Magic Moon Fox

      When Oracle was a child, she saw magic for the first time. Everyone always told her that magic wasn’t real, and that she needed to grow up. Oracle never believed the adults however, at least when it came to magic. The only adult she listened to in that subject was her friend’s nana.

           To Oracle, her friend’s nana told her the truth. For when Oracle asked about magic, the elderly woman said this, “Magic is dead. At least it is here. But magic cannot die everywhere.”

           That gave Oracle hope that she would get to see magic. And that hope lead to that one night. When her mother was asleep in the other room, Oracle snuck out of her bedroom window. Normally, Oracle would have never snuck out, but that day was different. Someone came to town. Two women, one dressed in animal pelts and wielding a battle ax. And the other was dressed like a noblewoman, long flowing dress that moved like waves when she walked. But Oracle saw the little nubs poking from the noblewoman’s long hair. And when Oracle saw her ears was when she knew magic had arrived.

           So, that night she decided to meet them. Or she hoped she would at least. The young girl hid behind crates and closed stands while she looked for these strangers. She hoped that they would be out a night, since all of the stories associated magic with the night. It as only when she was about to give up when she saw them.

           They were out by the fields, walking side by side, hand in hand. Oracle did her best to get closer and listen to their conversation.

           “What do you have to say for yourself?” asked the woman in the pelts.

           The pointy-eared woman, who oracle was sure definitely had magic, groaned, “If I say ‘I’m sorry’’ you wouldn’t believe me. If I said anything else you would only get angrier!”

           “I don’t know what I was expecting out of you,” said the woman in pelts. She walked further into the field, gently tugging the other woman along.

           “Well, I-” the magic woman abruptly stopped- “did you hear that?”

           The other woman stopped. “I don’t hear anything.”

           Oracle, knowing she messed up, took a step backwards. But as the cliché went, she stepped back onto a twig, and it snapped. Both women turned towards the sound and Oracle froze. Yes, she was hidden in tall grass and was crouched down, but she felt like they knew her exact position.

           The woman in pelts reached behind her for her ax, but was stopped by the raised hand of her lover. The other woman raised her hand up as high as she could and started to wiggle her fingers. Oracle watched as the rays of moonlight weaved through the strange woman’s fingers and started to form… a thing? She couldn’t see what was being made but it was still magic!

           The woman put her hand down and Oracle was still debating if she should run home. At least, ‘till she heard a, “Yip!”

           She looked around thinking, What is that? A fox?

And the yips kept getting closer and closer, getting ever slightly louder. Foxes don’t eat people, right?

Suddenly, out of the tall grass she saw it. A fox! But not a fox? Oracle couldn’t describe it well enough to do the creature justice. It was definitely fox shaped; she knew that for sure. It was pale, but not like an artic fox. Pale like the moon? And its fur… could she call it fur? It wasn’t hairless, it still had fur but… it was like a flame. Its fur would move the way fire does or how dust floated around in sunlight. That was Oracles best way of describing the magnificent creature.

“Yip,” said the fox.

“Um… yip?” Oracle said back.

“Yip! Yip! Yip!” went the fox.

The two women ran over to the fox’s cried and saw Oracle trying to communicate with the creature. “It’s just a girl, leave her be and let’s go,” advised the woman in pelts.

But the noble-dressed woman ignored her companion and crouched down to Oracle’s level. “Have you ever seen magic?” she asked in a gentle tone.

Oracle shook her head, but the woman’s companion was getting impatient. “That’s two spells in a no-magic territory. If we get caught one of us will lose an ear.”

Before the woman could go on the other stopped her, “Makoto, listen. We’re leaving soon anyway and its nighttime. This isn’t the city, if we get caught, we’ll probably just be banished and that’s all. This girl probably followed us because she wants to see magic. Who are we to deny her a show?”

Makoto, if Oracle heard her name correctly, sighed and turned her attention further into the field. “Fine, she’s a child so no one will believe her anyway.”

The other woman smiled and sat down next to Oracle who was now trying to pet the moon fox. “What kind of spell is this?” the girl asked.

“it’s a mix of many spells,” said the woman, “a light manipulation spell to get the shape, a life spell to make it come alive, and a future seeing spell.”

Oracles eyes lit up at the pretty lady next to her. “You can see the future!”

“Yes! Well, no… it’s hard to explain. I guess a good way to say is foxes are important in your future.”

As Oracle wanted to ask more, Makoto cut back in, “My love, we need to go.”

“Already? Shoot,” she sighed as she stood up.

Oracle got up too, but as she did the fox disappeared. “Aw… it’s gone…”

“Don’t worry, as I said, foxes are important in your future. You’ll be seeing a lot of them.”

The two women said their goodbyes to the girl and walked further into the field, relinking their hands. And Oracle got to see magic for the last time as the unnamed woman made a door appear out of the moonlight.

It opened with a dramatic swish and Oracle saw a bit of another world. A world with dragons and moles the size of elephants. Beasts with squid arms on its back and beasts with heads of mice but bodies of men. The women, hand in hand, walked through the door. But once the door closed behind them a cloud covered the moon. The door, a window to another world, was gone.