The Wrong Sound

The first thing the Rabbit remembers being wrong was a sound.
Not a big thing.
Not a broken thing.
Just a sound.

When other young rabbits said words with an S, the Rabbit's words came out differently.
The S would become a T.
Or a TH.

The Rabbit remembers adults noticing.
Adults discussing it.
Adults arranging appointments.

The Rabbit remembers sitting in a room with someone whose job seemed to involve listening to little rabbits speak.
The Rabbit's mother was there.
The Rabbit was asked to repeat words.
Again.
And again.
And again.

The Rabbit did not understand what was happening.
Only that something about the way it spoke was being examined because it was wrong.
Something was different.
Something needed correcting.

The Rabbit does not remember feeling ashamed.
Not exactly.
The Rabbit remembers something simpler.
The feeling that everyone else already knew the rules.
And the Rabbit was only just discovering them.

It would not be the last time.