IX~FOX~
The
girls clear the area as completely as possible; packing everything that will
fit, into the cauldron. In an effort to
escape further harangue, Jodi offers to take the burned wood and disposable
items to one of the large waste containers outside the cemetery keeper’s house. As she is returning to the mausoleum, a grey
fox steps out from behind a bush. Jodi
is startled by the animal at first and freezes; with a murmur full of trepidation
she says softly,
“Hey--little
fella--what are you doin’ out here--so late?”
The animal looks up at Jodi, tongue hanging
from its open mouth, breathing slowly. Jodi
stares at the fox, it’s luminous pupils roil in onyx and crimson.
“Wow! That is so weird, the eyes
are different colors!”
She continues to stare, transfixed.
“Well--goodnight--little--one--you--should--you
should go find your mother!”
Still facing the animal, Jodi backs away
slowly, not wanting to startle it. When
she’s about forty-feet away, Jodi turns around and runs to catch up to the
others. The fox sits on its haunches,
watching Jodi run. The animal stands and walks slowly towards where it entered
the scene, stops abruptly, and turns around once again, spying the girls make
their way across the expanse of cemetery.
While watching the departed girls, the pupils of the fox roil in onyx
and crimson luminosity. The animal withdraws its tongue; it’s slow pant becomes
a fang-baring leer. The leer drops away;
the fox dips its head, turns tail and almost as if
laughing
in mock, begins yipping as it trots into the darkness, completely out of sight.
