It was a dark and stormy night... wait wait wait no, that's not quite right. It was a calm and frostbitten morning. There we go. I had just gotten up from quite a good night of sleep, blanket over me and soft bed under me due to the chill. Suddenly, there was a frantic rapping at the doorway! My human stumbled to the door, tripping over his nightgown in his rush and flinging open the door. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but the man in the doorway spoke in hushed whispers to my human, my human reacting in shock and disbelief in turn. He quickly left, and my human was left alone in the doorway, anxiety rolling off of him in waves. Then he closed his eyes, sighed, and went back to his morning routine. What, is that too cliché for you? Well, no matter, because it happened.
My day passed as normal. Going on a walk, sleeping at my human's feet while he worked from home, and playing tug of war when he had a break. The energy in the house, however, was not normal. Something spooky was afoot.
Then, night fell. And as you all know, the cover of darkness cloaks many a dangerous thing.
I felt compelled to leave the house around midnight, my soft paws masking any noise the house made as I exited through my little door in my human's big door. It was as if I was in a trance, my thoughts and motions not my own. The trees quickly enveloped me, as I stealthily walked further and further into the forest. The light from the full moon shone, and I could just make out the path my feet created in the undergrowth.
Then, a loud CRASH in the distance!
Oh, that's not enough to scare you kids? Well just wait, it gets better.
I stopped dead in my tracks, frozen in terror as if awakened from a nightmare. After a few agonizing moments, a white horse galloped passed, I could feel its breath as it flew passed me, with a human clinging on for dear life on its back. I could hear screaming, the worst sound I had ever heard. Then, as if to challenge that thought, I felt a thunderous gallop gaining on the spot in which I stood. I yelped as a hoof hit my shoulder, and threw myself backwards into the brush, hitting my head hard on a tree but managing to stay standing. Everything in the world turned to slow motion.
A black stallion, huge and larger than life. On its back, a man shaped figure. A man shaped figure, WITH NO HEAD. He held a pumpkin in one hand, which would have been funny in other circumstances. You do think that's funny? Well imagine being alone in the forest and seeing that! Anyway... What felt like an eternity passed, and the horses and their strange riders were gone, and I was left alone, horrified, having almost been trampled. Finally having recovered use of my mind and my legs, I turned tail and dashed home. To this day, I don't know if what I saw was real, or a nightmare. But since that day, I have had a limp on that leg where the hoof hit my shoulder, and never was able to see properly again.
