Friendship
"EVERY NIGHT, HE FED A FOX… UNTIL THE FOX BEGAN TO TAKE CARE OF HIM"
In southern Chile, on the edge of the forest, lives Don Emilio.
He is 72 years old, and it has been a long time since anyone came to see him.
His children have gone far away.
His wife died five years ago.
And since then, every evening, he dines alone.
Finally… not quite alone.
A few months ago, a fox appeared in his garden.
Thin, with prominent ribs, dirty fur covered in mud.
He rummaged through the trash looking for food.
Don Emilio did not chase him away.
He left a piece of bread and a bit of rancid meat at the edge of the lawn.
The fox returned the next day.
And the day after tomorrow.
Every evening, he would sit a few meters from the house, in silence, waiting for his share of dinner.
They did not exchange a word.
But Don Emilio began to talk to him anyway.
He told him simple things: the weather, his dreams from the night before, the pain of the day.
The fox ate slowly, looking at him with its yellow eyes that do not judge… then it went back into the darkness.
Over time, it became a ritual.
One evening, Don Emilio fell into the garden.
He lay there for hours, unable to get up, without network on his phone.
He was shivering from the cold.
He thought that that night would be his last.
But then, the fox approached.
He did not stay in the shadows. He did not leave.
He sat down next to him.
He stayed there, motionless, breathing softly, his snout resting on Don Emilio's leg.
He did nothing else.
He simply kept watch.
When Don Emilio finally managed to sit up, the fox did not move until he was sure that he was okay.
Since that day, Don Emilio no longer says that he lives alone.
Every evening, when he places the food on the grass, he talks to the fox as one talks to an old friend.
He tells him:
— "You are not my pet. You are my visitor."
And for someone who spends his days alone… it changes everything.
Today, Don Emilio is feeling better. He goes out more often, he gets up wanting to see the night fall.
Not because he fears the darkness.
But because he knows that at some point, two yellow eyes will shine between the trees…
and will come to dinner with him.
The fox does not know that he has become famous on social media.
A grandson of Don Emilio posted a video telling this story, and it went viral.
But the fox does not care about that.
He continues to come, quietly, without photos, without asking for 'likes'.
He simply sits down, every evening, facing the old man who feeds him, and accompanies him in silence.
Because sometimes, friendship does not make noise.
She breathes just near you…
and waits with you for the night to pass
