Secret Life of Fox Tail - Chapter 4.A Fox and Past Memories

Long time ago, I had a pet fox named Fox Tail. He had the same look as the one right in front of me now. He also had a tail just like this one long and brown with a white tip. “Fox Tail” I whispered, but it stood there looking at me without a movement. Of course he wouldn’t answer to fox tail he is just wild life. Back when I was very young I found Fox Tail as a cub lost and hurt in my country side home. Bringing him home, giving medical care, love and attention we grew together impossible to leave each other’s side. My parents were dead against me taking care of him, but being the only child I just wanted someone to be with me. He grew up to be magnificent fox just this one.

I loved him very much and those feelings were reciprocated by him without fail. We played together, ate together and also slept together in the same bed together until one fateful day. We were lying in the back garden and a snake came by, Fox Tail would protect me from anything, even from bugs since I am very scared, he would catch them somehow and rip the apart to show me, and I would praise and shower him with lots of love which he loved very much. On that day I was very scared for Fox Tail and not for myself, if he thought I was scared he would go to fight with that snake so I held on to Fox Tail tightly as I could asking him to calm down, but he couldn’t, he jumped out of my arms and went in to battle mode, he killed the snake by sacrificing his own life for me. He was poisoned by the snake in their fight. I took him to the vets as fast as I could but I was too late he had already slipped away from me. I was devastated, I have never been so sad in my whole life that I holed up in my room and never came out, didn’t eat or sleep for days, I just sat their crying my heart out with pain, everywhere I looked I saw Fox Tail prancing around joyfully, those memories were so precious to me I just couldn’t be myself anymore, shutting my feelings off I am the person today. Seeing him here today my heart flew open to my past and I reached out to touch him, suddenly he jumped away startled. “It’s okay Foxy I won’t hurt you, please don’t run away from me” I told it. As I reached out my hand to him, he slowly came up, sniffed my hand and kept his head against my palm, I slowly and gently stroked his head and he kind of liked it but suddenly he jumped off the bed and out the window he ran. I was shocked once again, but this one is a stray he is not Fox Tail, but still hoping he would come back I left the window open for him and went to bed as I was tired. The next morning I woke up to the bright sun rays falling from the window and John smiling through the window to me. Clinging on to my teddy bear which I bought along with me I was ready to scream when he begged not to. “Good morning princess, did you sleep well? He asked with a smile. “I was sleeping fine till I saw a ghost through the window early morning” I said angrily. Laughing as usual he just looked at me, looking in to the mirror hanging across on the wall I realized how I looked, wrinkled pajamas, teddy in my hand, bed head I was a total mess to be seen this early in the morning. I turned red like monkey’s bottom I just went to hide under the bed covers hoping he will leave. Second embarrassment from the day I came. Suddenly I was been picked up like a princess “Come on lazy princess, out of bed now, we have to go today too” John said keeping me in his arms. I kind of liked been like that but of course I couldn’t do that, and he is definitely teasing me no matter how anyone looks at it. “Okay fine I will get ready but you have to get out the same way you came in” I said firmly. “Can’t I stay here until you get ready, pretty please princess” he begged. I gave him a cold stare; there is no way I am changing with him in here. Defeated look in his face and the tail between his legs he left the room through the window as I watched. As soon as he left I closed the window feeling sad for the fox who might want to come in again.

Getting ready and coming down the hallway I met with Bobby face to face “Good morning Ms. Kurenai” he said with a cheerful voice “Good morning to you too Bobby” exactly the same way he greeted me. “Bobby do you hate your father?” suddenly slipped out of my mouth. He gazed at me in astonish at the same time with revengeful eyes “Please Ms. Kurenai stay out of our family matters and worry about your own, don’t try to come in-between everything it’s just a pain” he said in an aggressive voice. “Bobby, I will not have you talk in this manner to my customer in this lodge, apologize immediately to Ms. Maria” barked Mr. Browns, “I apologize you been sorry for something you will never care for, just stay out of our lives” saying that Bobby stormed out of the hallway. I stood there completely stunned. “Please forgive me Ms. Maria, I will put some manner in to that boy, please don’t take his words seriously.” Mr. Browns asked me kindly. Looking at him, he was hurt “Please don’t apologize I was the person who stirred him up, it was my fault Sir, please forgive me I had no intention of hurting any of you” saying that I ran away from the lodge in to the mountains.

Tears strolled down my eyes with regret and pain of being a nuisance to others. I ran without even looking and now I am lost once again in the woods. I wandered in the woods this time totally lost still crying in pain of what happened. I tried re-tracing my steps just ended up going in circles in the same place. In the case of been lost I just didn’t care anymore so I just went deeper in to the forest grounds. Along my way I heard a strange but a peculiar noise, following the noise I ended up at the water stream flowing clearly downhill something inside mind triggered that this is the flow from the waterfall, up ahead is Johns’ sanctuary.

Hope lit up in my heart and I just started to climb up hill when there was a snake near the bank of the stream hissing at me at full power. I got so scared I couldn’t move forward, the snake was slowly approaching me I had no place to run I was totally defeated when to my surprise a fox came in, it was last nights’ fox I could tell by the tip of his tail it was him. He tried to drive away the snake but those actions brought up bad memories from my past, on impulse I reached for the fox and picked him up and threw rocks at the snake, been hit by stones the snake slithered away from us. I held the fox so tightly in my arms and cried to him and said “I will not lose you again to a snake battle, please don’t leave me again Fox Tail.” To my surprise he started licking my face, still holding on to him I started heading up stream. After a short while I could see the huge waterfall pouring magnificently from the sky. Reaching my destination the fox jumped out of my hands and disappeared in to the woods. “Thank you Fox Tail” I yelled as he left me behind.

At the waterfall I sat beneath the huge rocks as I didn’t have the heart to inside alone. I made up my mind that I will wait for John to come to go inside. I washed my face from the cool water that is flowing down it was a sweet feeling so I laid down on the grass to the sun rays shining from above, before I knew I had fallen asleep, waking up slowly I realized I was inside the cave behind the waterfall startled I stood up to find John next to me caressing my head gently. “How did I get in here? I was outside stretched out in the grass” I asked John. With a smirk he said “You know you are heavier than you look, I might have bad back for a couple of days” turning me in to an embarrassing laughing stock. “Who told you to carry me in here? I was just fine outside” I said with stern voice “You are right I should have left you outside so you could be dinner for wild” he said with sarcasm. That’s when it hit me this is the woods I would have been in real danger if it was not for John, “I am sorry John, Thank You.” laying back on his lap I stood silent as his fingers ran through my hair caressing my head very gently. “You know John, when I was very young I had a fox called Fox Tail, I loved him very much, I found him one day injured in my country house back yard, I nurtured him to health and we had so much fun till one fateful day when a snake ripped him away from me, I was very sad and depressed but since yesterday I have been seen another fox, like you said he might be from the wild but I feel so nostalgic around him, he is very similar to Fox Tail” I said in a silent tone. “I know” he replied. I looked at him in astonishment “Natural instinct” he said again with a smile on his face, oh well whatever I thought and laid silently on his lap. “it’s about time you should go back to the lodge now, my father is the worrying type after what has happened if you are any late he’ll fall again with that fatigue stress of his again” said John in a worrying voice. “Why don’t you want to take over the lodge John?” I questioned him. “I have another quest that I need to complete and it’s almost completed now” he replied. “What is your quest that is more important than this?” I asked him. He kept silent and just looked in to my eyes.

To be continued...