Based on a text by Susette Gontard — the beloved of Friedrich Hölderlin, who signed her letters under this name. This places the work in direct continuity with Briel's interest in Hölderlin.
A boy receives a Velveteen Rabbit for Christmas. The Velveteen Rabbit is snubbed by other more expensive or mechanical toys, the latter of which fancy themselves real.
Nin Kwok has a peaceful life in New Jersey with a wife and child. But an attempt on the life of his foster father takes him back to the mean streets of New York.