The Shot from Nowhere

The Shot from Nowhere

The glorious golden sun rose up over the vibrant grassy hills. It looked like a great emperor summing his people to awake as the wisps of clouds glided to get the emperor his crown. It was a scene beyond words I thought as I sat in the wise ancient oak tree watching the sunrise like a marionette show. The beautiful multi colored rooster rose his head and sung his usually morning call as the cows pranced to the music of the singing brook. Cats yawned in the crooked old farmhouse.

“Julia did you watch the sunrise again.” “Yes, aunty Sarah and it was wonderful today.” “You’ve watched the sunrise now it’s time to feed Fifi and Maymay, ” said Aunt Sarah handing her niece a pail of sparkling water to give to Fifi and Maymay. The metal bucket shimmered in the rays of sun as a she handed me the pail.
“Thank you” I replied accepting the pail and galloped gracefully through the fields of lupin to the stables. “Hello there Fifi” I said patting the stately young mare. I giggled remembering the first day I saw Fifi. It was a lazy afternoon and to my surprise uncle Jack rode up on a cunning little foal. I was only 4 and loved horses. “What shall you call her juju?” Juju was my nickname. One day Ben, my little brother, called me that and I’ve been juju ever since. “I’ll name her Fifi,” I said hugging the beautiful horse. Now I laughed at my silly choice of name for such a serious horse. Maymay was older and picky. I handed Fifi an apple she snorted and gladly nibbled the apple then I handed maymay a bright red one and she carefully sniffed it and whinnied apparently she wasn’t going to eat it. I handed her a carrot instead this she ate. Finally I picked up the heavy sack of feed and dumped it into a shiny metal trough. “Eat up,” I said, with a great deal of satisfaction.

Fifi and Maymay trotted over to the trough. Suddenly Maymay fell to the ground with a thump. And a shadow moved into the thick woods. I assumed that whomever it was that was running ahead of me had shot Maymay. I ran full speed through the pasture into the forest following the shadow. My boots pounding on the ground, my mind in all directions and my heart beating as fast as a forest fire can spread. The strange figure ran towards town faster than the wind. I was like a magnet never drawing away from it’s path. I was worried about Maymay. Maybe I was scared at first, but anger had formed in my body. I had to stop the shadowy figure that had shot my Maymay. I was as angry as bull forced to fight at a coliseum. BANG! I slipped on glob of disgusting brown mud and slammed my crown against a boulder. Everything went black. I was dizzy and weak. Was I going to die? My thoughts were scrambled and I just wanted to catch the villain. I tried to push myself up, but I ended up helplessly falling back to the hard uncomfortable ground. Things became blotchy like I was looking through stained glass. Then everything went dark like the dark or ashes, and my thoughts suddenly went blank.

I woke up in a white room. I knew this room; it was Auntie’s room. “Maymay, we must stop them.” I tried to get up,head ached like it was full of heavy rocks. “Calm yourself, Julia. Maymay is fine. She got stuck in a gopher hole, that’s all.” But who was the man that I thought shot Maymay?” That was Mr. Miller the shopkeeper he came to barrow the hoe and ran to get help when he saw maymay’s accident. “I was wrong. I feel so awful. Is there anything I can do for Mr. Miller?” “I think you have enough to deal with at this moment with your head, but Mr. Miller sent you these flowers to cheer you up. Perhaps, when your are well we can pay him a visit. Now get some rest Juju. Julia drowsed off that night dreaming of wild horses galloping in the countryside with their mains flowing in the wind.