Snow fell gently across that mountain sky. Me and my wife laid curled up next to each other, under that snow covered cherry tree. Every moment I spent with her was complete serenity. Our lovely night was quickly ruined with an echo of gunfire. Hunters had invaded our land. They closed in on our area. I looked into my wife's eyes filled with concern. She begged me to run to leave her behind. I declined. My world would be ruined if anything happened to her. She told me again to just get out of there. I nudged her gently, looking into her eyes again, before running off.
Gun fire blazed around me as I ran. I hit the dense forest, but was soon caught in a trap the hunters set up. It dug deep into my leg. The hunters grew close to where I remained stuck. I needed to get out of there fast. I closed my eyes and prayed for a safer place. I felt the ground beneath me vanish and the wind rustle passed me.
When I opened my eyes, I found myself under some sort of metal cave. My leg ached from the trap. Nonetheless, I had to get moving. I didn't know how far I had traveled so the hunters could still be nearby. From the looks of things, it appeared like I had made it to one of the human cities. Snow was falling even here of all places. I slowly hobbled across the area, the pain coursing through me with every step.
The cold air chilled my wound, bringing shivers across my body. I needed shelter and fast. So I opted to test my luck and made my way onto a random porch. I dropped myself there, curling up. It appeared that my presence became known when the door next to me opened. At this point, I had no energy to run. So I just laid there, hoping for it all to just end.
The burnt smell of a metal pot reached the young woman's nose as she hurried to turn off the kettle on her gas stove before she burned down her modest one bedroom house. She sighed as she turned off the whistling kettle.
"I know better than that. What would you have done if you started a fire now? Not to mention the blizzard raging outside...Why do I have such an irresponsible, unsympathetic, and work-alcoholic boss anyway? Everyone else has the day off! Oh wait a minute, how could you forget? There could be a hurricane about to sweep the whole town away and I would still have to come to work... Not to mention I have an hour to present the next design for our latest issue and if I am not there in the next 30 minutes I can kiss my overwhelming, stressful, yet somehow pays for the bills job goodbye."
She reached on her counter, grabbing a tall, dark blue thermal canister and proceeded to pour the steaming water inside. After glancing at the silver watch on her wrist, she nearly bit her tongue in her haste to run out the kitchen, forgetting to put the tea bag inside the thermal, yanked her paper bag of reheated instant ramen noodles off the kitchen table- along with her portfolio of designs and ran to the front door.
Placing her hand on the doorknob she paused mid-step after hearing a distinct "thud" sound outside.
"Thud?" She whispered as she glanced out her window to see the snow gently falling but not much else. She tapped her foot for a moment trying to chase away the silly thoughts that there was possibly a half-frozen homeless person on the other side of the door, or possibly it was a rock thrown by bored neighborhood kids…
"Okay there's no point in scaring myself silly trying to imagine what is on the other side of this door. It's probably nothing. A random snowball. The mailman coming with a package and he just decided to drop it on the porch. It's certainly not like a crazy person picked my house at random to oh, I don't know, rob, or hide away in because they are secretly on the run from the police."
After debating these ridiculous ideas for a few moments, she decided to put her imagination to rest and opened the door.
A sharp odor like rust and salt hit her nose after opening the door. She looked down to find a fox. However this fox did not look like the bushy tailed, happily barking ones she saw on TV. This one looked like it had dragged itself through a wire-fence, got caught in a bear trap, and then was dunked in a frozen river. The coat underneath, the torn fur, and bloody wounds seemed to be white, but she could not be sure given the current injuries.
She carefully placed her job-related materials on the side of the open door, and slowly reached out to the blood spattered animal. Her breath turned wheezy and ragged when she saw something she had missed before; the dull colored metal bear trap on the fox's leg. Her hand stopped just above the fox's shoulder. Taking a shaky breath, she held her hand over the fox's chest. When she did not feel a telltale bump-bump of a steady heartbeat, she yanked her hand away as if she had burned.
She could not imagine the pain, the suffering this poor, defenseless animal must have went through. Her thoughts were a whirlwind of emotions, the least of which was her impending presentation at her obsessive job, and finally she could not stand to watch the shallow breathing of the fox any longer.
With her hands curved underneath the fox's slender body, cradling it to her chest, and staring at the metal teeth of that bear trap clamped tight on its ankle as she tip-toed back into the warmth of her living room, closing the door with a push of her foot.
Now she had a problem on her hands, or rather in her hands. Where she was going to put the fox, closer to the brick walled fireplace, or on top of her faded, forest green couch, which was a gift from her mother, or on the tattered fluffy white rug in the middle of the living room?
A weak whimper escaped from the fox in her arms. She gasped and made her decision. She tugged the white rug closer to the fireplace, dragging it with one of her feet. Then she laid the fox on its side. She clenched her teeth to keep from growling at the low-life that would do this to such a beautiful creature, but she had to focus now. Darting from the room, she grabbed a blue and white hand towel that was curled around the faucet. Turning on the cold water, she ran it over the towel and then wrung out the water as best she could.
Setting the towel aside, looking under the kitchen sink, she pulled out a worn brown bucket, and then filled the bucket with warm soapy water. She power-walked back into the living room carrying the bucket and towel. She placed those next to the fox's head and gently wiped it down. She dunked the towel into the water and wiped the rest of its body. The fox did not twitch or whimper. If it was not for the wheezing breath she would have thought it was...No! This was no time to sink into despair.
After cleaning off the blood as best she could; she knew it was time to deal with that trap. But how? She had no professional tools, no welding or carpentry skills to speak of, and she did not have the super-strength needed to just yank it open and pull its torn leg out.
"Okay, think, think, think...I obviously cannot blowtorch it off. I don't have a blowtorch. Could this thing maybe have a, a wire or something that holds it together, so I can cut it off? Wait a minute, that tool box I bought at the flea market about 4 months ago! Maybe it has wire cutters. Now where did I put it?"
She sprinted back into the kitchen and grabbed a turkey baster, filling it up with water. She leaned down next to the fox's head. Her hands were trembling for a moment. It was not every day she had to perform emergency first aid on a fox. But then she smacked her forehead.
"What are you doing? Get the trap off first! Then try to give um… him or her I don't know which it is yet, a drink! But he or she is probably dehydrated too. Oh I have no idea what I'm doing!"
She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. She stared at the bear trap, feeling quite tempted to kick the stupid thing. "No matter how much I may want to, I can't see myself hurting her any more than she already is, or he is…Oh right the tools!" Putting aside that thought, she ran down her wallpaper covered hallway towards her bathroom and the closest. She yanked open the door and started throwing all of her coats and the two purple and yellow sunflower umbrellas out of her way. When her fingers finally touched metal she nearly sighed with relief.
Running back to the living room, she placed the tool box on the floor and began rummaging through it to find what she wanted. Pulling out the red handled wire cutters, she held them in a firm grip and examined the odd trap. It did not look like any bear trap she had ever seen. It looked as if it was made of pure iron or possibly silver and the points seemed to be coated in a strange substance.
She almost considered covering her hands in melted butter to see if she could slip the fox's leg out of the trap. She shook her head. There was very little chance of that actually working. She rubbed her hands on her pant leg over and over, trying to ignore her jittery and nervous emotions.
Carefully she gripped one side of the trap and held onto the cutters with her other hand. She grunted with effort as she pulled on the end with all her strength. At first nothing happened. However she would not give up. Little by little and inch by nail-biting inch, the top of the trap lifted outward. Sweat trickled into her eyes. At last when she felt she had it at just the right angle, she edged the cutters closer, heading towards the curved edges of the trap, and then Snap, Snap!
The open trap fell over without a squeak or groan. Her fingers fumbled over each other as they slipped while trying to pull the other fangs out of the fox's leg. After a few slips and whispered apologies; the fox's leg was free!
"Oh my...Wow, just wow…"
Now that she could relax much more than before, she cleaned up the dried blood as best she could, wrapping him or her up on the rug close to the fire, and she even managed to get about one and half "cups" of water inside its mouth thanks to her trusty turkey baster.
After she had assured herself her new house guest was not in danger of frostbite, or overheating, or blood loss she could concentrate on other things. Unfortunately, she tripped over her pile of coats and umbrellas in her frenzied search for her tool box, with her arms full of bandages from the bathroom.
Her hands did not shake or tremble as she wrapped the fox's wounds, one by one, and after she was done cleaning up she simply sat down and allowed herself to cry and laugh and cry again.
It was only after things had settled down that she could hear the incessant ringing of her pager, her house phone, and yes even her pay-as-you-go cell phone. She turned to the clock and saw it was 4:30. She was most certainly late for her presentation, but she did giggle at the fact that with all her running, wiping, occasionally falling, and worrying the whole event took little more than the 30 minutes she would have spent driving in the snow.
She had no energy to deal with her too stern boss or her talkative coworkers who would no doubt be mining for all kinds of information about why she was late. But at the moment she could not summon the energy to care. She watched her soft-furred house guest, wiping away stray tears, and gently patting its back hoping and praying that somehow it would be okay.
A few hours went by before the small fox regained consciousness. 'This warmth. Am I dead? No. I'm not dead. But why?' The fox slowly opened its eyes, looking around to see where it was. 'A house? But how did I get here?' The fox tried to stand, but fell back down from the pain. 'Oh yeah. That. This has gotten complicated. Let's hope whoever found me isn't with them.' With no other reasonable choice, the fox lowered its head back down and tried to sleep off the pain. Hopefully it would still be alive come morning.
Morning light shone through the window as the small fox woke once more. 'So I'm still alive. As well as still inside the same structure. Maybe I lucked out. Anyway, I might as well look around for a bit before whoever found me wakes up.' The fox stood up and moved about the house, limping slightly from its leg injury.
He made his way across the living room, examining the environment around him. 'Interesting. It appears this place is in need of a major renovation. However, the poor appearance of the house shows that whoever found me probably isn't with them. Now that's a relief. I would have had to kill them if they were.' The fox slowly ventured around some more taking in the area, as well as planning emergency escape routes in case things got ugly.
The windows seemed to be in a good position, not too high and not too low, but he would have to wait a few more days before he could risk melting or jumping out one of them. His claws clicked on the wooden floors. It was fortunate nothing in the immediate area smelled violent or cruel, in fact, the overall scent of this place was calm and relaxing. It had a certain organized clutter which could be seen in the strange shiny clay-people and animals on top of the bricks over the fire-pit.
Following his nose, he clicked over the wood. His ears remained pricked, always alert to new danger. His claws clicked again on white squares that did not smell like anything he had smelled before. Why does it have to be so cold outside? If it was not for my leg I would… Well there is nothing I can do about my leg. Perhaps the owner of this strange den is a healer. Judging by the scent, they were female. Now where is the female? And is this where she hunts? Such an odd place to hunt, no forests, no running water; it is protected from most of the harsh weather, yet I find it difficult to imagine anyone hunting in here.
He limped past the tall wood planks that seemed to lead into smaller dens. One of these smaller dens had brightly colored pelts that looked to his surprise very soft. The pelt thing was raised somewhat above the floor. He took a deep sniff of the den. The scent here was more calming, yet more feminine. Early sunlight filtered through the open window giving it a cool glow. He could not identify most of the objects in the den because he had been living in his own private den with...no I can't think of her now. Once I figure out where I am and I am fully healed then I can focus on...What's that sound?
A low murmur whispered toward his perked up ears. It was coming from outside this den, but not the one where he believed the owner ate her kills, it came from another den closer by.
He limped out of the room heading toward the den with white squares and a faint scent of water. Could this be where she bathes? It doesn't look like any watering hole I have ever seen. Why must humans live in such odd dens? But the words she are whispering make no sense. I suppose she is trying not to disturb any den mates that may be living here. I don't get the sense that she lives with another human.
"I know, I know Sandy. But you don't understand. I could not leave 'em there outside in the snow with a possibly poisoned bear trap clamped over his ankle. He could have bled to death, what was I supposed to do? … … ...Yes, I know I'm not a vet, I have given up my childhood dream of being a vet, living on a ranch, and watching my beautiful wild stallion from a hidden island galloping down the hills. I will talk to the boss. I will finish that presentation but the weekend is coming and I am not…
"What?! He's making me come in on my two days off? … Because I called off on my birthday? I had the flu! There was no way I could go to work; I'd risked getting everyone sicker than water-logged dogs in the middle of December. I don't care if that sounds like country slang. …. All right fine, fine… I will come in Saturday and Sunday. Thank you for the heads up. I have to go check up on my patient. I hope he or she hasn't been hurt trying to explore my clutter filled home. Yeah, I'll call you tomorrow, at 8 am. Yes I will be there at 9:30 if my little Beetle hasn't been buried under six feet of snow. Um...no I don't think that's a good idea Sandy. He's injured and injured foxes do not want to be around crowds of people it stresses them out. Thanks again talk to you later bye. "
Hmm. She really is a strange one. She seems to be talking to another person, but I only smell her in there. Either this girl is crazy, or there's someone in there I can't smell. I must investigate!
The fox placed his front paws on the wooden divider in front of him, pushing with all his might. Despite his efforts though, the piece of wood wouldn't budge. Move you… tree child thing.
His strength was still weak and he fell against the floor in defeat. In frustration for his loss to a piece of wood, the fox laid there, lightly scratching at it and begging it to let him through.
After hanging up she sighed. She kind of expected her friend to scold her, she was being really irresponsible, and to make matters worse taking care of an injured fox was not a "good" reason for skipping work. But she was not going to budge on this. She had made up her mind. Remembering her new house guest, she jumped up from the side of her bed and tip toed to the door.
She could have sworn she heard scratching or something like it. Could her soft furry friend have woken up? Biting her lip she could not help feeling kind of nervous. What if the fox was panicked? The poor thing could be running no limping would be more accurate, all over her scattered living room wondering where in the world it was, how did it get there, and was it going to be served for dinner? She couldn't stand these questions any more so placing her hand on the doorknob she slowly opened the door and to her delight and shock…
There was her furry friend on his or her paws lightly scratching the wood and laying on its stomach panting lightly. If she was not staring at him- for some reason I get this feeling this is a boy but I have no idea why, with such a strong intensity she would be very afraid that he was not breathing.
She leaned down and put her shaking fingers on top of his back. Gently she rubbed her fingers over his white coat. With his paws tucked under him she couldn't see if his ankle or leg looked any better, but she was so hoping it at least did not look like a hungry Doberman had decided to use his leg for a chew toy.
"Hello there, you have such soft fur, but you do not look like you should be running around yet. I may not have a job after today, not that it is your fault. ...Oh my goodness I'm talking like you can understand me… Maybe I'm going crazy. Anyway if you don't mind I'll take you back to my living room, get you some soft clean blankets to sleep on, and then I can head in the kitchen and fix you something to eat."
She whispered all of this as she carefully slipped her hands under the soft belly of the fox and carried him close to her chest back towards the living room. She placed him on the faded forest green couch. Then she almost ran back to her bedroom picked up her old quilt from her Grandmother Katie and after power-walking back to the couch she tucked it around his paws and belly.
"I have no idea what I am doing. Now what exactly do you prepare for an injured fox, who is no doubt used to hunting wild game, stuck inside of a house that has not seen wild game since the owner was a little girl…? Okay, okay, calm down. At least you know he's walking around but he still looks weak and he's at least thirsty, so start with water and go from there. Yes now I have a plan."
This feeling. This warmth. The fox curled up on the blanket.
'Mother?' It was quiet, almost inaudible, but still heard if one was close enough. The fox, not knowing what he just did, relaxed himself. 'Don't leave… Me... Mother.'
The fox stood up, walking around with no trouble. He seemed to be deep in sleep. 'Mother. Where are you mother? I-I can't see you.' The fox fell silent for a bit before his body flinched back. 'Mother no.' His body fell limp once more, as he laid on the wooden floor. 'Mother… No..'
The young girl disappeared into her modest kitchen. She tapped her chin looking lost. "Um...what exactly do you fix for an injured fox? Oh wait, foxes eat meat so what about that leftover chicken from that luncheon. Okay, chicken, oh and steamed vegetables and lucky! Here's some turkey and some leftover spicy orange tofu for me. Now I'll put this in microwave for a few minutes." While the food was heating up, she went to a cupboard and pulled out a round dark brown pan and put faded white plates on top of the counter for when the food was done.
She peeked back into the living room and saw him laid out on the floor. It looked like the blanket had wrapped around his legs and back. He did not move except for the rise and fall of his breaths. "Oh food hurry up and get hot. He really doesn't look good…"
The fox laid there, motionless for a bit. His eyes slowly opened as he looked around. "Where am I? Where's mother?! Where's mother?!" The fox shot to his feet, only to fall back down in pain. "Damn this infernal injury! Damn those bloody hunters too! I need to get out of here now!"
The young woman almost ran to the microwave in her haste to get the food and not trip on her face. She sucked on her fingers when she forgot to grab a pot holder to carry the food to the white plates. After she scooped chicken and turkey breasts onto a plate and her tofu rested on top of steamed veggies and noodles in a green bowl. She hurried into the living room. She gasped almost dropping the pan of food to the wooden floor. He was standing! He was barking or yipping or whatever it was foxes did. He also looked like he was in a lot of pain but he was too determined to get in some open space to stay in this house.
"What can I do? He's so stressed he'll hurt himself worse trying to leave. The problem is if he leaves now he's sure to be eaten or captured again by...the Jerks who did this in the first place! When I get my hands on those monsters I'll make them wish they were never born! Now wait a minute, focus. Just put the food on the floor as close to him as possible and then step back and enjoy your vegan meal. Oh I hope he eats. He really needs to keep up his strength."
The fox went silent when the plate was placed down. He stared at her hand as she moved away, ready to strike if needed. Seeing no intent to harm him, his eyes fell on the plate of food in front of him. Chicken. Cooked chicken, yet barely warm enough. And yet. It did look good. He inched towards the plate, hesitant that it might run off on him, or attack him. Don't judge him. It's happened.
She stared at the fox as he sniffed the food. She wondered if she had made it hot enough. Her own plate did not look as appetizing any more, and yet it slowly disappeared in quiet thoughtful nibbles. "He's acting like the food is gonna run away from him. Last time I checked chicken, once it's cooked, doesn't get up and walk...then again I could be wrong. No! I'm being silly! Hmm...back to picking at my plate…"
Sensing no malicious intent coming from either the food in front of him or the girl who placed it there, the fox began eating into the chicken. If anything, it was edible.
A surprised squeal escaped her lips when she saw the fox finally, finally eating.
"Oh my gosh, I didn't poison him! He's eating! He's eating! Hooray!" The young woman started bouncing in her seat on a wooden chair in her excitement and delight. She stared at her house guest again and decided to stop squirming, she didn't want to scare him off.
The fox cleaned the plate off before limping off into a different room. 'Now what. Can't leave just yet.' He hid himself inside a closet and just laid there. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
"I was really hoping he'd stay in one room. But I guess if he feels more comfortable somewhere else, like where he can hide easily then I can't judge him. Now what do I do? I am not a vet. And there seems to be something different about this fox. It is really too bad he can't talk… Oh well, I have a full day of explaining my actions and with any fortune in my life I will still be employed by the end of tomorrow.
She yawned, wiping away a stray tear. "This has been a long day, but I got dishes to clean and I just have to check on my house guest before I go to bed." After the dishes were cleaned, she had taken a shower, put on her pj's and peeked into the closet where the fox was sleeping. She laid down some extra blankets, made sure the hallway light was off, and whispered, "Good night my soft, furry friend sweet dreams."
The memories from that moment still haunted the fox's dreams. He shot awake early that morning. 'Damn it all! What did we ever do to deserve this?' The fox got up, wandering around the house, unable to get actual sleep. That's when his stomach growled. Probably should get something to eat. But first, to drop this small body for my own. The fox closed its eyes and was enveloped within a cloud of smoke. From that cloud emerged a small child, about twelve years old in age with hair as white as falling snow.
"Now to cook up something quick."
The young woman shuffled towards the living room; her eyes just barely open. She had gotten up early this morning to check on her house guest and call the office. There was still a thick cover of snow on the ground. She had heard the rumble of salting trucks and early morning drivers outside driving down the road. She intended to start some coffee, maybe grab a blueberry muffin or two, plop down on her modest love seat, and begin the long, painstaking process of calling her workaholic boss and somehow convincing him to let her keep her job.
A familiar sound of breaking eggs, the pop and sizzle of sausages, and later the glug, glug of chilled milk reached her ears as she slid her feet across the wooden floor.
He seemed to be in his own world, not hearing someone approaching. He finished up with preparing his small meal, stepping out of the kitchen only to be face-to-face with the girl who had been taking care of him. "Well this is awkward."
The girl had not really opened her eyes yet. She rubbed them while yawning with a squeak. The voice did not sound familiar, so she shrugged trying to wake herself up. "Hm…? Mom, what are you doing here? The last time you made me breakfast like this I was in my last semester at college…"
When the male's words finally pierced through her exhausted brain her eyes popped. A slender finger slowly pointed towards him and she felt a rising shriek in her throat. Her lips trembled but whether it was shock, excitement, or fear she had no idea. A million questions tumbled through her mind at once and she had no idea which one to ask first. So she decided to start simple, "Hello."