A Falling Ember

Saying Goodbye

I slowly munch on some hay, as I stare at the horizon. It is tinted gold and pink with the light of the rising sun. Old Sam said he would visit me in the morning, but so far he hadn't come. I guess it was too early. He is an old man after all. I look at the pastures again. They are empty. All the horses had filed back into the barn last night.
Suddenly I hear a crunching sound coming from behind the shed that I'm in. I snort nervously.
Old Sam walks around the corner and I breathe a sigh of relief. He comes into the shed and strokes my back. I nicker warmly to greet him.
"Good morning," he says, then pauses, as if waiting for me to answer.
"It's almost time for you to go," he continues.
My heart leaps at the thought. He'll let me go?
"Your leg is healed..." He bends down to run his hands over my back leg. "And your cuts are too. "
I shuffle away from his touch again. My flank is still a little bruised. Old Sam stands up. Then he leans forward and kisses my forehead.
"Is your name Ember?" He asks abruptly. I start. How could he know my name! How? I neigh at him.
"It was just a feeling," he tells me. "Well, see you later, Ember, and remember, it's almost time to say goodbye."
Then he turns and leaves. Just like that. Man, is that man strange.
*******************
It's midday. Fanta and George and the others are in their pasture again. I pick my head up from the sweet clover and trot over to the fence.
"Hey!" I whinny to the group of horses. A few call back, and I see the white and red backs of Fanta and George separate themselves from the herd. They greet me at the fence. Fanta reaches her nose out and nuzzles me.
"Lookin pretty today, Ellie!" George flirts.
"It's Ember," I say disdainfully to him. He doesn't look embarrassed.
"This morning, old Sam was talking to me....and he guessed my name!" I tell Fanta.
She nods her head, not looking surprised. "He's known around here as the horse whisperer."
"Oh," I say. No wonder I could understand what he was saying.
"Fanta, this might be my last night here."
"Noooo! Why? Elbert, come on....you know you can't leave my handsome face!" George interrupts.
"Shut up! And it's Ember!" Fanta neighs to him. He still doesn't look embarrassed.
"Anyway," Fanta continues. "Do you know where you're going? Wyoming is a big place."
"It's my homeland. And I'm going to reach my herd no matter what gets in my way."
"Wow," Fanta says. I toss my head defiantly. I sound braver than I feel, but I know what I said is true.
*********************
I rest under the maple tree in my small paddock. It's dusk now, and the other horses are still frolicking in their field. Even though my home is with my herd, I like this place. I do. The horses are happy and the humans are.....kind. A light frost covers the ground, the branches of the tree, making it sparkle in the sunset.
I hear a creak and I turn to see old Sam walking toward me. I nicker a greeting to him and he raises his hand in salute. He carries a rope sort of thing in one hand and a carrot in the other. When he finally reaches me, I see that the rope is actually a halter and lead; Fanta told me all about them. He slips the halter on my head, and begins leading me out of the pasture. I take one last glance at my little shed, and continue to follow old Sam.
He walks a long way, heading away from the forest, past the barn, walking along a narrow dirt road that stops at the edge of a road. Across the road are the rolling hills that I saw earlier. I know that is the way to my herd. When I look back I can see the field where Fanta and George are. I might never see them again. I stop and neigh fiercely at old Sam, tossing my head in the direction of the pasture.
"Ember? Have you made some friends that you want to say goodbye to?" He asks. I whinny. Old Sam takes something out of his pocket and chatters into it. A few minutes later, I see a man and a woman leading two horses down the lane. It's Fanta and George. I trot toward them, pulling old Sam behind me. The halter feels heavy and uncomfortable but I pay it no mind. I get to my friends and throw my neck around Fanta. To George's surprise, I give him a nuzzle on his muzzle.
"My friends, I have to go home now," I whisper.
"You could stay here!" Fanta pleads. I shake my head.
"My family needs me."
Then I turn back to old Sam. He looks at me with glistening brown eyes. A tear traces down his cheek. He takes off my halter and I snort in satisfaction.
Old Sam grips my mane, and I realize that he is giving me a choice. I could stay here, safe from predators, with Fanta and George, happy and warm. Or I could gallop off into the night, facing the dangers and peril of the wild, to get home to my family. The choice is obvious.
"I promise that I will come back!" I whinny to Fanta and George. Then I rub my nose on old Sam's face.
As I turn and gallop across the road, I don't look back. I will come back. If I survive.