Work Text:
The fox gazed up at the stars from his nest in the wheat field. He had been alone for many sunsets now, alone with his memories.
His life had returned exactly to how it once was. Evading the hunters on Thursdays, frightening the chickens. Sitting beneath the apple tree, watching the fruit grow as the seasons passed. It was almost as though nothing had happened. Almost as though the Little Prince had never been there, but the fox knew he had -once upon a time-
The fox took some comfort in laying down between the rows of gold in the fields. It reminded him of his Prince, for after all the Little Prince was no longer just any Little Boy, he was his Little Boy, and the fox missed him dearly.
How he wished he could have kept him, but he knew it wasn’t to be, for the Little Prince had much left to discover, and it would be cruel to stop him in the name of love. It wouldn’t, the fox reasoned, be love at all. Sometimes you must love something enough to let it go.
One day, the fox would go on an adventure of his own. He longed to see all the things the Little Prince had told him about and more. To discover things, and experience them as his Boy once had. For the Little Prince had taught the fox that there was so much more out there than just the chickens and the hunters and even the wheat fields.
The universe is vast, however small it may seem. Sometimes, this brings the fox comfort, but other times, it makes warm little diamonds fall from his eyes, littering the ground with stars like the sky above him.
(The universe is so vast that his Prince feels so far away, and on a lonely night in the wheat field, that makes him rather sad.)
When the fox feels rather sad, he looks up to the sky. The stars and planets are not so far away, so the Little Prince mustn’t be too far away either. The fox thinks of him, sitting beside his rose watching the sunset, and smiles. He is proud of the Little Prince for following his heart, and he admires his courage and curious spirit.
Perhaps one day the fox will see his Little Prince again. Perhaps not. The universe is a funny place, but all the fox has to do is look at the stars and the golden wheat and his heart feels warm once more.
