He forgot his stuffed bunny at the airport — but they're back together for Easter
CBC
Forget the Easter Bunny.
For five-year-old Leo Guzik of Whitehorse, the rabbit that really matters this weekend — any weekend, really, but especially this one — is his beloved stuffie, Hophop.
The boy and rabbit have just been happily reunited after an unexpected and potentially disastrous separation that saw Hophop gallivanting around the Vancouver airport for a few days while Leo anxiously awaited her return back home to the Yukon.
"[Hophop] is always tucked under his arm, and he's really good — like, he doesn't lose her, ever," said Leo's mom, Kyla Guzik.
"She was given actually to Leo by his Nana, my mom, for Easter, just before he turned two. And for whatever reason, he just fell in love with her, and so she's been through the thick of it with us, and goes on every trip and every adventure."
The most recent adventure was a March Break trip to Victoria to stay with some family for a week.
"Leo was excited to show Hophop the green grass," Kyla said.
It was a good week, but it was when they were heading home that Hophop's real adventure began.
The plane had a stopover in Vancouver en route to Whitehorse, and so Kyla and Leo decided to deplane and kill some time in the terminal, where Leo could run up and down a fun ramp. Hophop, never one to miss out, also came along.
The trio then made a washroom pit stop before getting back on the plane.
"So [Leo] put Hophop on this little shelf. And I didn't think anything of it," Kyla recalled. "Normally I'm so aware of his belongings, but I was just tired and we were on the late flight. And so we left the washroom."
The horrifying realization hit once they were back on the plane.
"We start getting settled, and then Leo goes, 'where's Hophop?' And I was like, 'oh no.'"
Hophop was still on that washroom shelf. Leo was devastated. It was too late to leave the plane and go get her.
This First Person column is the experience of Shannon Flaman, who lives in Red Deer, Alta. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ.
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