Dead Behind the Eyes

Maya scrolled through her iphone at 2 AM, thumb moving on autopilot. She felt like a zombie, drained from another day of performing happiness at school while her real self shriveled inside. The blue light painted her bedroom in ghostly hues as classmates posted stories from parties she hadn't been invited to.

Her dog, Buster, nudged her hand with his wet nose. He was the only one who saw her—the actual her, not the filtered version. Maya sighed, scratching behind his ears. "You're better than people, Busters."

Outside, something moved. A fox sleek as moonlight slipped across the backyard, its rust-colored coat catching the streetlamp glow. It didn't scavenge like the neighborhood raccoons. It moved with purpose, wild and unapologetic. Maya pressed her face against the glass, captivated. This creature didn't care who was watching. It just existed.

The next day, Marcus—the guy she'd been crushing on for months—finally talked to her. "Hey, you coming to Jordan's party tonight?"

She should've said yes. This was what she wanted. But the fox from last night flashed through her mind—wild, authentic, not performing for anyone.

"Actually, I'm good," Maya said. "I promised Buster I'd take him to the creek."

Marcus looked at her like she'd grown a second head. "Your dog? Seriously?"

"Yeah. Seriously."

That evening, she sat by the water while Buster chased sticks. No phone. No filters. No pretending to be someone she wasn't. A distant bear warning sign she'd ignored a hundred times caught her eye—BEAR AREA, STAY AWARE. Funny how she'd never paid attention to it before. She'd been sleepwalking through her own life, a zombie in her own narrative.

The fox reappeared at the tree line, watching her with amber eyes. Not a threat. Just another being doing its thing.

Maya took a deep breath. For the first time in forever, she felt real. The instagram likes could wait. The ghost girl was gone, and somewhere out there, a fox was running wild, and Maya was finally, finally awake.