Willow of the Wind (Preview)

This is a two-chapter preview of this novella.
It is far in the future, the time of humans has past and nature has begun to reclaim the earth. Buildings have started to sink back into the soil, and trees reach their roots far beyond the bounds of their sidewalk boxes. Nature has long been divided into isolated islands between cities of metal and rock, but now it is becoming one again. 
The story takes place in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, which remained relatively untouched to the end of human rein. The animals here are aware of the human lands, but do not venture into them.
Willow is an adventurous, orphaned, Red Fox with an insatiable fascination with the world around her. She spends her days exploring the hills and glens surrounding her old willow tree home. She brings back with her artifacts of her travels: stones, feathers, leaves, flowers. Her best friend is Poppy the house mouse, who is exactly that, a homebody. Poppy follows Willow on her adventures, but does so with trepidation. As winter nears, Poppy spends her time doing "chores" for her mother, which consists mostly of collecting seeds and packing them away. Therefore, Willow spends most of Fall exploring on her own. It is during these times that the fox begins to hear her name, softly floating on the wind. At first she thinks she is imagining it; she imagines that she is speaking with her mother quite often. However, as the days grow shorter, and the wind grows colder and stronger, her name becomes louder. On the stormiest days it is as if her name is howling through the branches of her tree home. When Willow begins to tell Poppy that she hears the wind speaking, Poppy dissuades her from pursuing her curiosity.