Traditionally, foxes represent healing and trust—a motif Lisa Jewell incorporates throughout her narrative. Saffyre first feels drawn to Josh, when she sees a fox approach him at the building site and eat out of his hand. This moment gives Saffyre an inexpressible feeling of hope because it feels completely ethereal and otherworldly. Saffyre decides to trust Josh because of this image of him, even though she overhears a conversation between him and his friend that seems ominous—a contrast that allows Jewell to mimic the inner tension Saffyre feels as she wonders whether her instincts can be trusted. Jewell continues the fox motif when Saffyre returns to the building site and feeds the fox chicken nuggets. She has an out of body experience in which she believes that the fox is a conduit for her relatives who have died. Saffyre speaks to the fox like it is her one of her relatives, and this moment allows for Saffyre to release her grief and begin to heal, even though she knows she will always grieve the loss of her family.