The Orphan: Part 6

Part 6: Horse

He walked slowly beneath the trees. Branches bumped his head and tickled his sides and back sometimes. He lifted his head and sampled the leaves from several trees. It wasn’t like the grass. His legs felt heavy but he kept moving. The other would not be happy to discover he was gone. So he walked through the night until he could go no further. He folded his legs and settled down on the forest floor and closed his eyes.

The glow of the sun penetrated his eyelids. He pushed up to his feet letting all of his stiff muscles stretch. Then he wandered aimlessly for a while, just munching on the undergrowth. It was growing warmer but the trees blocked a lot of the sun. That was nice. No beating sun. No heavy plow. No cracking whip. He shook his head then his whole body with the pleasure of freedom.

A branch cracked somewhere up ahead. He stopped moving and rotated his ears to listen for more. Another branch crack, rustling, footsteps, a voice like the other but not. Curious, he cautiously walked towards the sounds.

There. The creature was moving awkwardly through the forest. It made a lot of noise and was speaking aloud but it was alone. He watched as it moved away from him, unaware of his presence. This one had hair like the sunset. Not like the one with the whip. That one had hair like straw. This one was taller but slimmer. Its voice was more like birds than the other who croaked like a frog. He nickered softly. It stopped moving and spun around then started laughing and fell on its rump. It rolled on the ground like a child while it laughed and clutched its belly.

“You nearly startled the life out of me, Horse!” it said. Then it sat up. “What’re you doing wandering the woods all by yourself. Surely someone is missing you.”
He shook his head as hard as he could and stomped his foot.
“Well, you feel strongly about that.” It stood up and walked slowly towards him with its hand held out.
He extended his nose and breathed in the creature’s scent. Female, he decided. It stroked his nose and he allowed it.
“You’re very friendly.” It walked around him stroking his neck and back. “But you’ve been mistreated. Poor boy. No brand. That’s good. These spots will heal. At least you’re well-fed.” It came back to his head. “Want to be friends, big guy?”
His ears twitched and he tilted his head to more clearly see it. He stretched out his neck and sniffed the top of its head. Its hair smelled of something familiar. But what? He couldn’t remember. Do you know me? But it didn’t understand him. He lowered his head and pushed against its chest.
It laughed and rubbed the side of his head. “That seems to be a yes. Well, then, Horse. Let’s be friends.”

They started walking together side-by-side through the woods.

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Horse wasn’t happy where he was so he escaped but not many animals have the ability to rescue themselves. Lucky for them, there are amazing places like Casey’s Safe Haven. Check it out and see how you can help if you want to help support the rescues.