Fox on the Run (Part 3)

The foxes' journey continues with the help of Barnaboly Scratch. Will his plan work? Will the foxes ever be truly safe?

Art by Simone Ford

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Mr. Grimik, a slightly overweight middle aged man with a round face and a mop of brown hair, was sitting calmly with a newspaper in one hand, a steaming cup of coffee in the other and a plate of scrambled eggs on the table in front of him. He hummed contently, thinking of the village's election tomorrow, when, with a swoosh of pink robes, the front door swung open.

"Ah, you have finally awoken! Mr. Grimik, as a future mayor you should practice waking up early. These are my dear friends from the distance lands of Arbodia: Krela, Warlow and their daughter Flora." said Barnaboly as he walked into the spacious home, followed by three orange haired humans with fox tails and ears.

Mr. Grimik got up immediately, almost spilling his coffee on his shirt, as he rushed over and shook the hands of the three foreigners.

"Hello, hello! My what a sweet girl you are! I'm Mr. Grimik, pleasure to meet you." he said. Mr. Grimik was never one quick to judge, but his eyes seemed to linger on the orange tails and ears that Krela, Warlow and Flora were sporting.

The latter just stared at Mr. Grimik, in shock at understanding him, this retched human.

Finally, after an awkward silence, Warlow said:

"Nice to meet you too. Do you sleep here as well?"

"Oh, yes. Mr. Scratch is too kind. You see, I'm running for mayor but my house is recently being renovated and Mr. Scratch offered his lovely home for me to stay in until I can return.

How long will you be staying?" Mr. Grimik answered in his friendly voice.

Warlow nudged Krela with his elbow and she sighed.

"Depends. " she said, gruffly. She didn't like conversation, especially with humans.

"Hmmm." Mr. Grimik muttered. He really wanted to know why they were wearing ears and tails. Was it some strange tradition?, he thought.

Barnaboly, who had been busy preparing a breakfast for the guests with the help of Flora (who had no idea what anything she saw was) spoke up.

"Now, Mr. Grimik let's sit down and enjoy breakfast. I can already see your mind wandering to the elections. I'm sure you'll be fine, the citizens really like you. And honestly, it's no competition with that horrid man, Mr. Trout." he said.

"Elections?" Flora asked as everyone sat down and began eating.

"Oh yes. Mr. Grimik here is running for mayor against Mr. Trout. The elections are tomorrow!" Barnaboly said, as he ate his usual pink eggs and drank his pink orange juice.

Krela, Warlow and Flora were clueless as to what the strange silver objects on each side of their plate were for. But watching Barnaboly and Mr. Grimik they understood that they were to cut with that one, stab the food and hold the food to their mouths with the other one. They awkwardly started eating, but soon got a hang of it.

"I don't mean to be rude or impertinent but... Why are you wearing fox ears and tails?" Mr. Grimik asked, as he watched the foreigners struggle with their fork and knives.

The others sat in silence, not sure what to say until Barnaboly quickly answered

"In Arbodia, wearing fox ears and tails for two months is custom when a family relative passes away."

"Oh, I'm sorry to here that. My deepest regrets." Mr. Grimik said. And that was the end of that. Mr. Grimik was too polite to ask who had died and anyway, he was busy eating scrambled eggs.

They finished breakfast and Mr. Grimik went away to make his speech to the village. Barnaboly decided to show Krela, Warlow and Flora around, so that they could get more used to humans and their strange, gross and simply stupid customs, like eating with pieces of metal, as Krela put it.

The next day, Barnaboly brought Krela, Warlow and Flora to the building where the votes were being counted. He quickly registered his vote, which was for Mr. Grimik, and sat down with Krela, Warlow and Flora on the chairs that faced a stage.

The foxes-turned-humans were looking around curiously, receiving odd stares because of their ears and tails, but they didn't look as lost as before. Yesterday had been a very productive day in terms of not jumping when a car passes by, understanding human traditions and not running away when a human is near them.

Finally, a woman walked on to the stage. She breathed heavily onto the microphone and with a loud "Attention!" she began.

"Welcome to Election Day! I hope you all put in your votes and without further ado the winner is..." she opened a white envelope and, as if she were on TV, she said with great enthusiasm: "Mr. Grimik!!"

Mr. Grimik, who had walked on stage with Mr. Trout, beamed happily. He shook hands with Mr. Trout, whose thin, sickly face seemed altogether disappointed and walked up to the microphone.

"Thank you, thank you. It is my greatest joy to know that this honor has been given to me. I will do as I promised." Mr. Grimik went on for a bit and finished with a roar of applause and some boos from the followers of Mr. Trout.

A few hours later, Mr. Grimik walked into Barnaboly's house and sat down heavily on the sofa. He looked tired but happy. Barnaboly, who had been showing Krela, Warlow and Flora how to do a puzzle coughed quietly.

"Congratulations! You won, by a lot it seems." he said.

"Yes, you seem like a good mayor." Warlow added, ignoring the eye roll of his wife.

"Thank you." Mr. Grimik answered. He was tired from the excitement of the day and didn't talk as much as he usually did.

"Now, Mr. Grimik, I'm sorry to bother you, but I have an idea for that favor you owe me." Barnaboly said.

"Oh yes. I must repay you somehow for your kindness in letting me sleep in your house." Mr. Grimik said with a bit more energy than before. Whatever Mr. Scratch wanted, was sure to be interesting.

"It was no problem. Do you know that old shop on the edge of the forest?" Barnaboly asked.

"The one on Oak Street, that hasn't been used for months now?" Mr. Grimik pondered.

"Yes, that's the one. I thought that, because you are now mayor, you could turn it into a protected park for the animals in the forest. The shop could be transformed into a reception of sorts with a long window of glass that looks into the forest. We could surround the forest with a fence, low enough for animals to jump over when they migrate, so that other people know the forest and its animals are protected. The villagers won't be allowed to go in anymore and we could just have one road that goes through the forest from the outside and into the village. What do you think?" Barnaboly proposed.

"Why, that's a good idea! It will be one of the first things on my list to do. We could make people pay to look through the window and go on a special tour that leads throughout the forest. We could have guides and... it would be good for tourism and for nature." Mr. Grimik said. He liked the idea of more tourists for the economy, and the forest should be protected, he thought.

With that, the construction began. It took a month to build everything and another month to organize and get permission for their project. Krela, Warlow and Flora remained in their human forms and slowly integrated themselves into the community.

Finally, everything was finished. On the opening day of the park, the three foreigners left and Barnaboly told everyone that they had had to return to Arbodia because of family business.

After Mr. Grimik's lengthy speech, the citizens of the village and the news reporters were allowed free access into the park. Everyone was surprise to see three orange foxes, rolling around in the grass and sniffing everything they saw. They seemed to be overjoyed to see trees and grass, as if they had been stuck in a prison and were now granted freedom.

The foxes stared at the humans, not as disgusting as before, and at the pink forest wizard that had created for them a safe place they could call home. They were happy, their eyesight and sense of smell was back, but a part of their hearts would always be empty, for the little male fox wasn't there to celebrate their new home with them. The foxes mourned but they knew not to let their grief take over.

And with a last look at the humans, they ran off into the forest, three orange blurs flying through their new home, safe at last.

THE END