Lorelei slowly opened her eyes as the animal insistently tried to wake her up with small taps. At first, she was scared, but then she remembered what had happened the night before.
She moved closer to the fox and wanted to turn him onto his back so she could see the wound, but she didn't know how to communicate with him. She stared at him for a while before gesturing with her hand for him to roll. The fox followed her finger and turned over. After he did, Lorelei leaned in to inspect his wound. It wasn't deep and should heal within a few days.
She recalled what the man had done when she first woke up—her arm had been wrapped in long leaves.
She went searching for them, but she was exhausted from all the digging she had done in the previous days and could barely move. She crawled at a painfully slow pace.
She had to drag her broken legs behind her. They were heavy, but she felt something—a feeling she couldn't describe—as if something was forcing her to search for those leaves. Not only did she have to choose the right herbs and leaves, but she also had to bring them back, which was the hardest part. The man had taught her everything she needed to know about surviving in the forest. Sorting the herbs and leaves wasn't a challenge—she recognized the ones from the books and the ones her caretaker had shown her. Finding them, however, was.
It took her hours to gather a pile. She had to carry them in her mouth since she used her only arm to crawl. It was a horrendous sight. She was already half dead, yet she kept going, clinging to the last strand of humanity she had left. She had to save the fox.
After a while, she reached the river and saw the fox lying down. The sight brought back memories of the dying man right in front of her.
She was powerless. She couldn't save the man, but she could save that fox. No—she had to save that fox. Lorelei hastily crawled over and carefully made sure he was tightly wrapped in the leaves.
She then covered her hand with the rest of the leaves to avoid touching him directly and pressed down firmly until she was sure the blend of herbs and leaves was properly in place. In the days that followed, the fox slowly began to recover.
The fox couldn't walk yet. He was just like Lorelei—powerless, unable to do anything by himself.
They helped each other. Whenever they were hungry, they searched for edible herbs around the river. Whenever they were thirsty, they drank from it. And at night, they slept in each other's embrace.
One night, she got up to keep digging the grave. The fox wasn't asleep yet. She hadn't realized he was getting up to join her. As she kept digging, the fox made his way in front of the grave and started digging alongside her.
When Lorelei saw him digging with his little paws—
"StOp!" she screamed.
He didn't. He kept digging with her. Lorelei threw dirt at him to make him stop, but it wasn't enough to stop him.
Seeing him dig reminded her of her own mistake—the one she loved so much, the person she had never wanted to kill. She cried, and between her hiccups and sobs, she softly whispered:
"ThaNk yOu."
Lorelei was slowly beginning to feel her different emotions. Instead of being guided by instinct, she could now think not just of her needs, but of what she wanted. She had once felt these emotions with the man, but now they seemed to grow stronger by the day. She wasn't going to be a burden to anyone anymore. She wanted to be independent, responsible for herself, and not have to rely on anyone for anything.
Her very first desire, her very first wish, had not been granted. But she believed she had to keep moving forward no matter what. The man's life would not be wasted in vain.
A few months passed, and the fox slowly healed. He could run as he normally did and jump. He was utterly grateful to Lorelei, and Lorelei was grateful to him.
Even after he healed, he stayed by her side. He woke up in the morning and searched for fruits to bring back to her. As the weeks went by, Lorelei grew stronger and stronger. The grave was not yet finished, but she felt at ease with the fox beside her—just as she had felt with the man. But this time, it was not a human, but an animal.
She was sure that this time, she could truly trust that fox.
For her, he was the only thing she could call family.