Owl and Fox

I wrote this story rather fast. I quite like it, but maybe it is too personal. Anyway, not many people had read it, so please, I would be more than happy to hear critics and opinions.

It happened, along winter that Fox was extremely unsatisfied with his life. All his friends were hibernating and food was rather scarce. Hence, Fox decided to leave the forest and walk to the closest barn, where he might catch some snakes, mice or rodents. Full of hope, he reached the farm but disappointment fell on him: no mice, no rodents and no snakes. The barn owls ate them all. Suddenly, the magnificient Owl appeared in front of Fox.

“Dear and lovely Owl, isn’t there anything left in your barn? I am starving.” said Fox.

“Ah, sly and charming Fox, we ate everything here. You should go back to your forest, because there is nothing for you.” kindly answered Owl.

“Owl, Owl, forest is cold and I am lonely there. Would you allow me to stay with you?”

“No Fox, you cannot. Despite your most appreciated company, you cannot stay here. I am an owl, and this is the barn of my clan.”

Owl however, was also feeling lonely, as her clan’s members were not here. And Fox, ah Fox is an interesting fellow. A bit intriguing, a bit mischievous, but like Owl, he is a night creature. And his stories are fascinating.

“You cannot spend the day here, Fox, but if you want, come back tomorrow night, and we can have a chat.”

They agreed on that, and Fox, while going back home, cannot stop thinking about Owl and her sublime piercing eyes and her abundant feathers and her tiny beak. He waited, without sleeping the night’s arrival and finally went back to the barn.

“Owl, beautiful Owl, I am back. Did you sleep well?”

“Fox, my dear Fox, I could not sleep as I cannot stop thinking of the reason that led you to my barn. Why mine? Why did you come here with your witty smile and your marvelous smell of wood?”

“I do not know Owl. Luck maybe, or destiny. Do not worry, would you rather listen to the story of the crazy monkey warrior?”

“Ah, Fox, your stories are famous. Yes, please, tell me this story.”

“So, I shall start.”

Once upon a time, there was a monkey, born from thin air. He never had any parents and he had to raise himself, listening to the wind, listening to the grass and the stars, listening to the mad volcano. He spent his childhood alone, remote from any other beasts. He hardened his body by punching rocks, kicking trees and swimming into fire. He lost himself into the dangerous song of silence which amplifies any thought. He became so strong, both physically and mentally that he decided to challenge the gravity herself, reputed to be the greatest witch that ever existed. And he won and he mastered the gravity. She offered him to become his spouse, but the mad monkey refused. He chained her into the darkest rift of the deepest ocean, and left her to cry there[B1] . He did not notice however, that the gravity had cast a spell on him. The spell took a fragment of his soul, replacing it with an inextinguishable thirst for power.

“And then, wonderful Fox, what happens? Will you tell me, even if the morning falls upon us?”

“Ah, no, no, my lovely Owl. It is too early, sun will shine and this is not a time for stories anymore. If you allow me, I will come back tomorrow.”

And Fox disappeared into the last shadow left by the morning sun. Owl went to sleep, impatiently waiting for the rest of the mad monkey’s story. At night, Fox arrived again.

“Bewitching Fox, what happens next?”

“Ah, so you are interested in the fate of the mad-monkey? I have to warn you that it is not such a happy one. Madness rarely walks with happiness.”

“Will you stop being all philosophical and just tell me? I cannot wait any longer.”

“Wise Owl, are you getting fooled by fiction? You, the rational being? Caught in my whimsical stories? But, because it is you, I will continue.”

The thirst was growing deeper and deeper into the mad monkey’s mind. He wanted to be more and more powerful, but who could he fight when the most powerful enchantress has already been vanquished? One day, the thirst was too strong, and the mad monkey went back to visit the gravity. She smiled at him, knowing that he was already losing his senses. She told him that her brother the time was more powerful than her. No one can escape the time, probably not even the all-mighty mad monkey. Furious, he left the gravity, without listening to her supplication to set her free at once. He went straight to the time’s mansion and challenged him. The time laughed, asked him to release his beloved sister but the mad monkey only wanted to fight and to humiliate him. The time, at first amused by his challenger, was now annoyed and he cursed then expelled him from his mansion.

“Ah, beloved Fox, what is this curse? What will happen to the mad monkey?”

“I am afraid, queen of my heart, that you will have to wait until it is night again. Roosters are singing now, and we must sleep. Do not worry as I will be back this evening.”

And Fox silently evaporated in the dark. At night, Owl impatiently watched the barn’s door, waiting for the arrival of Fox. His dark green eyes appeared among the hay, then his smile, then his warm and quiet voice.

“Hello my extraordinary Owl. Am I wrong to believe that you were waiting?”

“Clever Fox, you should stop asking question to which you already know the answer. Yes, I was waiting for you, for your arrival, for your company, and for the rest of your story. Please, please, will I know the end tonight?”

“Yes, yes my colorful evening breeze, I will finish it for you. We are close from the end of the mad monkey’s story.”

The mad monkey was frustrated and he could feel his heart hurting. Something had changed after the time expelled him. Of course, he was not aware of the siblings’ curses. But while he had felt empowered for shackling the gravity, he was now feeling weak and sad. His mind, so strong and fierce the minute before was now shattered. Colors disappeared everywhere he looked upon, smells were sickening him and noises were drilling into his brain. In great pain, he ran to the gravity, and asked her to free him from those horrible sensations. She agreed on the condition of having her liberty in return. The mad monkey immediately obeyed and freed her. The gravity took his head between her soft and fresh hands, gazed deep inside his foolish eyes and burst into joy when she saw her brother’s mark. Monkey, monkey, mad and angry monkey, I know what you have she said. You are suffering for not being loved and only time can heal that. Not me. Your heart is bleeding of hatred and loneliness. You sought power but you just found pain. Because you defied my brother the time, he expelled you from his kingdom. You will never heal. You will never evolve and learn and change. You will remain the same, for all eternity because time is endless. You are doomed, blinded by your cravings. And you refused my love and you chose to humiliate me and now it is too late. I wish to never see you again. Goodbye. And like that, she left the mad monkey, with his heart burning like plasma, his brain collapsing under solitude and sadness. And never, ever, the mad monkey had another chance to find love again.

“Ah, Fox, Fox, why is it such a horrible story? Are you trying to make me sad? Why are you not singing the beauty of the night, the thrill of the hunt, the warmth of our relationship? Fox, please, tell me that you have better stories.”

“I do, I do. But this story was the most appropriate, as I feel like the mad monkey every morning, when I leave you. There is no thrill anywhere but near you, no color, no smell, no joy but when you look at me, with those sharp eyes of yours. My dear Owl, as soon as I met you, my body liquefied, my brain evaporated and my heart, ah my heart exploded and burnt like plasma as well. Let me stay with you, in this barn, and I will tell you stories every night, we will hunt together and nothing could feel any better. Please, will you say something?”

“Fox, my dear Fox, my passionate red hunter. I cannot grant you this wish, no matter how hard I would try. I am a member of my clan, and as such, I cannot allow you to stay when they come back. It was foolish to let you stay near me for so long, even if I wish to hear your stories every night, every minute for the rest of my life. Please, do not grieve and do not turn into a mad monkey. You are a marvel, but my clan must come first. Those moments with you will be cherished as long as I live, but I have already done too much by allowing you into our barn.”

As the morning preyed upon the night, Fox left the barn and went back to his forest, his heart as heavy as Owl’s.

Author's Note

English is not my native language, but I had the chance to have someone to review it. Please let me know what you think about the style, the protagonists, anything. I rarely have any feedbacks on my writings.