This isn’t my usual kind of story, but it reflects something I have given much thought to: our responsibility to things greater than ourselves. and the hard choices we are confronting about our future: the kind of world we will inhabit and where we will each Stand. It’s dedicated to those who recognize that monsters walk amongst us and that our species is not the only species to consider for survival. On a personal note, it’s written from an experience I had when my own horse and a friend’s horse were shot by an unknown person (they survived at great cost), who went on to kill a neighbor’s horse- and was never caught. Revenge in a story can be a great catharsis…

Riding the Fence

Mackey woke early, the pale light of dawn peeking through the old curtains that hung by nails over the dusty window.

The fire from the woodstove in the corner had almost gone out, but throwing some small pieces of wood on the remaining coals and opening the vent helped get the fire going again. In the time it took for him to cook up some grits and throw together biscuits, fried eggs and a few pieces of beef jerky, the fire was going strong and he added a couple large logs, watching as the fire licked at their bark and flared. Banking the fire, Mackey knew the cabin would be pleasantly warm when he got back.

A quick swallow of a second cup of coffee and Mackey headed out to the corral where his two horses were finishing the last of the hay he’d tossed them the night before. “I hope you fellas don’t have plans to relax today, cuz we’ve got a fence line to ride”. Both the horses, a bay gelding and a leopard spot Appaloosa mare, looked up as he came towards them, the gelding giving a soft nicker of greeting. “Yeah, don’t worry. The sooner started the sooner back to your hay pile” he smiled. He was an old hand at getting the horses ready, and shortly had the Appaloosa saddled to ride and the bay lightly loaded with the tools he’d need for fence mending and his rifle in case he ran into trouble with a bear or found a cow with a broken leg.

To read the rest of this story, see link to The Twilight Mirror and the New Dawn by Jordan Amar

© 2021 Eschate