hi there sinister folk, I thought I'd send you another little fable of mine, I hope you like it. It's about...hope, and how the black fox deals with fear. The Black fox hung down her head. The void inside her chest where her heart once rested ached. She glared up at the sky, as if she could frighten it away. She shook her head furiously and growled at herself. She dug her claws into the ground, ripping gouges into the earth until finally, her anger abated, she flung herself to the ground. ~Am I asking too much to be treated with a little kindness? she whispered to herself, to the silence around her. ~Is there one single creature alive that would never deceive me or abandon me or cause me harm? A single, solitary individual I can trust without doubt? She lay in silence for a long time, thinking of nothing. Finally she got to her feet and started walking. She walked to the city limits and on into the country. She walked with no direction or destination, she just walked. She felt nothing, hunger and exhaustion were of no importance to her. She walked to the sunset and did not stop. She walked through the night, past towns and rivers. She walked through the next day, and the night that followed it. She never stopped, never slept, never ate, just walked. The air changed from city smog to salty spray and she did not notice, the ground beneath her feet changed from tarmac to grassy dunes and she did not notice. She stopped when the grass and sand became a rough pebbled beach, and stared out to sea. The wind was cold, the sky clouded. The fox closed her eyes and she could see herself walking into the sea along the sea bed, clambering over submerged rocks and valleys, the desire to walk stronger than gravity, than science. She opened her eyes and walked into the sea. The water was freezing, but she did not turn back, but swam on, pulled back and forth by the currents and riptides. The cold seeped into her bones, but she did not stop, but kept moving until she felt stone beneath her feet. She pulled herself out of the surf and onto the sharp rocks.Shivering and exhausted, she lay down. She looked back, in the distance she could see the mainland. The tide was turning, and the waves were dragging back to the shore. She looked down into the water, knowing that the rocks would soon be submerged by the incoming tide. A pointed black face looked back at her. She stared at the reflection. ~What's your name, she whispered shakily to the flickering likeness. The one solitary individual who would never deceive her or abandon her, who she could have absolute trust in. The fox smiled at her reflection, who smiled wearily in return. ~I think I'd forgotten about you, she said softly. The image seemed to wink at her, then disappeared into the foam. The fox nodded to herself as the surf lapped at her feet. She dived into the sea and followed her reflection back to the shore I hope you like it, julesx PS Colin M is a groovy groovy bloke (...for an old fogey!!) +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the undead Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail sinister@missprint.org. To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to majordomo@missprint.org. WWW: http://www.missprint.org/sinister +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "tech-heads and students" +-+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+