Written and Created by Jean-Luc Ottey 

It's a quiet night. The new year is hours away. In the casual house where a fox and bunny live, peace reigns after saving the world for the day. Joey, Jean-Luc’s ever loving son, sleeps in his bed waiting for the sun to shine. He dreams of being together with his father, friends, and his beloved girlfriend for another adventurous year. However, Jean-Luc the fox is not enjoying his night. In fact, the fox boy is actually laying in bed with his eyes open, staring at the blank ceiling. His blank stare felt as if it was boring through the wall, chipping the paint as he went along. 

Occassionaly Jean-Luc blinked, but only for a short time. Jean-Luc felt too bothered to sleep. Jean-Luc has too many things rolling into his mind. The fox boy got out of bed slowly, then stretched his way out of the bedroom, passing Joey so he doesn't wake the sleeping bunny up. Once out of the room, he slides down the stair rail and onto the floor. The time was 1:12 in the morning, and many folks by that were fast asleep to even the little squirrels and birdies up in the tall trees. Jean-Luc walked over to the kitchen and searched for a drink. He looked in the cupboard to find nothing but spiderwebs in the corners, and unused plates at the ends. The dishwasher was full, but had a lot of used and dirty dishes that he meant to wash but was running ragged due to work. Jean-Luc takes a slightly clean cup and rinsed it off slowly. His slow performance while washing every pick and grubble off of the cup was suspiciously deterring. Jean-Luc rinsed as time passed, only to finally stop at 1:30 AM.

Jean-Luc went ahead and poured his water. The fox slowly rubbed his head, thinking about everything that happened through the year. Sometimes, he thought most of it was a dream. The adventures, the conflict, all of it he thought was merely nothing but a dream. Jean-Luc took a sip of his water then walked over to the couch. The fox sat down and turned on the tv. The volume was low, but the reception was bad, cutting in and out of programs every three minutes. Jean-Luc sighed lowly and set his water down to adjust his television. Things felt like a repetitive motion to Jean-Luc, “Something breaks? It needs fixing,” “Trouble is afoot, time to save the day,” “Say or do something out of place? Uh-oh! Better re-word it fast!” Jean-Luc’s favorite one is where he frustrates people without doing anything, even if an audience doesn't see it happen. 

The fox boy sits down once the tv is adjusted enough, only for it to suddenly stop and head into static for the night. Jean-Luc’s arms drop to the floor in disbelief, but he then just forgets about it and begins to sip his water again. He then sticks his hand into the couch and pulls out a small journal and a pen. He then unlocks it from its restraints, and begins to open it. Much of his journal has good things written in it, while some is about him coping with his sanity and the sudden responsibilities he goes through at an age he is unknown of. Jean-Luc scrolls to two blank sheets of paper in his journal, clicks his pen, and the begins to write.

“Dear Journal,

It's been another eventful year, and rightfully so. With all that has happened, what's been planned, and what will premiere, I'm surprised that this time nobody went ahead and said ‘Hey… Maybe this is a bit much.’ Personally, there have been so many real problems addressed for normal people that when it comes to saving the world from a massive bomb or defeating a giant slime monster only to repeatedly sleep at bad times, even during my jobs, I feel fine. Growing up, I've been told, isn't easy but it's rewarding. How rewarding is it for someone who can't even remember his own age? But I'm a superhero right? Where's my Avengers tower? Where's my batmoblie? Where's my lair of gizmos and gadgets to help the poor and needy of the World while inspiring young impressionable children? They never said it was easy (thankfully), but they never said it was life-damaging. I've never been able to hold a decent education. Most of what I learn is through watching educational videos on the internet while taking an online class… I don't feel dim, but I also don't feel as if I can solve a challenging brain teaser anytime soon. Either way, much of my ‘intelligent brain’ fizzles out anyway because there is so much to do, and so much happening all at once that most nights are just long and tiring. I end up falling asleep more than I should. Joey can't even get some kind of proper education from me because of my apnea. Good thing I got him that tutor.. I feel as though I'm limiting myself… I feel alone and lost in this big world… What do I do? And who do I go to when I am in trouble…? I don't know how long my team will still consider me as their best friend, and I don't know (and fear) if Joey will ever get his memory back and go to his real home. Heck, I don't know if I will remember if I ever did have a family… It's easy to make more enemies than friends, and the world is a scary place for a tiny little fox… Sometimes… It makes me want to cry. Hehehe… That's so unmanly, Jean-Luc, hajahahahahahh.” Jean-Luc then wiped the water flowing from his eyes and then concluded, “I wish… For this new year… That something amazing will happen. Something that will put aside all of this repetitive motion, and help me enjoy my life as a whole..

Wishing for the most,

Jean-Luc the fox.”

Jean-Luc re-read the entire entry to himself then made a silent sigh. He locked his journal then stored it away. He then shut off the tv and headed to the window. There, he watched the night sky roll by. The fox deeply stared at the moon above, wishing, dreaming, and fearing… He knew that he was in no control of what will happen next. All he knows for sure is that whatever does happen, there will always be uncertainty. He just has to mentally prepare for it. Rather than going back to bed, the fox slid down onto the carpet floor, resting his head amongst the bristles of his carpet and slowly closed his eyes… Hoping to at least get some sleep.

The End