I dwell in the woods. My home is near by a field I frequent at the base of a hill, a red house sits at the apex. At first I was cautious around this house, sticking close to the field edges exclusively, but I learned they were friendly and actually welcomed me. They smile when I grace them with my presence. I have been around this property the past 4 years now, it is great hunting grounds. I eat the rabbits that tend to savage the garden near the house. Not to mention the ample amount of mice, squirrels, and other small critters that spawn here because of the corn field.  My whiskers graze the stocks when I weave in between them during the summer and jaunt over the cut stocks in the odd seasons. It is winter now, keep my red bushy tail up so it doesn’t drag across the freezing snow. I’ve been doing this routine for awhile now, I am the only fox who seems to take advantage of the kind people who live in that red house. Think I will stroll over there now and look for mice. Mice tend to gather closer to the house when it gets cold out. Dumb predictable morsels. Oh, look, the woman of the house is smiling at me, hi :3—BANG.

The fox dropped lifeless. My mother cried. My troglodyte cousin got a fox tail trophy, illegally, out of season, and spooked any possible deer in the area he told my father he wanted to hunt on his property.

Upon learning this my first feeling was sadness and immediately replaced with anger. Thoughts of snapping his twink arms flooded my head. No. Stop. That would do no good. The fox is already dead, there is nothing I can do. Revenge would be cathartic in the moment, but I know I would regret it. I will miss our fuzzy familiar friend. We adored that fox. I hope one day more fox come to visit my parent’s land and take over the vacant role of adorable feral guardian of the garden. All my life growing up I never once saw a fox on our property, wasn’t till I moved out that one became a frequent visitor. Was happy when I first saw him, such a cute animal that served a good utilitarian purpose of cutting down the abundant vermin population along with adding whimsy to the landscape. I’ve always adored foxes. My dog looks like an artic fox. Big pointy ears, narrow face, similar snout, curled tail. Maybe that is why I am particularly upset.

I do not have a problem with hunting, even hunting fox. I don’t even particularly care he hunted out of season, I am not a big proponent of bureaucracy in general anyways. What I have a bigger problem is the inconsiderate and hapless nature of the deed. I pray he strives to be more considerate and respectful, especially to nature in the future. One thing is for sure, he is no longer welcome to hunt on their property. The fox’s untimely death serves as a reminder that our actions can have unintended consequences, especially actions that are made solely for your own benefit without the concern for others. That fox’s life and role in my parent’s ecosystem was worth more than his fur, alas I am done talking about this dead fox, have a nice day, maybe I am just sensitive.