Colette felt a gentle tug at the hem of her skirt, and looked down to see a fox looking up her, wagging and smiling timidly.
“Um…hello! ” said the fox as his tail wagged a few extra beats. “I was just wondering… could we, um…. talk for a minute? I promise I won’t stay long!”
Colette smiled at the sweet little creature. “Stay as long as you like. It’s not every day I get to talk to a fox, let alone one that can talk. “
“Um…. okay then. Well. ” The fox took a deep breath, then, a little too quickly, said “The thing is I’m a fox and I am very, very magical. “
“Obviously. After all, you can talk.” observed Colette.
The fox looked at her blankly for a moment. “Um… yes, I suppose so, but that’s not all. I can do all sorts of things. Magical things. Wonderful, magical things. “
The fox stared at Colette expectantly.
Colette looked back.
“This is the part where you said, ‘Like what?’. ” said the fox.
“Oh!” said Colette. “Like what?”
“Oh, all kinds of things!” said the fo, tail wagging high. “I could make you a valley full of rainbows, or summon a unicorn to love you and be your steed, or take you to a land of faeries who will feed you delightful morsels and sing for you!”
“Oh my!” said Colette. “That all sounds wonderful. “
“Thank you, it is!” said the fox. Then looked at Colette again.
Colette’s mind raced. Then, just as the fox opened its muzzle to prompt her, she said “But if you can do all that, what do you need me for?”
Another pair of extra wags. “Well I was just wondering if you knew someone who could use someone who can….um….do that kind of… thing. “
Colette blinked. “Well, I would think anyone could use someone like you. ”
“Really? Oh good! ” said the fox. “And would one of those people just possibly be someone like…. um….you?”
The last was said with such timid hope and fear that Colette almost laughed. Instead, she said “Me? Why me?”
“Well most people are way too scary, but you seen very nice…. “
“Thank you. ” said Colette. “I am. “
“… and I like doing nice things for nice people, so I would love to use my magic to make you happy, and…. and that’s it. ” said the fox.
Then it looked at her again.
“Oh!” said Colette. “Well I accept! I’d be a fool not to do so. “
The fox’s eyes were big and bright and full of love. “So it’s true? You want me to do wonderful magical things for you?”
“Of course!” said Colette. Then, seeing that there was still some hesitancy in the fox’s eyes, she hastily added “I want you to do magical things for me, dear fox!”
At this, the fox barked and jumped up into Colette’s lap and put his little front paws up on her chest so he could slurp all over her face.
Colette laughed, and pretended to try to fend off the fox’s attentions.
“Sorry.” said the foxy as he settled down into Colette’s lap, where she promptly began stroking its velvet soft ears.
“No problem, dear fox.” said Colette as she gave those lovely ears a rub around the bases, which elicited a happy lil murr from the very magical fox.
“So what magical thing do you want to do first? ” said the pampered fox.
Colette pondered that for a moment.
“You know, ” she said, “I can’t think of anything more magical than what we’re doing right here, right now.”
“Me neither. ” said the fox as he rolled over to expose his tummy to Colette.
Colette smiled and rubs that soft fluffy tummy.
And together, the two new best friends watched the sun set in the distance.
On trying to evolve
As you might have been able to tell from my two recent forays into a sloppy kind of fiction, I am trying to evolve as both a person and a writer.
And I am not crazy about how either of said forays turned out. But until I truly evolve and gain the ability to go back and perfect my work, that’s the best I can do.
I’m working on it.
Besides, quality is not the point of this blog. Never has been. The point of this blog was, is, and always be to be a platform through which I can express some of the thoughts running around in my head and thus release them and buy myself some sanity.
Writing more fiction, in particular the kind I wrote recently, is simply a matter of leveling up my writing skill to further express what mere prose cannot.
It’s something that has been brewing in the back of my mind for a long time. It started as this niggling little feeling of dissatisfaction with my blogging, and slowly grew over time until I knew something had to change.
Plus, writing my way – mostly unplanned, letting the story shape itself (so to speak) as I write it, ideas becoming part of the story as they occur to me without time for me to analyze and dissect them – is the closest thing to spirituality I have.
For me, the absolute best moments of writing come when I write something that surprises me. When I write it and then says “Wow, I had no idea I felt that way. “
The sense of discovery and revelation in those moments is exhilarating.
Doing more of that, therefore, seems like a good idea. I am trying to build up my spirit and my intuition in hopes of correcting the massive imbalance toward the intellectual I have labored under since I was raped at 4, and so whatever contributes to my spiritual health is fine by me.
I have so much catching up to do! And so few tools to do it with.
I guess, like always, I will just have to invent my own.
I will talk to you nice people again tomorrow.