For A Friend 16

It was a rather ordinary evening for myself. There was a cold chill in the air. It was that time of the year for the weather to be that way, but for some reason tonight it felt a bit “different” and a bit colder.

“Naturally,” I thought to myself. I didn’t mind though. I was bundled up with my jacket on with my scarf around my neck. I had my hat along as well to keep my head warm.

I was making my way back to my flat. Again a rather ordinary evening for myself, and nothing unusual about this particular time. As I walked back to my place though there was a feeling that something was “off” this time.
 
I made it back to my place, and removed my hat as I stepped inside. The thought that was in the back of mind was still there: why was the train so late tonight? I must have said the thought out loud, but it was strangely so prevalent in my mind. Usually I had so many thoughts running through my mind it was hard to keep track sometimes, but for some reason this thought stuck with me.

This wasn’t the first time a train was late. Perhaps it bothered me that I had to wait so long. There is only so much you can do before you get bored. I had my phone to check and even my 3DS to play, but after a short while it got boring. I didn’t even really have plans for tonight. Probably check things online, maybe play a little games on my computer, or maybe even try drawing something. I remembered though that I was in a bit of an art block, and it was hard to really feel motivated or inspired to draw recently. I sighed and just felt relieved to be back at my place. It was late, but I was up late most nights anyway. I reached my hand to turn on the lights, and I was met with a surprise when they turned on.

“Oh, sh!-“ I began to say, but I cut myself off. Laying there on the ground in front of me was a red fox. I had nearly shouted in reaction to seeing it, but I stopped myself right as I realized what I was doing. I didn’t want to awaken it. I kept staring at it and just stood there. I wasn’t sure what to do.
“A… f-fox?” I whispered out. This couldn’t be possible. Why was there a fox in my flat? There was no way for this to be happening.

Gradually my initial shock faded and I felt more comfortable. This was clearly a feral fox so I had to have some caution; I didn’t know how it would react. Slowly I started moving towards it. I had always felt a close connection with animals so I felt confident enough to handle this situation. As I got closer the reality of it all really dawned on me: here in front of me was a fox. I realized all the shock was gone and in its place was a feeling of joy and peace. It had been a while since I felt that way.

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Comic for and in honor of and based off of a dream I had.