Stable of Horrors

“Now remember, we haven’t put up fences yet so don’t let the stables out of your line of sight. I don’t want you getting hurt or lost. And you best make sure you’re inside before that sun sets.” My father’s rough voice sounded from the entrance to the stables as I ran towards the woods nearby. The only response I gave him was a wave as I pushed the stray strands of red hair out of my face that must have fallen out of my ponytail.

I leapt over fallen logs and ducked under branches as I tried not to get my coveralls caught on the brambles along the path. I felt absolutely fearless and proud that we finally had our own farm, with a giant stable and a bunch of property just for us. I lived with my mama and my papa but soon I was going to have a younger sibling, a little brother I hoped. Being only ten years old, I didn’t have much to do around the barn and stables because dad and his friends we’re setting everything up so we could bring our animals back home and start having fresh milk and eggs again.

I was still confused by Papa being so suspicious over getting the property for what he claimed was way too cheap for the amount of stuff we got. I didn’t understand why he’d be upset for saving money, he and mama always fought about that. Yet none of it mattered now because we had a big house, a bigger stable, and all the land we could ever need. Plus, papa found a bunch of animals being auctioned off for a really good price so instead of two chickens and a cow we were going to have a whole bunch of farm animals running around.

As I ran through the woods I stopped to catch my breath and heard a branch snap nearby. I looked up and tilted my head in confusion at the creature beside me. I think it was a deer, only it had some scary looking eyes, they kind of reminded me of my old dog’s eyes. I gave it a wave and took a step towards it before it yellowed out a mix between a deer’s cry and a wolves’ howl as it turned around and took off without hesitation. The last I saw of it was its fluffy long tail disappearing as he leapt over a fallen log.

I looked outside the trees and noticed how dark it really was getting. I bid farewell to the beautiful forest and sprinted to the stables of the farm. I thought to tell my papa about the wolf deer but decided not to because he looked so tired when I got home. I thought it best to keep it to myself as I went into our run down home. “Hi mama what’s for dinner?”

My mother walked into the kitchen, her vibrant red hair tied off with a ribbon, her apron with bits of flour and a few stains from the kitchen. “Well my sweet little Alyssa, tonight we’re having rabbit stew with carrots, peas, and corn. Also, I made fresh biscuits and some lemonade.”

I nodded and looked back out the door, “Should I go get Papa? He might fall asleep out there.”

“Don’t worry, he’ll be in soon and then we can get dinner started. Although you can set the table, it’s hard for me to reach over it now.” She walked back into the kitchen, wiggling a little bit because of her huge belly.

“Okay mama.” I skipped over to the china cabinet and grabbed out three bowls, three spoons and three glasses before setting them all down at our designated spots. Mama by Papa and I got to sit by Papa. I grabbed the pot holders and set them on the table for Mama when she brought in the stew.

After I was finished I started to worry for my papa, until the door opened and he walked inside, his black hair slicked back with sweat and his soft grey eyes looking defeated.

He gave me a big smile despite looking tired and pulled me up into his arms, “Hey Lyss, where’s mama?”

I pointed to the kitchen and he followed my directions while carrying me, and as we got in mama set down the tray of biscuits from the oven. “Hey there sugar, welcome back inside.” She smiled, causing her hazel eyes to light up. “Dinner is all ready to go, I just need to take everything to the table, both of you get washed up and when you come back we’ll be eating.”

The moment papa set me down I rushed upstairs, going to the bathroom past the curtains of plastic put up due to the house being not quite finished. As I stood at the sink and washed my hands I saw a bird land on the window sill. It looked like a blue Jay, only it wasn’t quite right. I quickly dried my hands and shut off the water before looking at the creature. It almost seemed to be a regular bird, except it’s wings were more leathery like a bat. Before I could get a better look at it, the bird creature had flown away into the oncoming darkness. I shrugged before walking back down stairs to where my parents were already dishing up the stew and biscuits.

I took my seat as mama led us in a small prayer for our food and for the safety of the family. The rabbit meat was nice and soft, but still had a good meaty texture especially alongside the soft carrots. The peas gave a soft snap when I bit into them and the corn crunched under the impact. I smiled happily before tearing into my biscuits, the buttery flavors mixed with the flakiness just brought the meal together with the tangy bite from the fresh lemonade. After dinner, mama and papa started cleaning up and doing the dishes while I walked up to my room. As soon as I entered the room, I changed into my nightshirt and threw my clothes into the dirty basket.

I sat on the edge of my bed and gave a yawn before climbing under the blankets, allowing sleep to consume me before too long.

When I awoke the next morning, the sun was rising in the sky and a series of whinnies alerted me to the presence of horses. I jumped out of bed and found a yellow shirt with another pair of overalls to wear before I half brushed my hair and tied it up. I sprinted downstairs, not bothering with shoes as I got to the stables to see six massive horses being led into the individual stalls.

“Papa, I didn’t know we’d get the horses today!” I looked them over, noticing two were jet black from head to toe with brown eyes, one was a dapple grey with white feathering on his legs and blue eyes and the other three were a sorrel brown with hazel eyes.

“Auction house decided to bring them by earlier, we also got two extra ones thrown in so, say hello to our new clydesdales, the black pair are the gelding Striker and mare Symphony, our grey boy here is the only stud, his name is Gunther.” He moved to the three sorrels being put away, “Then these three ladies are Pumpkin, Cinnamon, and Crystal.”

I looked the big horses over and nodded, “They’re so big and so pretty! Can we ride them or do they just pull stuff?”

“Gunther can’t be ridden, but Symphony, Striker and Pumpkin can. The others are for pulling the farm equipment and carts. Although, all of them are friendly and you can come out and give them some attention. I will need your help to brush them and feed them.”

I nodded and suddenly realized we could have babies because of Gunther. “Will we breed them and make babies?”

He gave me a smile and a brief nod before he walked down the row, making sure everyone was settled in.

I squealed with excitement and walked down the row of stalls, looking each horse over while I imagined them having adorable little fouls. I had a weird feeling in my stomach but I let it go as I was too preoccupied with the idea of the farm coming together.

Over the next few years we had the property entirely fenced in, and even more animals all over the property. We now had ten cows and a bull, a herd of sheep with two rams, four doe goats and a big buck. We even got pigs and a few chickens, but they weren’t very people friendly so I stayed away from them. The llamas were interesting because they didn’t get along with the horses but they loved the goats, we got three of them.

As the stable got more and more filled in, we ended up with a bad rodent problem until the barn cats moved in and reduced them down almost instantly. When the herd of sheep and goats got bigger we got a few dogs to roam the property, both were mutts from the pound a few miles away but they stayed with the animals and never attacked us.