I didn’t believe my dear brother Fox when he told me of his plans.

“I’m going to the strange old man, in the cabin at the edge of the forest,” he said.

I insisted that he reconsider, that he wait a day to let me talk it over with him. At least give your family a day to say goodbye. But he’d have none of it.

“I’m going when the sun rises. My mind is made up.”

I wanted to ask him why, but I already knew the answer. He wanted to become immortal. We’d seen the undying animals that stood inside the cabin, and Fox had never shaken the images from his mind. I didn’t know what to say. Was life so bad with us? Did he really want to live forever in the cabin with the strange old man?

I visited the cabin a week later and sure enough, brother Fox was there in the window. His silence made me uneasy, but maybe he had nothing to say. He wore a different expression on his face, one I’d never seen before. I thought he looked happy. I hoped he was anyways. 

I see him every once in a while when I can, but my bones are growing old and my eyesight isn’t what it once was. He looks as healthy as the day he left us. What would he make of that, seeing his dear brother wither away? Recently, however, I’ve had some thoughts. The undying Fox brothers would be unforgettable. The truth is, I’d like to look out onto the trees with my brother, forever. 

I mean, how many chances at immortality do you get?