by HorseFeathers, age 16

Grandmum is on her last seasons. She spends most of her days sleeping in bed or reading from father’s old Bible. Grandmum always acted strong and independent but the county doctor told me different. He confirmed that her old age had finally worn her down. Grandmum’s soul could depart any day now. I cried myself to sleep most nights knowing she was all I had left. After she was gone, I would be sent to the orphan’s house three cities away.

Mum had died giving birth to me in the very log cabin I live in today. Grandpa had died years before so then it had been just dad, grandmum, and me as an infant. Father was heart-broken so he had left our little patch of England in order to find work to sustain grandmum and me. We never heard from him again.

Summer’s tide is about to end with the coming of the harvest fall. I now tend the fairly sized garden as grandmum used to. As I water the ripe tomatoes plants, my shoulder-length brown hair falls into my face. I have pondered and grieved a question for some time now. Where would I go? Surely not to the orphan house. I am sixteen years of age; not an adult by standards, but old enough to look after myself in my opinion.

“WATCH OUT, FLYDIA!” a booming voice sounded behind me.

I threw my watering can up in surprise and it sailed over the garden patch. I knew immediately who it was.

“Juda Phillips, look what you made me do!”

“Oh, I’m sure what Maddi and I brought will make up for it,” he said with merriment in his coal-black eyes.

Juda was 17 years old; almost a man. He has been my friend since I was a small child. Every now and then, he would go into the market and bring me and grandmum back supplies with the help of his old mare Maddi.

“I’ll trade you a ham for a bowl of your famous veggie stew?” he asked eagerly.

“Maybe I don’t feel like giving you any today,” I said, cleaning the mess I had made in the surprise welcoming; but I could not hide my smile.

I knowingly had already prepared him a bowl and it was cooling on the front porch. Juda grinned and unloaded the bags of groceries as I handed the soup out to him. Then, we both sat on the wooden porch swing father had made. I rocked it back and forth gently as Juda slurped noisily at his stew; then he suddenly stopped eating.

“Flyd, how is your grandmum doing?”

I knew his eyes were looking down on me, searching for my hazel ones; I would not look at him.

“She’s holding together Juda, but I cannot lie. The doctor said it could be any day now.”

“What will you do when she’s gone home; they’ll send you to the orphanage, you know that.”
I could not believe what I was hearing! Here he was acting as if gramdmum was already buried.

“You know you are almost of marrying age,” he said looking at the floor boards.”

“Juda NO!” We were both surprised at my outburst. “I- I am sorry, I just need to think.” I sighed shaking my head.

Juda nodded and walked over to his chestnut mare. Mounting, he tipped his hat to me.

“Thanks for the soup Flyd; I’ll come by later.”

Then we both nodded as he trotted out of our small acreage.

Now my thoughts stressed even more! I couldn’t imagine having grandmum’s faith. Just then, I thought I herd her voice faintly.

“Flydia child, come here please!”

I rushed into the cabin and kneeled at her bedside. “What is it Grandmum, what’s wrong?”

“I want to tell you a story.”

I was exasperated. Was she delirious? Who could tell a fairy tale at a time like this? Grandmum must have seen my face, for she chuckled lightly. “No dear, I’m not crazy. You just sit back in the rocking chair over there and listen to what I’ve got to say.”

Still a little confused with the matter I did as she asked and sighed as I took a seat. I hoped she would not wear herself out.

******************************

Long ago when England was young and the land breathed the breath of life, there was a wiry young girl about your age. With stick strait brown hair and gray eyes she wasn’t much to look at; but Jade didn’t care. Her interests and love revolved around something else. In the small village where Jade lived the population was smaller than the flocks of returning southern geese.

However, once every month the town’s own carousel came to life.

Yes, this little shanty of a town had a grand carousel. It was created by hand by a man everyone knew as ‘The Carousel-Charm Man’. Yes, it is a long name; so many just called him C-man. He made trinkets for the villagers and their children whenver they visited. The Carousel was something special though, probably C-man’s greatest accomplishment. He would start it once a month; adults and children alike would enjoy the fun.

No one loved the carousel or C-man as much as Jade did. For as it turns out; C-man was her father. Even though they cared deeply for each other, C-man would give no special rides or favors to his daughter. So, at night Jade would sneak out to sit on the carousel horses. She could pretend to be in the midst of flying Pegasus or leading the king’s army into battle. But this night would change everything.

Jade’s favorite carousel horse was a big bay with a strong oak body and the kindest eyes anyone could create. As she was lost in her imagination, Jade heard a sound behind the carousel. Nervously she slid off her wooden stallion and tiptoed towards the sound.

“Jade,” someone whispered.

Jane nearly jumped out of her stockings in surprise. It was C-man, her father, giggling like a little naughty child behind her.

“Father, you scared me.”

“Shhh… Follow me — I want to show you something.”

Surprised for not being scolded at, Jade followed C-man to the middle of the carousel. He took a small box from his coat pocket and placed a tiny stone object into a compartment at the base of the floor. C-man then picked up his short daughter and placed her on her favorite horse.

“You like to imagine these horses are alive right?”

Jade nodded.

“Then I want you to do just that, only with your eyes closed until I say open.”

Feeling the carousel beginning to move, Jade was excited that her father might be giving her an early ride. After a few moments, she began to notice a change beneath her legs. The hard wooden horse felt softer and warmer to the touch; and Jade actually thought she could smell a horse nearby.

“You can open them now, my Jade.”

Jade’s eyes popped open at her father’s voice and she looked over at him. He was on a horse and one that looked amazingly like a carousel pony at that. She was just about to ask, when Jade felt a body move beneath her. She squealed quietly as a big bay horse looked back at her with the kindest eyes. She knew those eyes; this was her horse!

C-man grinned his biggest at his daughter and nodded forward as he walked his horse off the carousel platform. Jade followed speechless, letting the bay stallion take her at his will. The other wooden ponies were alive as well; the whole carousel was now a living, breathing herd of wonderful horses. Jade clung to the Bay’s dark and silky mane as he trotted next to her father’s palomino mare. They were in front of the herd and it looked as if they were heading out of the small village. The herd’s hooves made not a sound, as if they were walking on air.

Not a sound or a word was exchanged during the entire ride. Jade wonderingly glanced at her father and he smiled, nodding to his horse. They had begun to break into a gallop, racing time itself into the fields of wildflowers. The midnight moonbeams served them a faint lighted path. They flew into the valleys and jumped freely over any obstacle that came their way. Jade could not believe what was happening. Here her imaginations were brought to reality. It would take someone of great faith to believe that her favorite bay was alive this very moment.

Faith…that was the name of the oak stallion. He did not tell her this, but when she whispered it into the wind, his big brown eyes twinkled in recognition. The night went on, yet still the herd did not slow its momentum. Only when the sun began to rise did Jade’s stallion lead the group back through the valleys, into the wildflower fields, and back to their carousel. Without so much as a nicker or a sigh, Jade dismounted Faith and watched as he and the other took their places back at the carousel. Her father stepped onto it and took the stone object back from the compartment where he had first placed it. Before her very eyes, Jade watched as each horse froze into a position one by one — as if they had never moved. Before Faith became an oak steed once again he blew a warm breath in Jade’s face.

She closed her eyes and felt a warm sensation fill her body, and a picture — no, a scent picture — filled her head of the very memory of their ride. Jade opened her closed eyes and looked at the still, tall form of Faith. However, she knew she had not imagined this glorious night. C-man walked down to his daughter and embraced her in a warm hug. Then he took out the object again from his pocket and gave it to her.

Jade stared at the object in her hand. It wasn’t stone after all but a horse head made of jade. It was perfectly crafted and it felt hot to the touch; sort of like a fresh batch of cookies out of the oven.

“Their very beings are in that horse head, little Jade,” C-man whispered to his daughter, “Once a month at midnight I release them into their true forms. They cannot be free without this Jade figure. Now, I pass this responsibility on to you; C-girl.

******************************

I was on the edge of the rocking chair nearly slipping out of it.

“So what happened to Jade grandmum? Did she accept the responsibility?”

Grandmum smiled weakly to me and took several deep breaths before continuing.

“Jade released the horses every month like her father wished it to be. Then she fell in love, married and had children of her own. Jade moved out of the little town but she took the jade horse head with her; never forgetting the carousel.”

“But how do you know that for sure grandmum? Did any of that really happen?”

She beckoned me down toward her face and whispered into my ear. “Sometimes you just have to have faith…”

With that, she opened her frail hand and placed a small object in mine. We held it together, its warmth generating between our two bodies. Then Grandmum’s hand slipped from mine and fell softly back to the bed. She was smiling slightly with closed eyes and I expected her to say something else. But she wasn’t moving; grandmum had gone to the Glory Land and now I was one my own.

Tears welled up in my eyes and I looked at the object grandmum had given me… it was a jade horse head.