Hollis came up the steps behind the house. A blue cooler bag sat on the porch, leaning against the wall. The zipper was not fully shut. One tooth was missing, leaving a small gap.

Hollis stopped. He did not rush. He studied the gap.

The porch boards held the day’s heat in long strips. Hollis lifted one paw. His fingers opened and closed once.

Rabbit appeared at the bottom step and stared at the cooler. “Snack,” Rabbit said.

Hollis did not answer.

He went to the zipper—not to the gap, but to the zipper itself. He pinched the small metal pull between two claws. It clicked lightly against his nail. He pulled it open one inch.

The zipper teeth separated cleanly. The bag opened without resistance. A smell rose up—peanut butter, apple, and the cold, sweet scent of grapes.

Hollis held the zipper.

He did not put his face inside. He did not reach in. He kept the opening exactly that size.

Rabbit took one step forward, then stopped.

Hollis pulled the zipper one inch more.

Inside, pale napkins lay folded. One green grape sat loose near the juice box. A cookie in a clear wrapper pressed against the top. The wrapper was tight and stiff. It would make a loud sound if touched.

Hollis’s fingers hovered near the edge of the bag.

He could do it.

He did not.

He let go of the zipper and sat back on his haunches. The bag stayed open. A breeze passed through the porch, lifting the corner of a napkin before it settled again.

Hollis leaned forward.

He did not touch the food. He touched the napkin—just the edge, with two fingers—and folded it back over the cookie so it disappeared. Not hidden. Just covered.

His other hand reached in once and came out closed.

Rabbit blinked once.

Hollis reached for the zipper again and pulled it closed.

Zzzzip.

The teeth met. The gap vanished. The bag became a bag again. Hollis ran one claw along the seam.

Rabbit shifted his feet. “Why?” he asked.

Hollis did not answer.

He walked to the far end of the porch, where a crack between the boards held a thin line of ants. He crouched and placed one grape at the edge of the crack—not tossed, but placed.

The ants found it almost immediately. A few touched it, then more. Hollis sat and watched the line form.

Rabbit sat too, but not close.

The cooler stayed shut. The porch stayed warm in strips. The ants moved. The grape changed.

And Hollis stayed long enough to see the grape stop being a grape.

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