-A Fox’s Mistakeby

Zoey Sanchez

The child quietly walked through the forest, occasionally stopping to pick a few flowers. Having become frustrated at home, they stepped outside. As they walked, their eyes caught sight of two people. A moment later, the two people caught sight of them. Seeing the two approaching, the child froze. One lady knelt down to their height. A flower that had been dropped unknowingly was offered to the child. "Hello there," she said. The child thanked them, becoming a little less tense. The lady who’d knelt down offered her hand. “Would you care to walk with us?’’ She asked, with an unthreatening voice, almost sounding purposeful.

With the two strangers, they walked away. They looked up at the two people again, their amber eyes searching them in confusion. “What are your names?” They asked quietly. One woman with blonde hair and bright, almost unsettling, green eyes smiled and knelt down. “What do you think we should be called?” She asked. The child looked down and thought for a moment, then they looked back up at the two. One had green eyes and one with red… They pointed the finger at the emerald-eyed lady. “Green,’’ they moved their gaze to the lady with red eyes, “And Red.”. Green laughed. “How creative.’’ She stood back up and looked at Red who narrowed her eyes at the quite effortless name the child had given her. Green took the child’s right hand, Red took their left, and then they began walking deeper into the forest.

The child thought for a moment. Weren’t bright green and red eyes biologically impossible to have? Of course, some people have green eyes, but never the shade of bright lime Green had, and red eyes on someone without Albinism was odd indeed. They slightly narrowed their eyes in confusion, trying to make sense of this all. Yet, they held hands as if in a trance as they led them into the forest, despite all these odd signs. They took a deep breath and inhaled the pleasant scent of Zinnias and Daylilies. They were simply following the smell of the flowers they trusted.

When they took the strangers' hands, they had no idea that the small act would trigger something horrific. Unknown to them, this would lead to events that would affect almost everyone they cared about.

I guess you could say, no one would be the same person after this.

A few moments passed, and the child was rambling on. ‘’And then when I went over to my friend’s house, they said they were busy!’’ The child said, their shy voice lessened as they expressed their frustration.

There was a brief pause, and then Green and Red exchanged glances. ‘’Would you mind telling us more about this friend of yours?’’ Red asked as an echoing hum of bees and raspy breaths drifted through the forest.

“Sure!”

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