He leapt up onto the sofa and said, in a squeaky voice, “So, Olivia, what do you want for Easter this year?” I said again, “A Barbie Dreamtopia Unicorn Pet Playset.” Pamchetta and I were repeating this over and over again, until we were laughing and fist-bumping each other over such a repeated victory. That is, until I heard my mum calling, “Olivia! Time to go!” “This is your chance, kid,” said Pamchetta, “Go for it!”
At the shopping centre, I had my yellow ear defenders on whilst I waited in a big huge queue of children who were longing to meet the Easter Bunny. He was a tall, white figure in a stripy green-and-blue waistcoat who sat on a throne surrounded by yellow and pink pastel Easter eggs. I waited and waited as child after child told the Easter Bunny what they wanted this year. I looked around and saw Pamchetta standing near the escalator picking his teeth with a small bamboo toothpick, waiting for my turn.
When it was my turn, I sat on the Easter Bunny’s lap and stared into his huge plastic cartoony eyes. I looked around and saw Pamchetta wearing a producer’s headset and holding up cue cards like someone filming a TV show. “What do you want for Easter this year, Olivia?” asked the Easter Bunny. I gulped, thinking of what I was going to say. Then I looked at Pamchetta’s cue card and said loudly and clearly, “I would like a Barbie Dreamtopia Unicorn Pet Playset, please. Thank you, Mr Easter Bunny.” “Smile!” said a brightly-dressed camerawoman wearing white bunny ears as she took a picture of me and the Easter Bunny. I leapt off his leap and waved. “Bye, Easter Bunny!”
Pamchetta was jumping up and down wearing a party hat and throwing confetti in the air. “You did it, you did it, you did it!” he shouted, and blew into a party squeaker. “Okay, not so loudly, I think I’m sensitive to noises,” I said. “Okay, so I’ll use…” said Pamchetta, and brought a cowbell out of his waistcoat. He rang it loudly and clearly. Mum and I continued shopping, and at one point when we were shopping at the local clothes shop, Mum asked, “I heard someone ringing a cowbell earlier. Was that you making all that noise?” “No, mum, it was Pamchetta! It really definitely is Pamchetta!” I cried.
The next morning was Easter morning. I woke up, and found a bright purple basket at the end of my bed. It was lined with green fake grass and littered with Easter eggs and chocolate bunnies. One thing caught my eye. Something I wished I’ve wanted for a long time…a Barbie Dreamtopia Unicorn Pet Playset! “IT’S THE UNICORN PET PLAYSET!” I shouted, “Pamchetta, come down here this minute!” Pamchetta was sleeping in a hammock, and my shouting made it spin so he fell onto the floor. He looked at my basket. “Wowee! Kazowee! I think I’m in chocolate heaven!” He took a chocolate bunny, ripped off the paper and stuffed it into his mouth. “And I’m in Heaven thanks to my new playset. The Easter Bunny granted my wish alright,” I said. Pamchetta and I laughed as we shared a fist bump, and then continued to enjoy our Easter treats. All the while, a funny white rabbit wearing a green-and-blue waistcoat was watching through the window. He turned around and clicked his fingers, and in a flash of sparkling pink light, he was gone.
THE END.
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