Fox

As she lay there on the ground, she felt the cold damp seeping into her every bone, aware that the most minimal movements could cost her her life. The thick mist blanketing the forest had filled her airways. She inhaled fear and exhaled dread. Her whole body tensed at the sound of his footsteps in the near distance. How had he gotten so close, so quickly?

The ferns stood tall and curled over her shaking body, hiding her from sight. Tears pricked her eyes as she resisted the urge to cry, scream, anything! Leaves rustled as he hurried through them, the flash of white torch light danced in the shadows of the great trees she had taken cover beneath. As she lay there in uncertainty, she found comfort in her purpose. She knew she had to find it before he did.

She waited there feeling confused, afraid, yet with a deep knowing that she was exactly where she needed to be. The silence was broken by a rustle. Too small, too soft to be human. She relaxed a little and dared to turn her head in its direction. She wasn’t exactly sure what she was expecting to find, but it certainly wasn’t a creature as magnificent as this.

A golden furred fox, sitting to present her his ruffled white chest, glistening from the moisture of the forest. The fox was sparkling clean as if he had simply waltzed in from another world.

Dara’s response was muddled. Paralysed with fear yet inexplicably astounded by the beauty of the creature poised before her. As the fox rose to his feet and prowled lightly towards her, she felt a warmth begin to grow from deep inside her belly. She couldn’t explain it, but she wished that it would never go away.

Dara decided to do something strange. She had lost her hope and herself to the loneliness of this forest. How had she gotten into such a mess when just a few days ago she was waving goodbye to her friends on the school bus? Who knew a little piece of paper would cause so much trouble. A chill blew across her face and sent a shiver through her spine, a sharp reminder of her current reality and the vulnerability it presented. She needed help.

“Excu… excuse me sir, but could you please help me find a safe place to rest?”

The fox continued to stare straight ahead. Dara could not believe she had just tried to talk to an animal, she cursed herself for being such a fool! She tried to think logically about the situation. He was out there, somewhere not too far, and she couldn’t let him find her. She quickly removed from her pocket a small, screwed up note she had received in her birthday card and read over the words to remind herself of her mission.

Retrieve the book.

Don’t tell anybody.

She hadn’t understood the words, but knew she was getting close to the coordinates scrawled on the other side. She silently thanked her Grandfather for teaching her the wisdom of the forest on their adventures when she was young.

The fox was sniffing around her feet now, as if she was familiar, as if he wanted to offer a sort of companionship. She was sure she was creating the whole scenario in her mind, but the feeling that encompassed her was too comforting to deny.

The mysterious fox nudged her and she suddenly felt as if she had awoken from a very long, dark dream. All she knew was that she must move, right now. Every single bone in her body ached as she refamiliarised herself with her limbs. Her head felt heavy and swung forward as a pounding ache flowed through her consciousness. As she rose, her eyes met with the fox, who seemed to have grown a little taller than when she last looked. She now felt certain that he wanted her to follow him. She was totally hypnotised and the outside world seemed to have evaporated into thin air, but she didn’t mind. She hauled herself up to her feet, supporting herself on the great oak that towered above her.

The fox was looking around, checking for something, she wondered what for. He started to stroll away from her and she felt surprisingly light as she drifted through the forest at his tail. Nothing came to her mind, nothing made a sound but the leaves calling in the wind and a feeling as if the sun had recently covered her shoulders, like a shawl woven with gold. After a short while, a dark cave appeared before them.

As they edged closer, the darkness shrunk to reveal a small fire, enclosed in a beautiful stone circle with a soft, fur blanket lay beside it. A structure over the fire held a cast iron pot of bubbling tea and Dara was fully enticed. After indulging in hot tea, she welcomed the soft feel of the blanket on her face as she lay to rest her head, eyes drooping. The fox came to her and lay beside her, curling its body as a wall of protection. She was certain he had grown a little larger once again.

Dara woke to the low crackles of a fire that had transformed into ashes. She gazed at the shapes forming in the embers, the level of light and noise of the animals stirring told her that it was dawn. She sat up, feeling a little foggy and not quite knowing where she was. She turned to look inside the cave for a clue and came face to face with a tall, shadowy figure lurking behind her. She knew that silhouette all too well by now, it was him. Her heart sank, a wave of nausea punched her in the stomach as she stared bewildered at the nightmare she had so recently escaped from.

"I see you helped yourself to tea", the voice came from the shadows.

Dara couldn’t move, could only think what a wretched creature the fox was that had brought her here. She felt sick from the deception, heavy from the fear that pinned her to the spot. Where was that fox? She hadn’t remembered seeing him this morning, what a cheat! Anyhow, she couldn’t help but be a little surprised at the voice of this man, somewhat brighter than she imagined, somewhat less terrifying.

She exhaled deeply, and with her hand pressed to her precious note in her right pocket she propelled her words into the air of tension before her.

"Why are you following me?"

"Following you?" The voice replied, followed by a light chuckle.

Dara frowned. How dare he laugh at her.

!I know you are. I’ve felt your eyes on me since the moment I entered this forest! I’ve seen you walking at night, lurking in the shadows. Do you think I’m a fool? Who are you!" She demanded.

"Oh, Dara." came the response. Her heart almost pounded out of her chest.

"How do you know my name!" Her voice raised to a cry, fuelled by fear and dread.

"Sweet girl, please. I mean you no harm. It’s true, I have been looking for you. I have been given a message to pass to you." He stated quite tenderly. "I am a friend of your father's."

Dara could only look on in a total state of disbelief, her mind filled with the image of her father boarding a bus 12 years ago, her heart full of the pain of waiting for him to return. She was waiting still. She watched as the man dipped his hand into a brown leather bag, rummaging about in the bottom. After what felt like a lifetime, he moved slowly towards her and handed her a little, black notebook.

She cautiously clasped her hand around its cool, hard surface. She removed the elastic from the cover and opened it to the first page. Inside on the left was printed a name and address in thick black ink. She knew it to be her Grandfather’s name who had passed a few years back. She was still wrought with guilt that she had seen him so infrequently in his final years but she had to accept that sometimes life just takes over. She flicked through the pages that threw out marvellous drawings and scrawlings of black ink telling the stories of a man who had kept himself hidden, lived a life unknown to most others.

She glanced up at the man before her, and for the first time studied his face. His features were aged, eyes wrinkled with lines of laughter, grey hair strewn messily across his head. He clutched a cup of tea in his left hand. Dara suddenly felt terribly ashamed for shouting at him, for thinking such terrible things. Her anxiety had gotten a hold of her lately, she was prone to assuming the worst of every situation, but how differently this journey would have been had she chosen to trust in the guidance. The kindness in the man’s eyes told her she did not need to apologise.

“I suppose you’ll want to hear the story”, he said, beckoning her to sit down beside him and offering her a fresh cup, “but first, you had better read this.”

He handed her a letter which read:

‘Dear old friend,

It has been many years since we last exchanged words. Perhaps you have long forgotten me, but I am hopeful that you have not forgotten the importance of the secret. The book that accompanies this letter contains the history of a great man we both knew well. On the fifth day of March, in the year of your sixty first birthday, you must take this book to a young lady named Dara. You will find her at the old oak tree that shaded us in the summers of our youth. You must show her where to retrieve that which has been left for her by my father.

You will find it 3 feet deep at the base of the great oak and the amount disclosed here in this notebook. Let no harm come of her and help her to deposit the money safely.

Thank you dear friend, I hope our paths will cross again.’

Dara laughed as she read the signature - ‘Your favourite forest dweller of the past’

That did sound like her father! She couldn’t believe what was happening. Grandfather had always loved playing tricks and planning adventures but this was a whole new level! Had they really plotted this together? Why go to such great lengths, and why had her father chosen to contact her in such a strange way?

When the man before her gently took the notebook and opened it to where the ribbon had been carefully placed, she suddenly understood why. She took it, shaking as the adrenaline coursed through her veins on seeing the number before her eyes. The zeros jumped out of the page, dancing in her vision, rendering her completely stunned. She dropped to her knees.

"How is this possible?" She exclaimed "I can’t believe he could have hoarded such a fortune and kept it so quiet!"

"You and I both" the man replied, gifting the air a delightful laugh and feeling it settle in the air around them.

They had both fallen into silence. Dara’s head spun with questions for the old man beside her but they only sat on the cave floor looking out to the forest, admiring the rows of trees illuminated by the rising sun.

Dara was suddenly caught by a shimmer of light in the distance, her gaze falling upon the beautiful, familiar image of the fox she had so recently encountered. The creature’s beautiful body had since grown to a grand old size, surrounded by a golden aura.

As their eyes met, he slowly bowed his head, confirming what Dara had truly known all along. Her grandfather had been with her the whole time.