|126| Finding Sienna

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Finding Sienna

by Rey Ann Capulong


A pack of white wolves lives in a far north mountain in Japan. The whole group is celebrating, litters are playing and jumping everywhere while the adults are howling with joy as the Alpha of the pack, Arupa, and his mate Runa was given a litter. They perform rituals to honor the mountain Gods for the blessing that they receive. But this celebration was cut short when Arupa had a misunderstanding with the Kami. He disobeyed the Gods and as a punishment, they took the litter away.

All the while the Red Foxes of the south mountain found that one of their litters is oddly peculiar. The little one has fur as white as the snow. Its coat shines as hit by the sun. It stands out from the others because of its color. Because of this, they named her Sienna.

Sienna always felt different, her siblings always made fun of her for having different fur colors. They don't like playing with her or even being with her. She isn't allowed to join them hunting because her fur stands out among the bushes. Sometimes her sisters even look at her as if she has a contagious disease and does not go near her. 

This feeling of being unwanted and not belonging to her pack was bottled up in her heart. And it hurts her to think that she does not belong to the pack she grew up in. It brings her so much pain, that she decided to walk away from the family she loves and only knew. She started her long journey into the thick forest. 

The moon is shining brightly above her head as if following her. Her walk is slow and short, she is torn between leaving and staying. But something inside her pushed her to continue walking away. Her tears fell down her face and into the ground as she lost sight of her home. Was it her home?

Sienna doesn't know how far she has gone when the sun starts to appear on the horizon. One thing is sure though, she is in an unfamiliar territory now, she is now as far as she ever was from their home. Her paws now turn brown as the color of the clay ground taints her white fur.

She was drinking in a lake when an old turtle came and asked her, "What is a white fox doing here?" the turtle looked at her bewildered. Sienna once again felt a sudden pang of pain in her chest. She thought only her family thinks she does not belong in that forest, it turns out other animals also think the same way. She does not answer the turtle but instead, she decides to walk in the other direction. 

As she walked slowly even deeper into the forest, the sun started to disappear, replaced by the vast darkness of the forest at night

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As she walked slowly even deeper into the forest, the sun started to disappear, replaced by the vast darkness of the forest at night. Oblivious to her surroundings, she was surprised to hear the wise owl talk above her. "You are far away from home my dear." "But I don't belong there," she replied sadly, thinking that the owl is referring to the family she left behind. "Nonsense, all your kind belong to that place, like every other animal on this planet we all belong to our own kind." Sienna smiled at the thought of belonging somewhere else. But she knew that is not possible, she is different from everyone else at home. Even her name is ironic. She said goodbye to the wise owl and walked straight through the edge of the forest.

When she reached the edge of the forest she saw the big gorge, she is now at the edge of the mountain. She didn't know what to do until she decided to jump into the depth of the abyss. As she fell down, her whole life flashed into her eyes like fast-forward movies. The mountain Gods saw this, and took pity for the young litter, she does not deserve to suffer because of the wrong of her father. 

Before Sienna's body can even hit the ground, Kami intervenes. Sienna was awakened by the blinding light from the sun. She felt different in this place. She was surprised to see that her surroundings were covered with snow. This isn't home. She slowly stands on her feet and tries to walk in the snow. She heard a sound from a distance and followed it. She was beyond shocked when she saw litter like her, running around and chasing each other.

A beautiful fox with fur like hers walked toward her and tearfully caressed her. "My darling, the Gods have given you back to us!" the lady said in between tears. She howled and called someone amongst the crowd. When it approaches them, Sienna already knows that this is the Alpha, he stands out from the rest, and his fur also shines as the sun's light hits it.

"Our child!" He also tearfully shouted and called everyone. "You are now home." Still bewildered and confused but she found calmness with them. She is home. Sienna tearfully snuggled with her parents. The wise owl was right - somewhere in the great abyss, she belonged to a family of her own. She now found herself...

 She now found herself

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The End

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