A Choice Shadowed In Green

I’ve never had a name; I’ve always been a lonely nameless creature that wanders the vast empty forest.
The one thing I do have is a mind like any other creature around me. I may look like the others, but I am far from what they are. But I want to be like you, a human being that stands strong. I want to be a human being that walks and talks and eats such delicious food. I want to be a human being that falls in love. What I would give to be a human, I would trade anything at all. That is, If I had something to trade in the first place.

It was cold tonight and my thick fur just wasn’t cutting it. I make myself a small den to sleep in, and keep out of the cold. I wish that I could sleep in a warm cozy bed inside a nice cottage. But I’m an animal and animals sleep outside after all. I was just about to fall asleep when the crunching of leaves filled my ears. Immediately my instincts go into effect and I burrow myself deeper into my den. The crunching gets closer and closer and I sit still like a statue.
“Ah Little Fox, don’t be so scared. I’m here to help you.” A man leans down to look at me. He is very pale, almost as white as snow. But his eyes are what really stand out; glowing dark green in the night. I stay in my den, unable to speak back to him. I don’t know whether to be frightened or to be intrigued.
“Little fox, I can hear your thoughts and you should not be afraid. Like I said I am here to help you.” The man says. He can read my thoughts? Slowly I slip out from my den and into the cold night. The man smiles at me, but there is something dark behind that smile and once again I’m indecisive.
“Little fox, you are unlike the others. You have known this for quite some time yes?” He asks, and I blink my eyes to signal a yes.
“You may look like a fox on the outside, but inside you have the soul of a human. I’m here to give you what you truly want. To become a human! What you were born to be.” He says. My instincts are telling me to run far away and never come back, but my mind is keeping me here. I think about what he is saying. ‘How is that possible’ I think in my head, hoping he hears my thoughts once again.
“My name is Zavist, and I have magic little fox. With this magic I have helped many creatures like you. Human souls born into animal bodies. I have saved them!” The man says. I know I shouldn’t trust him, or even believe what he’s saying, but the possibility of being human is too great to give up.
‘yes, I want to be human! Change me please’ I think. The man smiles and takes his hand and places it on my forehead. For a second I feel a burning sensation and then a light shines out all around me.

I am no longer a fox, but a naked man shivering in the cold and laying on the ground. I look down at my human hands and smile. It actually worked! I look up to the pale man with dark green eyes.
“Thank you.” My voice is deep and it feels good to finally be able to speak my thoughts.
“You are welcome little fox, but there is one condition to being human. If you want to stay this way, you must kill your first love. And if you fail to do so, you become a fox again. But this time you will have no human soul. You will be just a fox.” The man smiles again and vanishes from the forest. I sit alone in the forest, sick to my stomach with the realization of his words.

1 YEAR LATER

I have named myself Hunter. My own personal inside joke if you will. For this past year I have been learning how to be human. It has been much more difficult than I anticipated, but at the same time I’ve been enjoying every minute. I am 6 foot 1 and I have orange/red hair and freckles. My eyes are still the dark gold they once were. I may not be a fox anymore, but somehow I still look like one. Or at least that’s what one of my coworkers said. Ah yes, I have a job! I work at the local bookstore in a town that is just outside the forest I used to live in. My coworker is Jesse and when he first met me he could have sworn I was a fox turned human. Little did he know, I am. The hardest part about being a human so far, is not falling in love. I love being a human, but I don’t want to kill someone (especially my first love) if it means getting to stay this way. But at the same time, I don’t want to be just another fox in the forest with no independent thoughts.

But I never thought I would meet her

3 Months Later

I shouldn’t have fallen in love with Margo. But she was so beautiful, the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my life. Oh and did she love me.
Every day I lived in fear of when Zavist would come and tear my whole world apart, and every day I asked myself what I wanted more. To be a human and kill the one I love, or become a fox and lose the one I love and lose myself entirely. Margo always knew something was wrong, but I always played it off as a bad day, or being tired. When would I have to choose the life I want to live?

Zavist came to me in a dream, and he told me it was time to choose. I woke that morning with his dark green eyes still haunting me. I asked myself over and over what I wanted.
Zavist’s voice rang in my head “There will always be other Margo’s little fox, but there will not be another life like this.” He whispered.

I walked up behind Margo with a knife poised at her back. This was the moment to choose. What did I want more? I’ve longed to be human for quite some time. But was Zavist right? Were there other Margo’s in the world?

The knife shakes in my hand.

My heart beats fast.

What do I want?