A Night In The Life of Foxy Roxy

"How much longer can this go on?", Roxy thought to herself as she stared down the street watching Mr. Whiskers saunter along.

He kept his eyes on her from a safe distance.

Foxy Roxy had been ostracized from the animal community, and it was wearing on her. She had never realized just how dependent she was on some form of help from others.

Scrounging for food and scouting for shelter brought Roxy out of her usual hiding places. She was within plain sight of several humans, who were startled to see a fox walking on the sidewalks and in the streets, seemingly without a care.

Little did they know that Roxy cared quite a lot about many things.

Trash was due to be collected early the next morning, which made it the best night out of the week for finding food or any material that could be used to help make a shelter.

Roxy took very good care of herself. She oftentimes looked for alcoves up high and in craggy places that were hard for other animals to reach so she could have more privacy, comfort and a view.

When Roxy rounded a corner, she saw that she hit the jackpot.

Her eyes widened, then squinted shut as she squealed, "Yippee!"

She started to run and dive onto a pile of trash that had clothes spewing from it. She stopped herself right before she leapt.

Two raccoons had waddled into view and she could see the nose of another rising up over the huge pile.

She thought she heard another raccoon nearby and did not want to stick around. They narrowed their eyes at her while she made an about face and shook her long, fluffy orangish-red tail while trotting away from them with her nose in the air.

Roxy tried not to feel too disappointed, but she was.

She was hungry and wanted to find a really good spot to stay for at least a week.

That's when she smelled the smorgasborg.

Cheese, bread, pastries and produce that had expired were taken to the rubbish behind a medium-sized market.

It was a small window of opportunity because those easy to open plastic bags would soon be inside large and locked metal containers.

She felt lucky and had to act fast.

Foxy Roxy grabbed and dragged a bag full of goodies to a nearby alley. It was an ideal spot for her to stuff herself senseless without fear.

Afterward she was in a much better state to think and plot her next course of action.

Few animals in town trusted her after the incident a week prior. Her closest friends knew she was innocent, but none of them had a clue how to prove it or what she should do next.

A week ago, Roxy awoke with a tiny velvet pouch under her front paw that was filled with glittering diamonds.

It was surreal. For a minute or so she thought it was Knox the fox trying to win her over with diamond-looking gems.

"I didn't know they were real", she said to herself, in lingering disbelief.

"Why me? What do you want with me?", foxy Roxy asked, then and now.

Word got out about the diamonds when Roxy's cousins betrayed her confidence and told neighbors, who told their neighbors, and they told neighboring communities.

Roxy did not ask for the diamonds and didn't like all the negative attention she was getting since she had them. However, she was reluctant to leave them with anyone or in any place they could possibly be found.

It was getting very late and Roxy was very tired.

"I don't want to keep talking with strangers about all of this!", she screamed inside to herself. She knew that she must continue though. She would have no real peace until the matter was finished.

"Bloody diamonds!", she said in a huff, "They certainly aren't my 'best friend', but then again, I'm not a girl."

By the time dawn peaked over the horizon, foxy Roxy had nestled herself into her new, comfortable habitat with a south facing view that also had a bit of shade to keep Roxy cool during day.

She came up with a plan to solve the mystery of the diamonds, restore her reputation and start a completely new chapter of her life.

It required leaving town and not telling anyone where she was going.

She felt anxious, but her curiosity and faith in this new plan overcame all of her trepidation. She must start the process as soon as she awoke and see it through to the end.

With a sigh of relief and her tail wrapped around her body, she closed her eyes and whispered with a smile, "It is a wonderful thing, to dream."