The big city: a giant concrete jungle populated with many sky-touching buildings and colored in tones of grey, black, and white with hints of rainbow colors all around. The crescendo of loud horns from cars and pedestrians pushing passed one another echo and drown out any quiet noises produced.
Walking along the sidewalk, the orange fox keeps his brown eyes forward. He fixes his blue bandana, ensuring it is kept around his neck. His blue baseball cap keeps his head protected by the sun’s advancing rays, while schlepping a backpack of the same color around. As he ambles alongside the paved path, his way becomes open from other walkers avoiding him, allowing him a clear path through to the park. There, he takes a seat on one of the benches and puts his bag down, before bending over to open it and reach for a sketchbook, which he places on his lap. He then takes out a pencil and drags the tip across the paper to create works of art. Appearing by his side from a tree is a female, maroon fox in a brown top and loincloth. He gasps and jumps upon noticing her presence from his peripheral. “Jeez, Amina… You scared me!”
Amina giggles. “Sorry, Zach.”
“Next time, can you give me a heads up?”
“Heh, I’ll try to. How are you doing today? How was work?”
“Oh… It was okay… Same old stuff, you know?”
“Doesn’t seem like it was an ‘okay day.’ What happened?”
“Nothing, really…”
Amina continues to stare at him with her green eyes, waiting for an answer. “Tell me… Was that little sheep bothering you again?” Zach turns his head away. “Zach, you shouldn’t let him get to you.”
“What can I do about it, Amina?” He looks back at her. “He’s the top star, and I’m just one of the tech people.”
“That doesn’t give him a right to push you down because you’re something he despises. You ever consider fighting back against him? Report him to your superiors?”
“I don’t want any trouble, Amina… I just want to work and have peace…”
“You won’t have peace if you let animals like Willy push you around. Tell you what; why don’t you leave him to me? I’ll teach him a thing or two.”
“No… I don’t need you to get in trouble because of me. Besides, I need to face this on my own…”
“If you insist… You know, I don’t get why he’s so bothered by you. You don’t really do anything but your own work, and you’re a friendly fox.”
“Yeah… Maybe something happened to him in the past that involved a predator or a bigger animal than him. Either way, it’s not my business to know and I’m not there to learn his story. I’m only there to do my work, get paid, go home, and that’s it.” Zach lets out a sigh. “Besides, I really don’t want to think about it… I’m not in a pleasant mood.”
“Why is that?”
“Today is the anniversary…”
“Anniversary? What do you- Oh…” Amina takes a seat beside him. “I’m… sorry… I didn’t realize that was today…”
“I miss her very much, Amina… Every day… I wish I could get a sign to know how she’s doing up there…”
Amina wraps her arm around him. “I miss her, too, Zach. There was nothing you could’ve done.”
“I mean, it’s not all bad… I still see her, but as someone different…”
“And she’d be proud of you for keeping her memory alive that way.”
“Mhm…”
Amina looks at his sketchbook and tries to change the subject. “You draw anything good in there?”
“Huh? Oh! Um, not really… Just simple stuff; people, places, etc.”
“You are very talented, Zach. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”
“Thanks, Amina…”
“How are the others? Are you four doing anything later?”
“Yeah… We’re going to see a movie. Emma’s been wanting to see this for a while, and Ralph thought it would be a good idea if we all watched it together. Winnie couldn’t care less, but she agreed she’d come along.”
“What movie?”
“It’s stupid, really… I don’t think you’d-”
“Come on, Zachy. You can tell me.”
Zach lets out another sigh. “It’s about… Some guy in a submarine… And he’s all alone in an ocean… of blood.”
Amina holds her paw up to her mouth. “Oh? That seems a bit odd…”
“You wouldn’t understand… It’s starring a guy we watch on the internet. He actually created the movie.” He pulls out his phone. “Oh, in fact, I should meet my friends at the theater, now.” After putting his device away, he turns to the fox. “Did you want to join us?”
“I’ll… pass…”
“I figured… I’ll see you around, Amina.” He puts his sketchbook away, swings the pack around his shoulder, gets up, and leaves.
“Zach!” The orange fox stops and turns back to her. “Remember what I said… You’re a good fox! Don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise!” Zach nods before pivoting back and leaving.
***
The four animals exit the cinema and take to the lobby. where they gather around to discuss the film further. The group consists of Zach the Fox, Ralph the Rabbit, Emma the Warthog, and Winnie the Chicken.
“Wow,” comments Emma. “That was sure something!”
“You thought so?” Winnie asks. “Didn’t really seem too exciting.”
“It was suspenseful,” Ralph claims. “Quite a scary movie.”
“Because you didn’t know what to suspect. I, however, knew what was going to happen. I saw him play the game, which the movie was based off of.”
“I still think the movie was good,” Emma adds. “He did a great job with it.” She turns to the fox. “What did you think, Zach?” The orange mammal remains quiet. “Zach…?” At the call of his name for a second time, he faces her and answers. “Uh, you okay?”
“Yeah,” Zach responds. “I’m fine… Just had something on my mind…”
“What is it?” asks Winnie. “Something troubling you?”
“Uh… no… I’m sorry, what was it you guys were asking?”
“The movie,” Emma states. “What did you think?”
“Oh! Um, it was okay… Quite an interesting one.”
“Hey,” Ralph cuts in, showing his phone to the others and pointing to the time. “We’ve been in there a long time. You guys want to grab something to eat?”
“Didn’t you eat something already?” the chicken queries.
“Popcorn and water aren’t really dinner. I want some real food.”
“All right, fair enough. What are you in the mood for?”
“I was thinking Japanese.”
“Oh!” spurts Emma. “Sushi or ramen?!”
“Was mostly thinking sushi,” Ralph tells her. “But, since you mentioned ramen, I definitely want that now. Shall we?” The four friends leave through the doors and begin their journey to the restaurant.
***
The four take their seats in a booth. There, three of them pass the time discussing more about the movie, work, and other topics while waiting for their food. Zach, on the other hand, remains quiet as he has his head in his paw.
“All right,” Winnie says, breaking the conversation. “What’s bugging you, Zach? It’s obvious you’ve been quiet for much of the day. Something happen to you at work?”
Zach looks to her. “What? No… Nothing bad happened at work.”
“Are you sure, Zach?” adds Ralph. “Amina has told me about Willy poking trouble at you.”
“Willy Wool?” Winnie utters. “From ‘Wool & Wiles?’” Zach confirms it. “Oh, I’ve heard about him. He’s not too trusting around predator-types. Plus, I hear he’s an asshole.”
Emma faces the chicken. “You were the same way, too, you know.”
“True… My judgement has changed since I’ve gotten to know Zach more.”
Emma puts her hand on her cheek and shoots the chicken an unamused expression. “Uh huh…”
“Willy isn’t the only reason why I’m unhappy,” Zach states.
“Then, why are you upset?” asks Ralph. “What happened?”
“It’s just… Today is the anniversary I lost a good friend of mine… Someone I was close with…”
“Who?”
“Emmy…”
“Who’s Emmy?” Winnie queries.
“Another warthog girl,” implies Emma. “She was a friend of mine. Other people confused us for sisters because we looked alike.”
“Amina and I knew her before I met you guys,” Zach says. “She was my light in the darkness… Kept my spirit up in bad times… We were very close…” He tilts his head toward the table’s surface while resting his paws on it. “I miss her very much…”
Emma puts her hand on top of his paws. “I’m sorry, Zach… I know how you feel…”
He turns to look at her. “Thanks, Emma… You remind me a lot of her.”
“I know… I remember you said that when we first met. It’s nice you still think of her through me.” She forms a smile.
Zach mirrors her expression. “I mean, it’s a strange way to keep her memory alive, but it’s how I know.”
“And she’d respect you for that,” Ralph tells him.
“What did this girl die of?” Winnie asks.
“She was sick,” Emma answers. “Really sick… I’d rather not go into details about it…”
“Hey, that’s fine. How old was she?”
“She was twenty when she passed.”
“Damn… Pretty young, too… Such a shame…”
“Maybe we should stop talking about this and change the subject,” Ralph suggests. “I sense Zach is still upset just thinking about it.” Just as the friends are about to speak of something more light-hearted, they are interrupted when their food arrives to them. “Oh, never mind, then… Ramen’s here.”
“All right!” Emma excitingly says, picking up chopsticks. “I’m starving!” The three animals waste no time getting into their food. All but Zach, who takes a moment to look down at his, staring into his reflection. “Hey,” Emma starts to him. “I know the past can hurt, but you should not dwell too much on it and live in the present. There’s not much you can do but just move on.”
“Yeah,” Zach responds, picking his head up. “You’re right… Besides, I have you guys, now…” Emma smiles as she watches him slurp up noodles. The warthog can’t help but laugh, so she covers her ramen-filled mouth to hide it.
