by Artyblonde » Fri Jan 01, 2016 5:20 am
It was still dark out, but this was completely irrelevant, because it was Christmas day. Any time past midnight is fair game on Christmas. However, it was also freezing outside. I couldn't feel my toes by the time I reached the barn.
I grunted heavily as I pushed the large sliding door open. My breath swirled around my face before it disappeared. Once the barn was open, I unlocked the tack room and began preparing the usual buckets of feed for the horses, even though they wouldn't be fed until much later in the day. I hadn't been able to sleep at all last night, too nervous about something I couldn't pinpoint. I blamed my anxiety, but I was still a little worried that something had gone wrong and wanted to reassure myself by seeing to the horses that they were all still here.
I went to the first stall and peered in. Amber was laying among the shavings, peering up at me with big curious eyes. I smiled at her, then whispered something sweet about her appearance and told her I'd let her go back to sleep now.
In the next stall stood Torch, tall and mighty as he was. His almost 18 hand frame towered over me, but he lowered his head to my height to greet me through the bars.
Good, I thought. They're both still here and alive and happy. I don't know what I was worried about. I turned to head back to the house, but just as I did, I heard an unfamiliar snort. Now, if you don't have horses you might not know this, but all of their snorts and whinnies sound very distinctive. I could tell right away that that snort was not from Amber or Torch.
The barn has four stalls, but I've never had them all full before. I turned on my heel and went to the stall next to Torch's. It was empty, the rubber floor mats bare and the door left open. Then I turned around to face the stall on the opposite side of the aisle.
I could feel my jaw drop. There, in the stall, was a beautiful, extremely tall stallion. He had bleach blond fur almost everywhere, except for his brown points. A tall buttermilk buckskin stallion was something I had dreamed of since I was a little girl, since before I even know what buckskin meant.
I walk slowly up to the stall and put my hands on the bars of the door. The stallion inside stares at me. He has huge, bright golden eyes. They stare at me not with curiosity, but with knowledge. He doesn't have to ask me anything about myself, he already knows all there is to know. It's a startling stare, and I almost consider going back to the house, getting on the computer, and posting an ad that says found horse. He has to belong to someone, right?
I decide against it when I finally notice the halter he's wearing. He must belong to someone if he has a halter on. Especially one this beautiful; it is exactly the same color as his eyes, a brilliant shining gold. It looks like there's something hanging off of it. Logically, should I return this horse to its owner, I should do so with no debris on it. So I open the stall door, preparing to clean the halter off.
He doesn't move as I open the door, nor when I walk towards him. I'm almost starting to think that this is a dream. He finally breathes out heavily, almost like a sigh, and his steamy breath billows around me. I reach for the thing hanging off his halter.
It's...a tag? What? Was this horse about to be auctioned? Is it a price tag?
I'm trembling, maybe from cold, maybe from exhaustion, maybe from anticipation. I turn the little piece of paper over in my hand.
It has my name on it.
Oh, my goodness. How did this horse get here? Who brought it? Why did they give it to me? How did they know what color I wanted? I feel faint.
Without thinking, I put a hand on the horse's shoulder to steady myself. His head jerks up, like he thinks that was a rude thing to do, so then I pull my hand back up and stand up by myself.
I decide right then that, since this is my horse, he needs a name. His fur is so light it's almost white, like the beautiful beach I visited with my mother a few years ago. His shining golden eyes remind me of the sun. I quickly decide to name him Beach Babe. Babe in the barn.
"Do you like the name Babe?" I ask, keeping my voice low so as not to disturb the sleeping horses too much.
Am I seeing things, or did he just nod? I could have sworn. His head kinda bobbed up and then down again.
"Okay, Babe, you don't have a concept of time because you're a horse, but it's four in the morning, and I'm really tired. If I go back to bed, will you still be here the next time I wake up?"
Another head bob. I must be dreaming.
"Okay. I'm gonna go now."
And I do, shutting the stall door firmly behind me. I consider locking it, in case this is a prank and whoever did it decides to come back and take him home again, but don't bother.
I leave the barn door open so that I can walk backwards all the way to the house and make sure Babe doesn't disappear. Then I go inside and go straight to bed. I sleep better than I have in weeks.
(aaaaaaah i switched from past to present dang it but whatever)
