"So, do you need to finish cleaning," Michelle asked quizzically?
Teagan slide down off the horse and sighed. "I guess so," she replied sheepishly. She turned back toward the horse. "Don’t go away," she added jokingly. "I’ll be back in just a while." She smiled at the horse . . . who smiled back at her. She shook her head slightly and looked over at Michelle, questioningly.
Michelle was just a bit wide eyed. "He smiled," she said simply.
"He did," Teagan confirmed. She looked back at the horse who nodded, and then winked.
They both laughed in unison. "This is unbelievable," Teagan quipped.
"Tell me about it," Michelle replied. "What hasn’t been unbelievable lately?"
"Well horsey, you stay here then and I’ll get to work and hurry back and then we’ll ride, ride, ride." She laughed and the horse nodded. Teagan then turned and ran down the long aisle to where she had left off cleaning. There seemed to be a change in her attitude and demeanor and she tore into her work with determination.
The straw and wood chips flew – dirty to outside and wheeling in the clean. She washed the mats, then covered them carefully. When she had finished the five stalls to make her total 10, she made a decision. Quickly she cleaned two more, thus accomplishing more than was apparently required. A huge smile covered her face. What an amazing place, she thought. WHAT AN AMAZING PLACE!
Now, according to everything she had heard and understood, she should be able to go riding, what she wanted to do more than anything else right now. She ran down the long aisle, revitalized by the sounds and odors of the stables. It was fantastic and she could almost feel the adrenaline racing through her veins. She burst out the door and into the bright sun . . . and there was her quarter horse, waiting right where she had left it. She raced over to it and threw her arms around it’s neck and buried her face in its mane. She didn’t remember when she’d felt like this, so light and buoyant and ecstatically happy. She wondered momentarily what was causing it, but was far too busy to worry about that right now.
She grabbed the saddle and swung herself up on the horses back. A jerk on the reins and they were quickly through the corral and out into the huge field. In the distance she could make out the faint figure of Michelle and her horse headed their direction, squeezing her own horse with her legs as it broke into a brisk canter.
This was nearly heaven she thought – what a fantastic horse. The wind whipped her hair and she wished she had it in a pony tail, but was too excited to really care that much. The rhythmic beat of the horses hooves and the slight bouncing in the saddle was nearly hypnotic and she could barely force herself to focus on Michelle as she drew closer. She could sense the huge grin on her own face and urged the horse into a gallop. Now Michelle caught sight of her and quickly she was galloping too and soon they were side by side, racing but not really racing. Both horses stretched, their necks arched forward, front and back legs moving in unison, dirt and grass flying behind them, both girls crouched low over the necks and flying manes tickling their faces. Teagan thought this was one of the most wonderful days of her life.
The girls glanced at each other, grinned and slowly reined in the horses until they were walking side by side.
"What now?" Teagan asked.
"Oh my gosh," was Michelle’s breathless reply. "I have no idea." She paused and looked around. "Let’s just keep riding and hope this doesn’t end." They laughed together.
"Have you seen Werd out her?" Teagan queried, stretching her neck to look back toward the barn. "He can be such a killjoy." She giggled.
"Not for a while, at least since I went out here riding. Do you suppose he rides?"
"What would he ride? Would have to be a little pony or something. He’s so tiny!" She giggled again at the thought of Werd trying to ride.
"This is a very strange place, Teagan." She looked around her. "We might be very surprised at what he can do."
For the first time in a while, Teagan was reminded again of where she was and all the questions associated with it. "This place," she said, wonder in her voice.
"I know," Michelle responded quickly, the same questions obviously near the surface of her mind too. "I have no idea why I’m here and what – and being here with you. It seems like it should be a dream, but it’s so real, and your being here . . . " Her voice trailed off.
They both heard it at the same time, the sound of flapping wings overhead and both started as a huge eagle buzzed by their heads and landed.
"Enjoying the ride, girls?" the familiar voice said. It was Werd, astride the eagle and smiling broadly. "This works better for me," he quipped. "Horses are just too big and braod."
"Okay," Teagan said, a little more bruskly than she had intended. "What’s going on here and why are we here?" She cautiously eyed the eagle and the little man on its back.
"Everyone asks the same question. It’s amazing," Werd replied, shaking his head. "Why can’t you all just enjoy it here, and when it’s over, think about it and see if anything strikes you." He smiled coyly at each girl in turn.
"That’s’ just too weird," Teagan chimed in.
"Maybe there’s nothing for me to explain after all. If it’s a dream, that would be self explanatory. If not . . . " His voice faded away. Then he cleared his throat. "All things end you know, so why don’t you just enjoy yourselves while you’re here. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to climb back on this bird and get back to work."
And that’s exactly what he did, flying away, nearly hidden by the huge flapping wings.
"Oh crap! We forgot to ask how we get away from here." Michelle screwed up her face.
"Let’s just ride," Teagan said, resignation in her voice. "I’m sure we’ll find out eventually."
She jerked the reins and the quarter horse swung around. She dug in her heels and headed across the field at a full gallop. The wind and the feel of the horse filled her with joy, but the uncertainty of everything weighed heavy on her mind. She was amazed the way the horse kept up the gallop, seemingly not straining or tiring at all. He swung in a big arc around the field and when she focused, she could see that he was heading back toward the barn. The more she watched, the more she noticed that he was really headed for the side of the huge barn and not toward the corral at the end. Unsure of quite what to do, she pulled the reins gently to turn him – but he was not turning, nor was he slowing down. She began to be apprehensive as she wondered what he was doing. She could now make out what appeared to be a huge, tall window in the barn – and the horse was headed straight for it.
Teagan felt her heart jump into her throat as the barn loomed larger and larger. What was wrong with this horse and what was he doing? They were almost at the wall and she cringed. She felt the horse tense and sensed his feet digging in . . . and felt herself rising out of the saddle. She bumped the head as she went over, arms and legs flailing as fear swallowed her totally. She saw the window right in front of her face, waited for the crash of shattering glass – but there was nothing. She realized that her eyes were squeezed tightly shut.
Her body tensed, she waited, but there were nothing except the sound of Liona Lewis singing Bleeding Love. The reality of that suddenly struck her and she sat up, looking straight into the bedroom mirror in front of her.
Quickly she jumped up, touched the mirror, peered into it and then sighed. She was back, but had she ever been gone? She stood there looking puzzled and wondering what it all meant, if anything.
Through the fatigue and euphoria that formed a strange mix, she knew she had learned something from what had happened. She yawned. Tomorrow she would figure out what it was. And, she made a mental note to call Michelle. Then quickly she slipped into the bed and was asleep.
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