Ringo liked to walk along the concrete barn floors. The hand-broomed finished created patterns in the surface which enthralled him and he loved the feel of the scratchy surface. Tonight, however, he made an unusual choice. In the same manner which creates reluctant heroes from ordinary creatures, he simply chose to cross the span of the barn in a manner which was new to him. The barn had a free span wooden truss design. Ringo had never thought of crossing the barn from above. The trusses rose high above the stalls and center aisle- nearly 20 feet at the highest point.
Ringo placed his hands and feet on the dust covered beam. The leathery texture of his hind feet brushed along the wooden beam expertly. He narrowed his eyes to adjust to both the unusual darkness and the aerial panorama. As he rose higher and higher, the horses appeared smaller and smaller in their stalls. In his raspy colt voice, Chance whispered to his mother Tess, a young dark bay mare. “Mother, what is he looking for all the way up there?”
Tess replied, “Raccoons are no concern of ours, little one.” She turned her head in the opposite direction signaling to Chance that they would not discuss the situation further. Being nearly 2 months old, he knew that she was finished discussing the matter.
Other than a faint murmur far below him, Ringo could hear nothing else in the solitude of the barn at night. Dim noises came to him here and there. Someone was rustling around their stall- perhaps trying to find the remnants of her dinner on a stall floor. A tiny voice was inquisitive, then silenced. The hum of the florescent lighting was long silent as the timers in the barn had diminished the bright artificial glow over each stall hours ago.
These were the usual harmonies. The pitches and tones were familiar and comforting. These were ordinary sounds. So, Ringo decided to listen for the extraordinary. He began to filter through them and focus on anything new. And there it was. The new sound was muffled but there nonetheless. With the reflexes that only an animal can muster, he snapped his head in the direction the tiny conversation came from. If he had been a split second earlier or later, he may have missed it. If he had chosen to walk his usual path on the barn floor, he surely would have missed it. There in the darkness- even his eyes strained to see more clearly. Two sets of eyes- one unmistakable and one unrecognizable- stared at him in stunned silence.
To Be Continued...
*gasps and waits nervously*
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