NELLIE AND THE KID
The snow fell in great big white flakes as the old Ford rounded the bend towards home. He could see the warm lights shining through the windows and could almost smell the beef stew and dough-boys his mother had probably prepared for his first meal home since he had left for the war. How many times had her packages of fudge and pictures of Nellie kept him going when he felt like giving up?
Nothing much seemed to have changed; the old pasture still housed their cattle and the barn was still painted a bright red. The kid wondered if ol' Nellie, his horse, was still awake. How often he'd dreamt of her warmth, her smell and the powerful intimate connection they'd shared since he got her many moons ago. He wanted to stop and visit her right now, but decided to wait; that beef stew had his name on it!
He met a car in the lane and recognized old man Drake, the local veterinarian. He and his father were always getting together to discuss their common love of animals; nothing unusual there. Drake waved back but not too enthusiasticly and Zack wondered why. Perhaps he wasn't sure it was Zack but he was certain his folks had told everyone he was coming home; wounded, but home. "The kid", they called him, though he was now 22 years old.
He suddenly pulled the car over to the side of the road and felt his empty sleeve where his right arm used to be. A small price to pay for freedom. After all, as he'd told his friends before enlisting: "Freedom isn't free."
Still, he asked himself how he'd be welcomed home; would his family be revulsed by his stump of an arm? It began and ended at his shoulder and was still healing. He drove slowly the rest of the way and when he pulled up near the old yellowed house, his mother came flying into his arm.....
Later, after supper, they all sat back while his mom and sisters did up the supper dishes. He asked about Drake's being there earlier and his dad said "He'll be back to see ya', son. He was in a rush today. Let's get you up to your room, eh? You must be exhausted." Zack waited until his dad had left his room before removing his shirt; no sense in scaring the old man.
He was wired and read awhile before attempting sleep. He wasn't used to getting more than two or three hours rest at a time now. Over in Iraq, he was lucky to get even that. It was kind of hard to sleep with bombs exploding all around you, orders being shouted, planes landing and taking off in the darkened skies. When he did sleep, it was with one eye open.......
So he pulled his pants back on and found his favourite high school sweatshirt and crept down the squeaky stairs. He didn't want to wake anyone but he just HAD to see Nellie; to feel her warm breath on his neck. If only she knew what an important part she played in his recovery. He stopped in the kitchen to grab an apple for her on his way out the storm door. The snow had banked itself against the barn door and he had to struggle with his one arm to open it.
He felt as excited as when as a teenager he first got Nellie as a Christmas present. She was as black as coal and when he rode her the first time, they bonded and were inseparable ever since. He actually saw tears in her sparkling brown eyes when he had to leave her to fight for his country.
He entered the barn and softly shut the heavy door behind him. The lantern was right in its usual place and he awkwardly lit it with his good hand. Zack headed for the stall, lantern raised high and gently said "Nell? It's me, Zack."
But Nellie wasn't standing up with her warm horse quilt on, like he'd assumed. She was lying down, covered up with horse blankets and was very still! "Nell?" he asked. "Hey Nellie, it's me; I've come home." No response. Then he turned up the lantern and saw it; Nellie had lost a leg and was dying! His father had not wanted him to know just yet; that's why the Vet had been to his house earlier. It all made sense now. But how? Why? Not Nellie, not now!!
"So you've found her, son?"
"Dad! You startled me! Yes, what's happened to my Nellie? When? How?"
"Well, the day you were wounded, Nellie refused to eat anything. Of course, at that time we didn't even know how badly you'd been hurt but she must have. She was depressed and wouldn't even drink any water or lick her salt; nothing. We had to leave to go to town and while we were gone, son, Nellie tore her stall apart and in doing so, broke her leg. Ol' Drake came today to put her down but I told him to hold off until you'd seen her tomorrow."
Zack felt sick to his stomach as he asked about her surgery. "Yes, she came through it but without four legs, there's no way she can live, Zack. She's unconscious now and this is the end of the line for your Nellie, I'm afraid."
As his son hugged the horse to his heart, the old man patted them both on the back and left them alone to say their goodbyes. Nellie had not awakened since her operation two days ago and wouldn't last 'til morning; her breathing had almost stopped. He heard his son's loud sobbing as he closed the barn door. The kid had been through so much already to have to come home to this, he thought, with tears in his own eyes.
The sun came up and the rooster crowed. Seeing no sign of her son in his room, his mother checked the barn and through the window, she saw Zack curled up next to Nellie, both underneath the horse blankets. The legless horse and the armless man, both victims of tragedies. It wasn't fair; first his arm, now his horse! She cried into her apron and went inside the warm kitchen to start preparing some oatmeal for breakfast.
Zack awoke next to Nellie who was moaning and snorting! She was awake! He patted and petted her and soon, her eyes opened and she saw her master. Through his own tear-filled ones, he stroked her with his hand. Oh, but she was not as hot as she was last night; her temperature must have dropped. He offered her water and she sipped it from his open palm. "Oh, Nellie; please don't die. I know freedom isn't free but if you're the price I have to pay....I can't; please don't die!" They looked at one another and love was present in the cold, old barn.
And that's how his father found them. The Vet arrived to put down Nellie and was shocked and surprised to find her alert and awake. Zack sat up and told Drake how he had heard about a prosthesis for horses. He said "I will spend every cent I have to pay for her equipment and her recovery. She's my everything! I cannot deny her life. Please, we have to try; we have to save her. She never gave up on me when I lost a limb!"
A year later, Zack and Nellie were walking across the pasture and it was just starting to snow again. He remembered last winter when he first returned home and Nellie was sick enough to die. What wonderful progress she had made; he was so proud of her! He may not be able to ride her anymore but she was still his best mate. Sometimes, he'd come in late from partying and go into the barn. Nellie would lay down with him and sleep. She helped stop his nightmares; she calmed his soul and she was reason alone to never give up.
He could live without a limb; so could Nell. But not without the other......it was almost as if Nellie was saying "See? If I can do it, you can too, Zack." And so it was. Because, after all, "Freedom isn't free."
The snow fell in great big white flakes as the old Ford rounded the bend towards home. He could see the warm lights shining through the windows and could almost smell the beef stew and dough-boys his mother had probably prepared for his first meal home since he had left for the war. How many times had her packages of fudge and pictures of Nellie kept him going when he felt like giving up?
Nothing much seemed to have changed; the old pasture still housed their cattle and the barn was still painted a bright red. The kid wondered if ol' Nellie, his horse, was still awake. How often he'd dreamt of her warmth, her smell and the powerful intimate connection they'd shared since he got her many moons ago. He wanted to stop and visit her right now, but decided to wait; that beef stew had his name on it!
He met a car in the lane and recognized old man Drake, the local veterinarian. He and his father were always getting together to discuss their common love of animals; nothing unusual there. Drake waved back but not too enthusiasticly and Zack wondered why. Perhaps he wasn't sure it was Zack but he was certain his folks had told everyone he was coming home; wounded, but home. "The kid", they called him, though he was now 22 years old.
He suddenly pulled the car over to the side of the road and felt his empty sleeve where his right arm used to be. A small price to pay for freedom. After all, as he'd told his friends before enlisting: "Freedom isn't free."
Still, he asked himself how he'd be welcomed home; would his family be revulsed by his stump of an arm? It began and ended at his shoulder and was still healing. He drove slowly the rest of the way and when he pulled up near the old yellowed house, his mother came flying into his arm.....
Later, after supper, they all sat back while his mom and sisters did up the supper dishes. He asked about Drake's being there earlier and his dad said "He'll be back to see ya', son. He was in a rush today. Let's get you up to your room, eh? You must be exhausted." Zack waited until his dad had left his room before removing his shirt; no sense in scaring the old man.
He was wired and read awhile before attempting sleep. He wasn't used to getting more than two or three hours rest at a time now. Over in Iraq, he was lucky to get even that. It was kind of hard to sleep with bombs exploding all around you, orders being shouted, planes landing and taking off in the darkened skies. When he did sleep, it was with one eye open.......
So he pulled his pants back on and found his favourite high school sweatshirt and crept down the squeaky stairs. He didn't want to wake anyone but he just HAD to see Nellie; to feel her warm breath on his neck. If only she knew what an important part she played in his recovery. He stopped in the kitchen to grab an apple for her on his way out the storm door. The snow had banked itself against the barn door and he had to struggle with his one arm to open it.
He felt as excited as when as a teenager he first got Nellie as a Christmas present. She was as black as coal and when he rode her the first time, they bonded and were inseparable ever since. He actually saw tears in her sparkling brown eyes when he had to leave her to fight for his country.
He entered the barn and softly shut the heavy door behind him. The lantern was right in its usual place and he awkwardly lit it with his good hand. Zack headed for the stall, lantern raised high and gently said "Nell? It's me, Zack."
But Nellie wasn't standing up with her warm horse quilt on, like he'd assumed. She was lying down, covered up with horse blankets and was very still! "Nell?" he asked. "Hey Nellie, it's me; I've come home." No response. Then he turned up the lantern and saw it; Nellie had lost a leg and was dying! His father had not wanted him to know just yet; that's why the Vet had been to his house earlier. It all made sense now. But how? Why? Not Nellie, not now!!
"So you've found her, son?"
"Dad! You startled me! Yes, what's happened to my Nellie? When? How?"
"Well, the day you were wounded, Nellie refused to eat anything. Of course, at that time we didn't even know how badly you'd been hurt but she must have. She was depressed and wouldn't even drink any water or lick her salt; nothing. We had to leave to go to town and while we were gone, son, Nellie tore her stall apart and in doing so, broke her leg. Ol' Drake came today to put her down but I told him to hold off until you'd seen her tomorrow."
Zack felt sick to his stomach as he asked about her surgery. "Yes, she came through it but without four legs, there's no way she can live, Zack. She's unconscious now and this is the end of the line for your Nellie, I'm afraid."
As his son hugged the horse to his heart, the old man patted them both on the back and left them alone to say their goodbyes. Nellie had not awakened since her operation two days ago and wouldn't last 'til morning; her breathing had almost stopped. He heard his son's loud sobbing as he closed the barn door. The kid had been through so much already to have to come home to this, he thought, with tears in his own eyes.
The sun came up and the rooster crowed. Seeing no sign of her son in his room, his mother checked the barn and through the window, she saw Zack curled up next to Nellie, both underneath the horse blankets. The legless horse and the armless man, both victims of tragedies. It wasn't fair; first his arm, now his horse! She cried into her apron and went inside the warm kitchen to start preparing some oatmeal for breakfast.
Zack awoke next to Nellie who was moaning and snorting! She was awake! He patted and petted her and soon, her eyes opened and she saw her master. Through his own tear-filled ones, he stroked her with his hand. Oh, but she was not as hot as she was last night; her temperature must have dropped. He offered her water and she sipped it from his open palm. "Oh, Nellie; please don't die. I know freedom isn't free but if you're the price I have to pay....I can't; please don't die!" They looked at one another and love was present in the cold, old barn.
And that's how his father found them. The Vet arrived to put down Nellie and was shocked and surprised to find her alert and awake. Zack sat up and told Drake how he had heard about a prosthesis for horses. He said "I will spend every cent I have to pay for her equipment and her recovery. She's my everything! I cannot deny her life. Please, we have to try; we have to save her. She never gave up on me when I lost a limb!"
A year later, Zack and Nellie were walking across the pasture and it was just starting to snow again. He remembered last winter when he first returned home and Nellie was sick enough to die. What wonderful progress she had made; he was so proud of her! He may not be able to ride her anymore but she was still his best mate. Sometimes, he'd come in late from partying and go into the barn. Nellie would lay down with him and sleep. She helped stop his nightmares; she calmed his soul and she was reason alone to never give up.
He could live without a limb; so could Nell. But not without the other......it was almost as if Nellie was saying "See? If I can do it, you can too, Zack." And so it was. Because, after all, "Freedom isn't free."
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