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.