The sounds of music filled the room around her. Nothing could be more beautiful, she thought as she sat in her pink and purple room with all her stuffed animals and pillows lining one wall.
Furniture dotted throughout the roomy space, and she laid there on the carpeted floor in her teddy bear onesie with nothing but her stuffed animals keeping her company. At the same time, her parents threw a New Year’s Eve party below she did not feel alone. Chatting with her animals, Sir Plucky, her dinosaur discussing proper playground etiquette with Mrs. Dasher, her rhinoceros, kept her pretty occupied.
Every once in a while, her mother would come and check on her; she was only six and a half, after all (the half really mattered). Her parents rarely spent imagination time with her, but when they did, she treasured every second.
A yawn escaped her when the music turned to a slow tune. The soft sounds lulled her into a hazy state. The sounds of her animals talking started to blur together and became increasingly dull as her eyes slowly drifted shut and her mind quieted to a silent slumber.
Awoken with a start, she was confused about where she was for the briefest of moments. Her thoughts returned to her, and she realized she had fallen asleep on the floor of her bedroom. Pushing up into a sitting position, her back arched and her arms stretched above her head to work out any stiffness.
With a shake of her head, her muddy mind started to wake up. Rubbing her eyes with the backs of her hands, her body involuntarily let out a soft yawn.
Movement caught her attention out of the corner of her eye by her dresser. Her curly brown hair whipped around to see an orangish streak whiz by her dresser. She was confused for a moment, almost thinking she imagined the whole thing, but then whatever it was bumped into her bookcase and tipped over a few books.
A tiny gasp escaped her lips, and she scooted back against her bed. Her grey teddy bear sat on the edge of her bed, and she yanked it down to hug it close to her chest while her heart thudded noisily in her ears. What could that be, she wondered. So many ideas ran through her head, but none of them she liked.
An odd noise came from where a pile of her stuffed animals lay between her bookcase and her bedroom door. Whatever it was, it must have moved and been hiding in the pile of plush. More movement had her eyes shifting downward. An orangish, furry tail swished back and forth. The action had her mesmerized for a brief moment. She followed the tail from the tip to where it ended in the pile of animals.
The thin line of her mouth turned into a frown as her eyebrows drew together. The many ideas she had did not include a furry tail. In fact, the thoughts she concocted were more a scary nature than the simple one she was seeing right now.
The hand holding the bear eased from her lap to rest on the floor, without relinquishing her grip. She began to uncurl herself from her spot to try to take a few inches forward.
After crawling a foot forward on her hands and knees, the creature made another odd noise, and the pile of animals shifted.
She froze, waiting. The animals quivered one second then the creature scurried out from under the pile of toys and moved to the open doorway. She tilted her head. The glow of the lights in the hallway illuminated the creature.
“You’re a fox!” The little girl exclaimed.
Her excitement changed to worry.
“How did you get in here? Do my mommy and daddy know you are here?”
The fox crouched down and stared at her. Those round eyes made into slits as the animal studied her cautiously. Its head lifted and twisted suddenly, staring down the hallway where she couldn’t see.
“What is it?”
She knew foxes could not talk, but she was sure this one understood her. The animal looked back and forth from her to the empty hallway a few times before making that odd noise again and inching its way backward. The only sounds were of the fox’s nails lightly tapping on the hardwood floor in the hallway.
Once entirely in the hallway, it sat upright and stared at her again, almost as if the animal was waiting for her. The little girl stood up from her spot on the floor, clutching the teddy bear against her chest once more.
The fox’s neck tilted to the side. Then it stood up and turned in the hallway, facing the stairwell. It didn’t move; it just stood there, waiting.
“Do you want me to follow?” Her voice low, so as not to wake her parents.
That was the first time she thought of her parents. She hadn’t heard any noise since she had gotten up, and usually, they would have placed her in bed if she fell asleep somewhere. The house’s silence felt off to her, but her attention fled her thoughts to focus on the fox when the animal scurried down the hallway.
“Wait!” She shouted slightly.
Rushing out of her room, she saw the fox pause at the top of the stairs. The animal looked back at her, and gave what looked like a head tilt towards the steps before disappearing down the stairs.
The odd behavior was not lost on her, but she was already confused by this whole scenario, so she assumed she had two choices. She could go back to bed and forget this, or she could follow the fox and ensure everything was okay. Without giving it another thought, she started for the stairs and slowly descended.
Every step created a slight noise just loud enough for her ears to catch it. The only thing she could make out was the swishing of the foxes’ tail from around the bottom of the banister as she crept closer. The house was silent except for the crackling of the fireplace. Little pops became more distinct the closer she came to the bottom.
The fireplace and the holiday decorations are the only lights in the space. The banister illuminated by the garland twisting around it from top to bottom. More garland laced throughout the ceiling, and mantels flowing throughout. Pillars of candles were placed around the living room, she noticed.
Reaching the bottom step, her hand outstretched to caress the orangish tail. It looked so soft and plush like her stuffed animals that she couldn’t resist. Her fingers missed it when it made that odd noise again and scurried across the floor.
The noise its nails made reminded her of the jar of buttons she accidentally spilled on the floor last week. All the different-sized buttons rolled and scattered, creating tapping noises all over.
The fragrance of wreaths, pine, and vanilla swirled around her from the candles lit around the room. The scents gave her a sense of calm. Wondering why her parents hadn’t been up when she came downstairs was fleeting as her eyes darted to where the fox now swiftly moved to lay underneath the Christmas tree placed by the fireplace.
“Where are you going?” The girl whispered to the creature, not expecting a response.
A pointed nose with little deep brown eyes peaked from under the tree. The fox took in a sniff before making a chattering noise again. Her head tilted to the side, and the animal seemed to mimic her. Their heads slanting to one side, then the other as the animal followed her movements.
A giggle escaped her mouth, and she quickly covered it, hoping no one would hear and wake. She didn’t want anyone scaring her newly made friend. Her eyes darted around the room, and she listened intently. Waiting for any noise she could hear, but none came except for her own heart beating in her ears.
When she was sure no one was awake, she turned her attention back to the fox. Its tail peaked out from under each side of the head as it swished back and forth. She noticed that the tips of the creature’s ears were black.
A beautiful contrast to the orange hue of its body. Deciding she would love the feel of the fox’s fur, even without having touched it yet. Her feet treaded lightly towards where the animal lay.
“Do you like to play?” Her question was barley above a whisper.
Not wanting to frighten her friend, her movements were slow.
“I love to play. I bet you love hugs too, just like me.” She cooed, inching her way closer.
The animal’s eyes pinned on her. The tail languidly swished back and forth, almost copying her footsteps.
When she was about a foot away, the little girl eased onto her knees.
“I won’t hurt you. I want to be your new best friend.”
The fox hadn’t moved an inch, except for its tail, still making that slow rhythm back and forth.
“You are very pretty.”
Her onesie pulled snuggly against her as she shifted to lay onto her tummy. Her arms moved to lay flat on the floor under her chest.
“I bet you want to play. Do you know hide and seek?”
Little eyes stared back at her with interest. She saw a tiny tongue slip out and swipe at the pointed nose. It had her giggling with delight. The noise she made had the fox patting its feet, and it made another chuffing noise before it darted out from under the tree and ran around her, coming to lay right in front of her.
A gasp escaped at her surprise, and the fox rolled around a few times before laying diagonally close to her.
She watched all this with amazement. She loved the way the animal moved and how the low light in the room made the animal’s fur shine. Shyly, she reached a hand out to try to pet the animal once again. Her heart beat in her ears, and her breathing slowed the closer her hand got. She hoped she could reach it this time.
Even with her hand extended all the way out, she still wasn’t close enough. Disappointment grew in her belly, but the fox seemed to read her emotions and inched forward till she could caress his head. A wide grin broke across her face at the gesture.
His fur was soft but not like her blankets. He was a different kind of soft. You could feel all his hairs, like when she used her fingers to brush out her own hair. Her hair usually was more tangled than the foxes, though.
Without any knots in the soft fur, she could feel the velvet skin underneath. The fox made a quiet noise almost like a purr but not quite. It vibrated through the tips of her fingers and into her hand. It tickled, and she giggled.
Suddenly, the fox’s head shot up. Ears moving back and forth. The little girl was going to ask what was wrong, but nothing came out before the fox scurried under the tree again.
Confused, she followed. “Nothing is wrong. It’s ok.” She said, trying to coax the animal into coming back, but to no avail.
Wiggling herself under the tree was pretty easy. She tilted her head to peer up into the branches. She saw the fox slowly crawling up the branches.
“Hold on!” She cried out, but the animal only paused for a second to look down at her before continuing its climb again.
The little girl shot a hand out to pull on a branch. Deciding this would be difficult, but not impossible, she began pulling herself up into the tree. Limb after limb, she followed the fox.
Barley keeping sight of it while she tried to focus on what branch to grab next. The fox looked back at her a few times as she followed him but kept itself out of reach.
On one particular branch, her foot slipped, and her hand tried to clutch to the limb she had, but her fingers couldn’t hold on. The animal made an odd noise as she began to fall backward. A tiny scream flew from her lips as she fell.
“Honey, it’s ok.” Familiar words filled her ears.
She was unsure where they came from. The little girl felt her whole body suspended in the air as she fell. Closer and closer to the bottom of the tree, she went.
“Shhhh. Mommy is right here.”
The smell of her mother’s Vanilla perfume surrounded her. The scent eased her racing heart.
“Wake baby.”
A soft rubbing on her back.
“Wake for Mommy.”
With a jolt, the little girl’s eyes flew open to see her mother’s eyes staring back at her. Her breath caught, and she looked around wildly.
“Mommy?”
“Yes, baby.”
Blankets were bunched under her arms, and she blinked a few times.
“What happened?” She questioned in a sleepy voice. Her tiny hands rubbed at her eyes.
Her mother gently pushed a stray lock of hair back behind her ear and lightly kissed the top of her head.
“You had a dream, little one. It is ok now.”
Her mind still foggy, trying to understand. “But where is my friend?”
“What friend, honey?”
“My friend the fox.”
Her big round eyes looked up at her mother. Tears filled her eyes, “I was trying to reach him, but I fell.”
“It was a dream baby.” Her mother cradled her in her arms. Softly rocking her back and forth.
“Sounds like an adventure, though.”
Tilting her head back far enough to see her mother’s face, she nodded.
“Yes, but I miss my friend.”
“Well, that is the good thing about him being a dream friend.”
The little girl’s eyebrows furrowed, and she frowned in confusion.
“If he is a dream friend, all you have to do is go back to sleep and dream of him again.”
Her mother’s hand rubbed her hair, and she kissed her head again. Gently she laid her back down in bed. The little girl shuffled under the covers as her mother pulled her blankets back up to her chin.
“How do you dream of a dream again?” Her curious thoughts expressed on her little face.
“When you think of something hard enough,” Her mother kissed her head again, “it will plant in your mind. Then when you dream, all your thoughts will be of that.”
Standing, her mother rubbed her little cheek with the back of her hand. A yawn escaped, and her eyes felt heavy. The smell of vanilla filled her nose.
“Now sleep, my little one. Dream of sweet dreams. I love you.”
“I love you too, Mommy.”
By: Fiona Trinket
G&T Publishing 