A story about a fox and a hedgehog. One is a villain, one is a hero...

On a whim, Emma left her family, friends and job behind and moved to a new town. She thought it would be an adventure to start over, but shortly after she arrived, she was riddled with sadness and she worried that perhaps she made the wrong choice.  She cried periodically throughout the day and could not imagine how life could get better. The only solace she found was the Redwoods nearby. The towering trees and the canopy of leaves was majestic and calming. One hike in particular changed her sorrowful perspective. While contemplating her impulsive choice to start over, a Fox appeared before her. “Why are you grieving, Emma”? Woah! She couldn’t believe her eyes but she replied, “My fears of loneliness burrows deeper each day. It’s like a thorny ball destroying my confidence”. “Ah”, the Fox said as she looked deeply at Emma. “A hedgehog has conquered you. It only knows how to do one thing, but it does it well, and with you, it has plagued you with fear. You can release it with courage”. “Is it as easy as that”? She asked. Fox insisted, “Yes! Do the thing you fear, and the death of fear is certain”. 

A scrap of paper floating down from the sky, then something unexpected happens.

They met at the noodle house downtown to finalize their divorce papers. It was amicable, but like any break up that serious, he was shattered, bitter and slightly relieved. The door chimed as she walked away forever. He decided to stay behind and eat his first fortune cookie as a single man. “The love of your life is sitting across from you”.  He chuckled and thought, “Why not” and wrote his phone number on the back. Driving away, he tossed the fortune out the window.

Life went on.

She was outside of the theatre getting ready to sing her heart out at the auditions for A Chorus Line when a flicker of paper floated past her nose and landed in her hand. “The love of your life is sitting across from you”. She chuckled and thought, “Cute” and saw the phone number written on the back. She figured, “Why not” and dialed. Just then, when the stage manager stepped outside to bring her into the audition, his phone started to ring in his pocket. He answered the unknown caller.

She looked at him and spoke into the phone, “Am I next?”