Foxes of Suburbia

By: Domus Vocis

          Golden sunlight snaked over the grass in front of the fox, and the music of November wind rang through his ears. Greying along his tail and his paws becoming nimble, the fox did not know how long he could keep hunting, but he did know that his cubs needed food. They needed their strength to survive this coming winter, even if the Humans placed all the food in the strange green boxes every weekend.

          It was nearly sunset, and in the middle of a sea of Human houses as white and colorful as rain and snow, the fox sat underneath a hedge while looking across the street pavement. He sat waiting for the sun to set and the lights inside the Human's houses to go out, along with the cars they use to go to the city. He needed to get tonight's food while everyone else was sleeping, and the sound of his stomach rumbling made the fox's tail curl slightly. He needed to get food for his cubs, and his mate as well.

          At last, as the sun disappeared over the horizons, the only lights on the streets were from the overhead lamps shining in the darkness, and the soft glow of windows in the houses. The fox listened with perked ears for anything, such as the hum of a car driving down the blacktop road, the music of front lawn wind chimes, or even the laughter of Human cubs playing in their backyards.

          Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

          The fox slowly crawled out of his hiding place and turned his ears down while eyeing for something to eat. In the air, he smelled the funny scents of Humans. He smelled the whiff of plastic toys left in front yards and the cleaning oils placed on cars that made the fox's stomach sick. He even passed by a couple of metallic canisters that smelled like rotten meat in one garbage can.

          Humans always threw away the food in the trash cans along the curbs, whether they were fully eaten or not. The fox even remembered one time where a Human dwelling further down the road dumping a huge box full of frosting and baked cake, not that he complained.

          One house caught the fox's attention, as it was large and dark with so many bushes and plants to hide under if a Human came outside. In quick strides and swift turns, the fox maneuvered past all the pottery and the rosebushes until he got to the front porch. He sniffed the air and turned to the right of the house, inhaling the different food scents in the trash can.

          Just as he reached the trashcan, the sound of barking from the inside of the Human's house caught the fox off-guard. He stood rigid as he heard shouting and loud noise inside, which prompted him to head over to the next one.

          This one rarely had anything on the front laws other than plastic toys that smelled awful, and even a weird metallic box with the word 'iPod' on it. The fox recalled seeing a Human hold it tightly in her hand or in her pants for a while, even arguing with an elder over something regarding its presence.

          As the fox crawled under a white picket fence into the neighboring front yard, he saw one thing that made his ears perk. Unlike the other houses he passed, this one had what the Humans called a 'doggy door' in its front entrance.

          With a flicking tail, the fox cautiously crawled across the yard and toward the front door, his ears perked for even the faintest sign of trouble. However, once he poked his nose at the flapping doggy door and smelled the most beautiful scent, all doubt cleared away like a cloud in the sky.

          He went through, and poked his head around to see that he was in a corridor that led to a huge room to the right, and a huge glass door with another doggy door placed there by the Humans. The scent came from the carpeted room, and it made the fox's maw water and his stomach growl like a black bear.

          Amid the scent of stenches and a scented candle that went out, the fox sniffed hungrily into the nearly dark room. Deeper into the end of the room was a large, flashy box the size of the wall, blaring out lights and noise that made the fox's ears hurt. But what made him freeze was the large couch in-between him and the glass box.

           Suddenly, Human laughter came from the couch, causing the fox to tense and nearly run to the door. There were humans in the room, and whatever the scent was, the fox couldn't resist it. As he inched forward silently, the loud noise of the glass box easily distracted the Humans sitting on the couch. From the scent in the room, he had to guess there were two of them, one male and the other female, probably on the verge of mating.

          The fox crawled over to the right side of the couch and saw along the edge of a table was a cardboard box that smelled overwhelming and addictive. And on the floor was a plate of fried chicken, a common food found in and around Human dwellings. With precision, the fox eyed the food and slowly grabbed a wing of it in his maw, right as the lights went on and a female Human screamed.

          In an instant, the fox grabbed the chicken wing in his maw and ran for the back of the house, remembering the doggy door as the loud noise in the house went from big to thunderous. He bolted through with a quick stride, and folded his ears in a great run. He ran through the back yard, dodged a barking dog, and ran right into the next yard, and the next, and the next until he felt lumpy grass and leaves crunch under his hind paws. The fox didn't even feel the taste of it as he went to his den deep in the forest, and gave it to his mate and cubs sleeping in the darkness.

          With a flicking tail, the fox nudged his nose at the two cubs, and heard their soft yips and yawns while curling up with mother drowsily. Silently, and without pausing, the fox curled up with his mate, and watched his cubs eat.