Slow Mornings

Life is soft. Not the kind of soft that was given, but the kind that was fought for. I did have to fight for this life, but every morning spent drinking coffee while the sun came up over the tree line made everything seem worth it.

This morning was especially quiet, allowing me to take it all in. The sun was coming up over the horizon. The birds are just waking up in their nests, singing as they start their day with the same enthusiasm I felt every morning. This morning was no exception. The fall air was crisp; the forest leaves were changing color but not yet falling. The world was starting to get that smell that promised cold nights coming soon. Nothing made me happier than this land in the fall.

As I scanned the tree line, my eyes fell on one of the berry bushes that surrounded the property, a clear boundary between the seemingly endless forest and the house. This bush was moving, shaking slightly. Just as I was about to get up to make sure nothing was trapped, a small fox rolled out into the yard. He was a little thing, with fur white as snow, a black-tipped tail, and paws that looked like little black gloves. The little fox stood up to shake a new layer of dirt off his coat, and just as he finished, a second flash of white appeared out of the bushes and knocked him back into the grass.

The first fox let out a frustrated groan as he rolled over and pawed at his attacker. The second fox yelped loudly and tried to nip playfully at the first fox’s jawline. Another little fox, slightly smaller than the other two, poked its head out from the bush and started barking loudly. The other two stopped their play-fighting long enough to look back at the smaller fox and bark back before they went back to their wrestling.

The sight was heartwarming. It reminded me of my siblings growing up: my brother and I wrestling for control of the TV remote while my sister screamed from the floor that if we didn’t stop, Mom would come downstairs and make sure none of us got to watch anything. Just as the memory finished flashing before my eyes, a larger fox came running into the yard. With a sharp, loud bark, all three foxes jumped up, then fumbled over themselves to get back into the bushes as the larger fox led them back into the woods.

The sun was just poking up over the tree line, making the dew on the grass shimmer. I allowed myself another 30 seconds to take in the morning air before I started my day.

I took the last sip of my coffee as a crow flew up into the air and disappeared behind the glare of the sun. I took that as a sign that it was time to get moving and turned on my heels to walk back into the house.

As I took a step toward the front door, thunder rang out, shaking the deck and causing me to stop in my tracks. The light reflecting off the windows of the house slowly started to vanish as the sun disappeared from the sky. Goosebumps formed on my arms and worked their way up to my neck, making me close my eyes and shiver in discomfort. Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to turn back around to face the newly darkened world.

Looking out, the once plush green grass was now browned and limp, and the dew was replaced with a thick layer of fog. The world was quiet; the once sweet songs of the birds were nowhere to be found. The silence was so vast I started to fear that I had gone deaf. Looking around the yard, I could not find a single bug, animal, or ray of light. I felt myself starting to shake as a large cloud of mist formed from the fog.

In the spot where the baby foxes had just been playing moments earlier, the newly formed cloud of mist started to float upwards into a large tornado. The mist floated all the way up and dissipated over the tree line, leaving behind a figure. My shaking got worse, and I felt the coffee cup slip from my fingers. The crash of the porcelain shattering on the deck caused me to snap out of the paralyzing fear.

I didn’t need to see the figure to know who it was. How had he found me? The witches of the forest assured me that no one could find me here. My little slice of paradise, shielded from the darkness, was my reward for helping them banish these devastating creatures years ago.

I finally worked up the courage to look the creature in the eye. He was tall and pale, with bright teal eyes and cat-like pupils. Those eyes had haunted my dreams for years. A slow smile came over his lips, showing long, sharp canines. That smile caused another deep shiver to run down my spine. “Hello, Kitty-Kat,” he said in a low voice. It sounded more like a taunt than a greeting.

I took a deep breath and tried to put on a brave face. It didn’t work, and he knew it when a small squeak came out of my throat in the form of one word: “How?” His laugh shook me to my core. “It is time for you to come home,” was his response as he snapped his fingers using his magic to disappear and reappear directly in front of me. Taking a deep breath, I forced a smile onto my face and craned my neck up to look him in the eyes as I said through clenched teeth, “This is my home.” The creature smiled as he grabbed my wrist and pulled me into his chest. “Not anymore,” was his only response.

I felt the familiar tingle of magic make its way under my skin as everything faded to black. The last thought that crossed my mind was of the little foxes and how sad it was that I would never see them grow up.