Foxfire [Discontinued]

Incipient: Ignite III

September 9, 2009 - Melanie

The school bell rang and hundreds of students poured out into the hallways, forming a river of teens that flowed out toward the exits. I avoided the main current of teenagers and went on a diversion to a more secluded corner of the building. Before walking back home, I sat on a blue bench at the side of an unfrequented hallway next to a side exit and stairwell, far away from the prying eyes of the imps that were my peers. I spent all my time trying and failing to pay attention to my teachers during the school day, but I felt the relief of freedom now that classes were over. What happened this morning had occupied my mind entirely.

"Hi Melanie. You're manually breathing now!" said a short girl with a big toothy grin.

"What?" I said before noticing how I breathed through my nose, "Damn it, why'd you do that Eva?"

"Hehehe, it's fun! What are you doing waiting here?" she said, pointing toward the bench.

"So we can walk together to my house. It's my birthday, remember?"

"Oh about that, I can't do that right now, but I'll be there in an hour."

"I'll see you later then," I said.

"See you later, manual breather!" said Eva.

As she started to push the exit door open I said, "Wait, there's something I have to say to you."

"What?"

"I have pow-" I said before hesitating. My newfound abilities should be a well-kept secret. "Uh, remember to bring swimwear."

Eva nodded before pushing the door and walking away.

Now that I was alone I opened up a little journal and picked up a pen to write about what I was thinking. I was still lost in thought over what happened this morning; I could not believe that it was all real. Thoughts swirled in my mind for the whole day. Whenever I shifted back to human form my clothes somehow remained. How was that possible? I didn't understand much about physics, but I knew that it had to be physically impossible. When I was in fox form I had no clothes. Then I went back to human form. Bam! Clothes! What a mystery.

But that wasn't the important part. There was that being that called itself Destiny. Was it God? Was it a god? I had no idea. What exactly are you? Why did you give me these powers? He or she, in fact, it may not have had a gender in the first place, told me that the star ball was neither a gift nor a curse. What does that mean?

If this celestial being called Destiny truly existed, that meant gods existed. That was a new thought to me. My family wasn't religious, and I wasn't a spiritual person growing up, but this? This was big news. Huge news actually. But was it a god worth praying towards? What exactly is your plan for me? I had no idea. Perhaps I should start praying daily to this mystical unknown god.

Has Destiny granted powers to anyone else before me? It was possible. This morning I imagined that I was the first superhuman among many. As I stared at the sunrise, I fantasized about a world where humans and spectres like me coexisted. In reality, I didn't have a clue. Magic was real, and maybe other people were given powers in the past. Maybe there were other shifters just like me wandering the world right now. What if I am the only one? No, what if I'm the first one? But what if there's this magical underworld out there, filled with shifters like me, just begging to be explored?

Wait a second, kitsune are immortal right? What if I could live forever? That was an exciting possibility. Endless time and endless opportunity. But it still had drawbacks. I imagined that it would be painful to be an immortal, always being aware of the mortality of your family and friends. And there was also the problem of loving a mortal man. An immortal would live far longer than their mortal spouse. That kind of heartbreak, would I get to experience that?