Guardianship of the Kitsune
In a time remote, in the small town of Kasilof in Alaska, something was stirring. Like the arrival of a new season, everyone felt it but no one could see it. This wasn’t weather, however, this was something beyond mere mortal understanding.
Jenna, a fifteen-year-old girl with golden hair and an adventurous spirit, was the first to sense the invisible presence. Or to be precise, her faithful dog, Muffin, a fluffy brown Cocker Spaniel, was the first.
One cloudy afternoon, while playing fetch near the deserted woods, Muffin suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. His ears perked, and eyes wide open staring at something Jenna couldn't see. A chill ran down Jenna’s spine, it was as if Muffin had seen a ghost.
This odd behavior continued for days. Each day at the exact same time, Muffin would look towards the woods with a look of fear and expectation. Intrigued and somewhat terrified, Jenna decided to explore the woods the next day.
The following afternoon, armed with her father’s old flashlight and a sandwich her mother had made for her, Jenna ventured into the unexplored recesses of the woods. The ride started quietly; she and Muffin moved carefully, tiptoeing around dried leaves, so as to not alert whatever entity resided within the woods.
A half-hour into their journey, Muffin stopped and started whimpering. Jenna shone her light along Muffin’s line of sight, prepared for anything that might emerge. But it wasn’t any monster or ghost. Instead, the light fell on a worn out old book laying amongst the roots of an ancient Redwood.
Cautiously, Jenna picked up the book. It was a diary. And as she flipped through the yellowed, time-worn pages, she discovered it belonged to a girl her age, Matilda, who once lived in Kasilof in the 1800s. The entries spoke of Matilda’s interactions with a mystical creature, a Kitsune, a shape-shifting fox from Japanese folklore.
Apparently, this creature had saved Matilda from the brink of death when she fell sick with an incurable disease. In gratitude, Matilda helped the fox escape from cruel mystical hunters. Now, every century, the Kitsune returned to protect the descendants of its savior.
Jenna realized that she was the current benefactor of the Kitsune’s protection. As per the diary, an unfortunate event awaited Jenna. And the Kitsune was her unseen guardian, ready to intervene at the right moment.
Discerning the impending danger was a challenge, for normal life resumed its course in Kasilof, with nothing out of the ordinary happening. Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months. Jenna held onto the hope and fear in her heart and prepared for the day when the ordinary became extraordinary.
The day came sooner than expected. Winter had descended upon the town, and with it, an unpredictable storm had struck. Jenna was at school when the news broke. Roads blocked, trees felled, her path home was completely obstructed.
Scared but determined, she decided to walk home through the woods, believing in the protection of the Kitsune. As predicted by the diary, danger struck. A large tree was about to fall right on Jenna, when an immense force pushed her away. A flash of red and white, and then standing in front of her was a beautiful fox with nine fluffy tails - The Kitsune.
The town of Kasilof quickly dismissed the storm as a yearly occurrence, not knowing the mystical event that transpired. Jenna, however, knew better and kept the secret of the Kitsune safe. She was forever grateful for the supernatural creature that watched over her, just as it had watched, and would continue to watch over the bloodline of Matilda, the girl who once saved its life.