I walked over the ice and snow. The crunch underfoot was the only audible sound. A crow tore the silence in two as it squawked about my presence. I put my things into the car and closed the door. It sounded so loud in the quiet.
I had an appointment that I had to get to.
I placed my water bottle into the cup holder before I would get into the car. I heard a rustling sound next to me that made me look up. To my surprise, there was a red fox that stood a foot away from me to the left.
The fox stared at me and held my gaze. It felt as if the fox stared right through me into my soul and understood me completely. The moment only lasted for half a minute at least, but it felt like an eternity. I saw all the years the fox had seen in its golden eyes.
The fox felt old, as old as the forest we stood in. It did not seem to mind I was even there. I wanted to reach out and pet the animal. The compulsion was so intense, I had to resist the urge to reach out. Just like that, the fox trotted off without a care and disappeared into the trees.
I will never forget that minute with the winter fox.
Tracks were in the snow. The only sign the fox had been there at all.
About the Creator
Fiona Howell
I'm Fiona Howell, an Irish musician and author living in New Hampshire, US. I have three books out on Amazon: The Locked Box, Blackwood, and The Promised Kind. I have three poems published in anthologies by the Peterborough Poetry Project.
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