Lore Piece: The Eastern Fox
My mother would always tell us of tales of mythical creatures called the yokai in our hometown. The oni, a demon or troll living in caves, the tengu, which mom says had wings and long red noses, the kappa, river-dwelling humanoid turtles, and probably one I wanted to see the most when I was a kid, the kitsune.At first, my pre-teen mind would not believe this, as I was the scientific person in the family, and that these yokai are just plain old myths going around. Yet, after 10 years of being a skeptic, I would take just one night to change all of that I believed in.
That day was one of the most exhausting days I have had. I went to a local environment seminar on cryptocurrency mining, and it took my whole afternoon. It was my first time hearing about how mining digital assets would affect the physical environment. It was weird, but all of it made sense at the end (a little bit, I was still a skeptic). It rained that night, around 7 in the evening. There is this bamboo forest I always come upon whenever I go home, and it has always been quiet. Until I heard rustling and a soft crying sound. Instinct called upon me, so I got near the noise, and what I saw instantly shook all of me.
It was a kitsune. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It’s a real one.The little baby fox had 9 almost translucent tails and a bluish purple hue running across its body. There was also a bright line drawing from its eyes to its neck. It was so magnificent. I looked upon its eyes, and it looked back. Without hesitation, the baby fox walked up to me, and got on my shoulder, and snuggly wrapped its body across my back, like sleeping. I was frozen, but I gathered the courage to walk home and show my brother what I had.
That night was the start of a short yet meaningful relationship between me and my kitsune, or as I call her Ao, because of her bluish hue. Even my brother couldn’t believe that we had a kitsune at home. She played and danced around, occasionally biting my finger whenever I touched one of her tails. She would also grab my only red colored hair tie and never let it go. Ao would always eat leftover bones, like a scavenger, even if I always give her good meals. Ao would also tend to protect me from stray dogs who are aggressive towards me and cats trying to steal food from our kitchen. It was my first time having a pet, and I felt very affectionate towards her, always talking to her and petting her.
2 weeks passed, a sudden noise came up the front door. It sounded like light tapping, like some weak man was trying to knock. Instinctively, I bolted upright and came to the front door, with Ao following me behind. I unlocked it to see what was there and what I saw blew my mind. It was a fully grown kitsune, with its 9 tails all spread out in the air, each tail having a different glow and look to it. Like elements or something? I was too confused to figure out what I was seeing, but there it was, standing, and seemed to find something. Wait. Ao? Is this…
Without hesitation, Ao came up to the majestic kitsune and rubbed her face all over her. This might be Ao’s mother. I was still dumbstruck at that time. I couldn’t help but stare at this mother and daughter foxes. The mother kitsune looked back at me, and then a few seconds, turned around and walked away. Ao was behind her, following. I tried calling back Ao, but I guess she was gone for good. Before Ao completely left, she looked at me one last time. I noticed something she was biting in her mouth. My red hair tie! I waved a little goodbye to her, and she turned back to follow her mother, who was waiting for her.
I still remember Ao, even after years of not seeing her. And I am also hopeful she still remembers me, as long as she never lets go of that red hair tie.
