Her fear and apprehension disappeared instantly, replaced by a smile and a rush of adrenaline. A horse, her very own horse! Jessica ran to the big doors and pulled. At first they stuck, and wouldn’t budge an inch, but with a fair bit of tugging and pulling with the heels of her feet planted firmly in the ground, she managed to get one of the doors to open just enough to let her slip through.

Inside it was dark. The weak autumn sun streamed through the slightly open door to pool on the floor of hard-packed earth. Dust and particles of hay swam in the beam of light and tickled her nose. Jessica sneezed and the sound echoed like a gun shot in the silence. She wiped her nose on the sleeve of her jacket.

“Hello”, she called out and, like the sneeze, the sound bounced around the wooden walls of the barn, returning to her ears like a hundred ghosts all speaking at once.

Jessica turned to the open door. She set her feet firmly on the ground and pushed with all her might. Slowly the door creaked farther open, letting in more light. Now she could see deeper into the barn. Along the right side were ancient looking farming equipment. Rakes, hoes, shovels, hooks, leather straps, some things she didn’t recognize, and a strange machine with a harness with a vicious looking ‘V’ shaped blade at the front that must have been used for plowing the fields. The left side was in dark shadows cast by the overhanging loft up above. She saw a ladder built into the wall. It probably went up to the loft where the hay would be stored. She couldn’t, however, see a horse.

“Maybe I imagined it.” she said to herself.

She started to step forward when she heard another sound. It sounded like snuffling. It sounded like something breathing through a very big nose. Jessica froze. Then there was a snort. There was no denying it now, that was definitely a snort, and there was definitely something in the darkness in the far corner under the loft.

Jessica’s knees wobbled and knocked together.

“M-maybe I sh-should get my dad”, she whispered to herself.

But the beast in the dark corner whinnied, and Jessica was relieved. What a fool I am! she thought, and without any more hesitation she dashed to the back of the barn. In the dim light she could just barely make out what could only be a horse’s stall, and in that stall, a massive shape that shifted, and moved, and scuffed its feet on the floor.

“Hello”, she called again more confidently, and the shape whinnied. “Oh, you are a horse!” she exclaimed, and, fumbling with the latch, opened the door to the stall.

Jessica loved horses. She had pictures of them in frames on her desk, and posters of them on her walls. She had play horses for her dolls from when she had been younger, and she had lots of horse books. She had even ridden one once when she was eight.

“Hello, horse.” Jessica felt gently in the darkness with her hands and discovered the warm flank of the horse’s hind-quarters. Slowly she felt her way up his side, petting him softly as she went. He was so calm! Eventually she felt his neck, and followed it up to his big, horse head. The horse whickered and whinnied softly.