The Trespassing Crew by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview
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Chapter 4
When they woke up the next morning, the sun was still hiding. In a short time their eyes adjusted to the darkness, helped by an unobstructed half-moon. They noticed that Efscot and Zelda were not in their stalls. They were worried. Where were their new friends? They walked over to the empty enclosures. Everyone else was still sleeping. They nosed around the stall and detected some strange smells. Someone or two unknown humans had been there. They trotted back over to their mother.
Pablo rubbed his right front hoof against his mother’s shoulder and in a high whispering, worried voice said; “Mom, wake up something’s wrong.”
Annabelle, concerned that he was concerned, replied; “What happened?”
Apple showed impatient worry and quickly said; “I don't know, but Efscot and Zelda are gone.” She implied, but did not say; “I need a good answer right now!!”
Annabelle calmly sighed; “That’s okay. Their owners often take them out for a ride this time of day. For some reason they like to start out before sunrise and get back an hour after.”
That made the two tiny siblings feel better. Joe and Mary came out the backdoor of the house.
Joe pushed back his modestly long, pushed back his modestly long, partially graying, brown hair and said; “How are my two new babies?” He patted each on their heads and then gave the same attention to Annabelle.
Pablo and Apple didn’t know what he said, but more importantly, they saw Joe taking down bales of hay for them.
They ate.
In the view provided by the sun rising over the mountain, Joe said; “Don’t they look good?”
Mary’s long blond hair fell on her oval face as she squatted to nuzzle the little ones. She said; “It’s amazing how fast they develop. They look like they know what they’re doing already.” She rubbed Annabelle’s belly and said; “Are you teaching them already?” Annabelle nodded, making Mary wonder if she had understood.
Joe: “We’ve got two healthy babies.”
Joe and Mary watched the little ones eat for a few minutes.
They made no further conversation and offered occasional smiles.
They thought; “Two new lives with the potential to do anything.”
Two gray pickup trucks with silver horse carriers drove onto the property. Everyone looked and the two little ones thought, “What now?” The invaders got near the empty horse stalls and stopped. They got out. There was one man in each
car. They made sure the stalls were open and then opened the carriers. Out came Efscot and Zelda, who seemed cranky.
Zelda: “For once I’d like to walk exactly where I want.”
Efscot: “Well, the big deal is over for another day.
Twenty-four more hours until the next severe disappointment.
Sorry, my optimism was showing. It’s actually twenty-two hours until the next view of paradise, with no entry permitted.”
Zelda: “I’ve been thinking about running under a tree with a big low branch. If I’m lucky, I’ll knock him off and just keep going.”
Efscot: “Is it ever a good thing that they don’t speak horse. If you did that, today, I think I would have done the same thing. Do they always have to go on the best travelled, most boring paths?”
Zelda: “Exactly. If I see that broken tree by the water one more time, I’m going to stop and puke.”
Efscot: “I don’t understand how they can be content going the exact same thing every trip. Maybe they don’t see well.”
Zelda: “I guess we should be sorry for them. They might be blind.”
As their darkly bearded, grizzled owners stood around for another five minutes exchanging pleasantries, Joe brought over hay bales and put them in Zelda’s and Efscot’s stalls.
Pablo and Apple, initially happy to see the two back home, now detected their disparaging tone, walked to them and Pablo queried; “I heard you talking. What’s the matter?”
Zelda: “Oh, the same old nonsense. There must be millions of acres out there and these jerks always make us walk on the same five.”
Apple: “Why?”
Efscot: “I don't know. They must be the most boring people in the world.”
Apple: “Can’t you take them in another direction?”
Zelda: “No. We’ve tried that and they hit us with whips if we take the lead.”
Pablo: “The whole thing sounds stupid to me.”
Efscot: “This is the way their system works. You’re allowed to walk wherever you like if you stay in these two acres. However, if you’re lucky enough to be taken out, you’re only allowed on another five of their choice.”
Apple, sounding upbeat, said; “But you get to see a lot of different sights, though, right?”
Zelda sternly replied; “Seeing things and touching things are two different things.”
Efscot: “That’s trite. I’m not going to copy that phrase from you.”
Zelda: “Ah, I’m just mad. There’s so much potential out there and we touch so little of it.”
Apple: “I think I’d be happy just to see it.”
Zelda: “You would be, for a while, but after you were forced to repeat and repeat the same steps every time out, you’d probably feel the way we do. It’s just plain stupid.”
Pablo and Apple left the two to finish their food and nap.
They sounded tired. Charlie and Charlene, the chickens, walked over to them.
Charlie: “I’m glad you’re getting around better. I’ll worry less about you stepping on me.”
Charlene: “Can you take us both for a walk today?”
Apple: “Sure, hop up.”
Charlene: “That’s not exactly what I had in mind. How about Charlie rides you and I ride Pablo.”
Pablo: “I’d be delighted.” Pablo squatted and Charlene easily got on his back, careful not to get tangled in his medium length black mane. Charlie flew onto Apple, landing squarely on her back, having learned to avoid her long white mane.
They started walking around the perimeter of the property, at most places their view blocked by the tall stucco walls.
Pablo and Apple stopped at the wire fencing and everyone took a long look at the outside world. It seemed to go on forever.
Now, because of a risen un-blocked sun, the limitations were
caused only by the abilities of their eyes, irregular topography and the curvature of the earth. They could see yellow-brown fields, houses of differing shapes, sizes and colors, what looked like a thick, seasonally defoliated forest off in the distance, with a gigantic, rocky mountain behind it, of gray, white and violet. “What a beautiful place,” they all thought, as they sat or stood, motionless and serene. Their reverie was broken by the crack of a sledgehammer driving another fence post into the ground. Then they became cognizant of the rest of the abundant fences.
They heard and saw growling, diesel perfumed pick-up trucks come slowly down the road, drivers impassively staring, carrying posts, wire, some barbed and mass produced slats to new destinations someone deemed worthy of restriction. After a few minutes, they headed back to the barn.
“Thanks,” said Charlie and Charlene. “We’ve got to do this every day.”
“That’s fine with us,” said Apple. The two little horses were getting a little tired, walked over to reclining Annabelle and went to sleep.