Chapter 2

    It felt like I was destined for something else, like I didn't belong here anymore. Whenever I would get that feeling I would just push it aside and ignore it. I had a life here and I had the farm, what else did I need, and where else would I go?

   The more I pushed the feeling aside, the more I would hear the voice in my head. It will always say the same thing over and over again, telling me that it is coming for me and that it will be here soon. Fear would creep up on me, making it difficult for me to sleep at night.

“ Meara…”

I jolted, glancing around, but there was no one. The fields were empty, the only sound the rustling of wheat and distant calls of birds. I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts.

  “ I’m going mad.” I muttered to myself.

The voice was clearer now, a gentle, melodic sound that tugged at something deep within me. I stood up, my heart pounding in my chest.

   “ who’s there?” I called out, but only silence answered me.

   The whispers continued, drawing me towards the edge of the forest that bordered the farm. My feet moved on their own, carrying me through the tall grass, past the rows of corn and empty barn, towards the trees. The shadow beneath the canopy seemed to beckon me, pulling me in.

   As I entered the forest, the whispers grew louder, filling my mind. I followed them, my breath quickening, my senses heightened. The forest was alive with sounds and scents, the earthy smell of moss and the sweet fragrance of wildflowers mingling in the air.

   And then a saw it. A flash of white among the trees, a movement so quick I almost missed it. I stopped, my heart racing, as I peered into the shadows. There, standing before me, was a creature unlike any I had ever seen. A white fox, its fur as pure as snow, its eyes as blue as my own.

   “ Meara…” The fox whispered, but this time, the voice was in my mind, clear and undeniable.

   I gasped, stumbling back a bit.

   “ What…what are you?” I asked, my voice trembling.

  The fox stepped forward; its gaze intense on mine.

    “ I am your spirit animal, your guide. I have come to take you home.”

   “ Home?” I echoed, my mind spinning.

  “ This is my home. This is where I grew up.” The fox shook her head.

  “ This is where you were hidden, to keep you safe. But your true home lies beyond these fields, beyond this forest. You are not who you think you are, Meara.” My heart pounded, my thoughts a whirling of confusion and fear.

   “ Then who am I?”

   “ That I do not know, because we were separated by birth, and I just found you again.” Tears welled up in my eyes as the weight of the words settled over me. I looked back towards the farm, the only life I had ever known, and then at the fox. I felt a pull, a connection to this creature that I couldn’t explain.

   “ How do I know this is real?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

    The fox’s eyes softened. “ Because you feel it in your heart. Because you have always known there was something more. Trust in yourself, Meara. Trust in me.” Taking a deep breath, I nodded. I had always felt different, out of place, as if a part of me was missing. Maybe this was why. Maybe this was my chance to find where I truly belonged.

   “ Alright.” I said, my voice steady. “ I will come with you.” The fox’s eyes sparkled with joy.

  “ Wonderful. There is much I have to tell you.” The fox turns on her heels as she disappears into the forest with me only a mere few paces behind.

It is dark, making it hard to see where I am going, but the fox is ever so polite to stop now and then to wait for me.

    As we venture deeper into the forest, regret started to overwhelm me.

    What was I thinking going into the forest alone at night, to god knows where, with only a fox leading the way. For all that I know, I could be imagining up the fox and be wandering into the forest alone getting myself lost in the prosses. I could turn around and go back home, but we are already so deep in that I would never find the farm on my own in the dark.

    I swallow hard on the lump in my throat and continue following the fox.

   After what felt like hours of walking, my feet started to get tired, and the first light of dawn was ever so brightly shining through the peak of the treetops.

     I gaze up, feeling the hot streams of sunlight peering down on my pale white skin. It felt wonderful.

    Even though the view is beautiful, I don’t know how farther I could walk anymore. Tiredness swept over me like a pile of stones rolling down a steep hill.