Chapter 3

"Come on dear we'll be late." Mr. Thompson called at his wife once again, as he stood by the

horse and wagon waiting for her. In the years he had spent on this earth he still couldn't

understand how women took so long to get ready to go to any occasion or event.

He had done so much work since morning before he began to get ready to leave giving her more

than enough time to be all dressed up and waiting for him, and yet here he was once again

standing outside by the horse waiting for her.

"I'm sorry," she said as she came rushing out of the house totally out of breath. "I had to prepare

the gift for the festival."

"The gift," he replied frowning, "what gift?"

"Don't be like that Ronald, you know we present something for the gods to favor us every year.

What if this is the year they have decided to bless us and you do not come with anything?"

Mr Thompson helped her into the wagon without saying anything. He climbed onto the driver's

seat at the front and shook the reins so the horses could start moving.

He lets his mind wander as the wagon begins to move slowly, his wife's words echoing in his

head.

They had been married for twenty years now without a child. Not even a single miscarriage.

The villagers have all concluded that they would remain like this and deep down he had started

to accept their faith.

He loved his wife with all his heart and so if they were destiny to live the

rest of their lives with only each other, he would give all his love and attention to her.

Rose on the other hand had never stopped believing.

After the first three years of their marriage, she started to prepare gifts to take to the moon festival ground whenever they were

going to the festival every year.

At first, he had joined her eager to please the gods so they could give them the one thing they

needed the most, a child. But as time went on, he lost faith. If the gods were as kind and good

as the priests claimed they were, why make them wait for so long?

What had he and Rose ever done in their lives to deserve this? Now the only reason he went to

the festival at all was to please his wife and make her happy.

Instead of spending his time sulking and feeling sad for himself and Rose, he devoted his time

to building his house land, and farm. Presently, there was no one in their village apart from the

chief who could boast of being more wealthy than he was.

"Ronald," Rose's voice cut him back from his thoughts to reality.

"Yes, dear?"

"I think that horse is carrying a person."

He stops the wagon immediately to watch the horse that his wife was referring to. It was a

well-bred animal, the type that you could sell and make a fortune from. The only way to capture

these breeds of stallions was by killing them.

They were very wild and dangerous. This one seems to have traveled a very long distance and was drinking water from the river at

the side of the road. It had a person no, a child strapped securely to its back.

He got down from the wagon and approached the animal slowly while Rose who had also

stepped down from the wagon watched him closely.

"Ronald, please be careful" she called after him.

"I will don't worry."

When he was about six feet from the beast, he stopped and bent himself to a bow three times.

He produced the pouch of apples he carried on his waist as snacks for red and ginger his

horses.

His father had taught him that bowing to a horse that had never met you before was a

sign of respect. That single act could reduce its hostility towards you and make it come to

Regards you as a friend.

Keeping his face on the ground, he presented two apples, one in both hands, to the horse and

remained there without moving a single muscle. He could feel the eyes of the beast on him.

observing him deciding if it could trust him or not.

After a while, his muscles started to ache. Just when he decided to give up, the animal started

to walk slowly towards him. Soon, it was standing next to him sniffing his body and the apples in

his hand.

Ronald could feel his heart hammering in his chest. If the animal rejects the gift it could rear up

and kick him in the chest. A direct kick from a horse even one not fully grown, could knock out a

man and leave him with broken bones. A kick from one this huge and powerful would not just

leave him with broken bones, it would probably kill him.

Suddenly, it relaxed and accepted the first apple from his hand. Eating it slowly. He waited until

the beast finished both apples before he lifted his head and began to rub it gently on the snout.

It ignored his hand and started sniffing his body for more apples.

Ronald laughed and emptied the pouch of apples on his waist on the floor. And it started eating

them immediately.

Now that he had nothing to fear from the beast, he turned his attention to the person it was

carrying on its back.

It was a little girl of about seven to eight years. She was strapped so securely to the back of the

horse that it would have been impossible for her to fall off even if she wanted to. The binds were

so tight that he had to use his small knife to cut them so he could lift her off the horse.

The horse realized what he was doing and stopped eating to observe him for a while. It must

have concluded that it had no issue with him because it continued to eat. Ronald used his free

hand to wipe the sweat off his brow. Whoever raised the beast did a wonderful job because it

was way more intelligent than it looked.

The child had passed out from the fatigue and he carried her gently into his arms. He could only

imagine the distance they had traveled before the creature had come to a stop here. Something

told him it was miles upon miles.

He carries the child towards Rose, the horse walking beside him.

"Is she ok?" Rose asked the sympathy and concern clear in her voice.

"I think she's just tired." He replies to her as he puts her down in the wagon. "We cannot go to

the festival, she needed rest."

"I know," Rose replies immediately as she cuddles the child in the wagon resting her head on her laps. "Quickly turn the

horses around, we have to take care of her."

Ronald is short of words at first but then he smiles. He should know it would be easy to

convince her to forfeit their going to the festival for the child. She had a heart of gold.

Without saying anything more he climbed down from the wagon to see the horse that had

carried the girl watching him closely.

"Don't worry we are going to help her, you can come with us." He said speaking to the animal

like it could understand him. The creature didn't reply him but deepdown, something told him that it

could understand him.

He didn't bother linking the horse with his own as he turned them around. And just like he

expected, the beast followed them behind the wagon.