A mysterious fox takes the narrator on a midnight adventure
My school ended at 10:35 today. We had to wear masks, and it was uncomfortable. It was different from other school years, and I didn’t like it. Especially in gym because we were hot and sweaty, and having a mask on didn’t make things better.
After, I went hiking with my family and saw cardinal flowers, goldenrods, rivers, and wild animals like scarlet tanagers, hooded warblers, deer, and foxes. We hiked for about two hours, then drove back home.
It was dark once we were back home, and I could see the sky had turned pink and purple. My house felt warm and comfy after a long hike, and I felt exhausted. After we ate dinner, I got ready to go to sleep.
When I lay down in bed, it was dark and I could see the moonlight shining through my window. I thought about my day and everything that had happened. Everything had seemed pretty normal, but I remembered there had been a fox following us for the whole hike. I knew it was the same fox because it had a red stripe on its forehead and deep blue eyes that reminded me of the ocean. I fell asleep eventually, but couldn’t stop thinking about that fox.
I woke up around midnight because of a sound. I looked around my room slowly and realized the noise had come from outside. I got up and went to my window. I didn’t see anyone there, but I did see the fox again. It was looking right at me, as if it was waiting for me to come closer. I blinked and rubbed my eyes, wondering if I was dreaming. But the fox was still there, looking at me. It paced around a little, and kept looking back. I wondered if I should follow it, since it seemed like that’s what it wanted me to do. If my parents found out, I would probably get into a lot of trouble. But I decided to take that risk anyway and got dressed, packed a bag full of supplies, and put on my sneakers.
Once I got outside, I could clearly see the fox. It had soft orange fur with some white near the face and tail. Its dark-blue eyes were now like the color of the sky on a sunny day. I got closer, and it walked near the woods. I followed it, and it continued walking deeper and deeper into the woods. We walked for about thirty minutes, and I was getting tired and hungry. The fox must’ve known that too, because it stopped near a big rock and waited patiently as I got out some food to eat. We kept walking and walking, and I wondered if I had made the smartest choice in following the fox, since it seemed like we were only getting lost.
But later, I saw more moonlight shining down, and the trees began to clear. It looked like we were reaching the end of the forest, and the fox seemed to get more excited. It sort of danced as it walked, a kind of skipping dance. A little while later, there were no more trees blocking our way, and instead I saw a huge meadow in front of us. The light from the moon made it look magical, like something from a fairytale. And millions of stars twinkled against the midnight sky. The fox pranced and ran into the meadow. It reminded me of a young puppy, exploring the whole world.
I ran into the meadow, just like the fox, and saw different animals playing too. There were bears, rabbits, deer, scarlet tanagers, and even a white tiger. It felt like the animals could talk, and I could understand every word they were saying, and they could understand me. I asked how they found the meadow, and a bear said that he heard voices telling him to go deeper into the forest until he found a meadow. All the animals started agreeing, except for the white tiger. I asked him the same question, and he said the fox had showed him the way here. The white tiger asked me how I got to the meadow, and I said I followed the fox. He gave the fox a long, accusing glance but then seemed to forget what he was thinking about.
I don’t know how long we were in the meadow, but I saw the sun rising from a distance, and bright colors soon filled the sky. The fox saw it too, and it nudged me with its nose. I followed it, and soon we were far away from the other animals.
The fox seemed impatient now, and had a worried look on its face. It didn’t take us long to get to our destination, and soon we were at the bottom of a hill. I gazed up and saw a willow tree with purplish bark and blue leaves. It swayed in the wind, and looked peaceful.
Suffern, NY
