Story #11

She forked hay to the horses, humming quietly to herself. It was getting ready to be another hot day. She kept on thinking of the black haired figure bent over the table. She climbed up onto the wooden barrier keeping her mule in his stall. She felt her bare feet lift off the rough plank floor, and sat on the smooth wood, worn by years of animals reaching their heads over. Her mule chomped hay next to her, and she stroked his long ears. Rays of sunlight found their way in the door and caressed her back. She sat there, eyes closed, enjoying the warmth and peace of the barn. The animals eating made a comforting sounds, and she didn’t want to go back to the house. There was ample work to be done, and moments like this were to be cherished. It had only been a few minutes, and she figured she’d have time before she should go back in. There wasn’t really any knowing what he’d do after he was done eating, and she didn’t really want to find out, but just then she did. The barn door creaked open tentatively, and she screeched, jumped so badly she fell backwards, and sat on the barn floor looking dazed. Gi looked down at her in confusion, not all the way in the door yet. She sat, mouth slightly open, eyes huge for a few seconds, and just for a fraction of one of those seconds, she could have sworn she saw amusement in his brilliant eyes. She scrambled to her feet, and brushed herself off.

“Oh you finished.” He cocked his head. She smiled to herself as she noticed he still had a bit of egg on the corner of his mouth. She guessed he must have seen which way she went when she left the house. He didn’t answer her, and she didn’t really expect him to. He stood there, nearly smiling, as she brushed herself off, looked up and smiled, embarrassed. He looked to the left of her, at the animals, a queer look on his face. Cautious, but interested. She followed his gaze to Shad, who had picked his head up and was looking at her, ears forward, chewing. She looked back at Gi, and smiled encouragingly. She stepped towards Shad, and rubbed his forehead. He nodded his big bony head and rolled his eyes, taking another mouthful of hay. She beckoned to Gi, and he looked unsure, but walked towards her slowly. He stood beside her, but when she motioned that he could pet Shad, he shoved his hands into his pockets. She shrugged, and stroked the inside of one of her mule’s ears. He stretched his neck out, eyes half closed, lower lip wobbling and she giggled. She glanced at the boy out of the corner of her eye, but he was looking at her, not Shad. She looked back at the mule quickly, and pretended to be fully absorbed in petting him. Finally she turned to Gi, pointed to the animal and said,
“Mule.” He was clearly thinking, and then pointed to one of the horses slowly,

“Mule?” Veronica shook her head.

“Horse.” He looked confused, and pointed to another horse, and she repeated herself. He looked hard at the floor and then pointed to her and asked,
“Veronica?” She nodded.

“Human.” He looked very confused. She pointed to Shad,

“Mule. Shad. Shad is his name.” He clearly didn’t understand, but said nothing in response. They were quiet for a few minutes, and Veronica focused entirely on Shad. Then gingerly, she found another hand stroking him beside hers. She glanced over, and Gi was frowning, concentrating, and leaning forward with only one arm. She smiled at him, and the mule kept eating with his begrudging pleasure at the attention. Eventually she heard a shuffle of feet, and found he’d moved closer. He looked fascinated with the animal, and was petting with both hands now. Running his hand along his jaw and over his velvety nose. He was very gentle, and seemed very distressed when he accidentally pulled one of the sensitive whiskers on his nose. Veronica stepped back, and Gi instantly did the same. As soon as she moved, his eyes were on her and did move. He was facing her full on, and she shifted uneasily in his unfailing glance. She had just meant to take Shad’s halter off, but he’d treated it like she was turning to attack him. It might take awhile to earn his trust. She took the halter off, and hung it on the wall behind them. She turned to Gi and jerked her head.

“Come on.” He followed her with the same mistrustful expression. She led him back to the house, and into the livingroom. She saw him jump as the screen door slammed behind him. He followed her into the kitchen, where she stopped short. All the food, everything was gone. Except the coffee. The entire jar of herring was gone, and the plate of eggs was spotless. She forced her feet to move forward before she showed her shock. He’d eaten all of it. She felt the near uncontrollable urge to burst out laughing, but swallowed it fiercely. Gi sat down at the table, clearly oblivious, while she got to work making more food for her Grandfather, who hadn’t stirred yet. That was probably due to the late night and hard work. She stirred up more eggs as quickly as she could, as Gi watched her silently. The hair on the back of her neck prickled, but she kept her eyes on her work. When it was ready, she walked past him and down the hall. He rose, puzzled, but she said nothing as she went to rouse her grandfather.

Grandfather ate without speaking to anyone. He was in pain, Vern could tell. He’d probably hurt his back pretty bad lifting Gi last night. Gi sat silently, but she was getting used to that. They sat around the table, saying nothing as Grandfather ate. Every so often she’d think of how much he’d eaten and snort into her coffee. Grandfather would look at her and she’d look down at the table and sip silently. Gi’s eyes shifted from one to the other, not understanding.

At last, Grandfather rose from table, grunting. He spoke to Gi, and Vern blinked. He’d just spoken to him--In his own language? She stayed seated as they made towards the door.

“Where are you going, Grandfather?” He coughed through his beard.

“For a walk with the boy. We’ll be back in a bit, don’t wait.” She nodded, hiding the concern behind her blue eyes. She brushed a lock of hair out of her face and forced a smile.

“Alright. Be careful.” He grunted in response, and Gi glanced at her as they headed out the door. The door shut, and she sat for a moment longer, trying to get her thoughts together. Her grandfather, a man she’d known her whole life, had just spoken a language she’d never even heard of before. She shook her head faintly and got to work clearing the table. She washed the dishes and came back to wipe of the table and stopped short when she saw the indentation in the table. She frowned, and then her eyes widened as she touched it. It was a fist print, in the exact place where Gi had gripped it when she was changing his bandages.

.....

Song