A Voice in the Darkness..... Complications.....
Part 1
It seemed like enough time had passed there should have been some word from Dave. I was torn between wanting, needing to see for myself and wondering what was taking so long and the worry that accompanied those thoughts. Was he being thorough by checking each stall? Or was something wrong keeping him out there?
Those thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a car barreling down the road. The racing engine brought immediate dread as thoughts of what could happen if a horse was out there on the street in the dark flooded my brain. Were my horses safe? And what about Dave? He could be out there on that dark street too with that car barreling down on him.
We do not live on the typical, quiet country road. It is a short cut for lots of local traffic and few drivers respect the speed limit even in the daytime but for some reason the speeding gets even worse at night. In addition there are no street lights and the road is not flat, the undulating terrain makes visibility difficult even in the daylight hours making excessive speed all the more dangerous. A driver can come upon something in the roadway and not see it until being right on top of it.
Between these characteristics and Highway 161 just 500 feet away I can't think of a much bigger jeopardy for a loose horse. I was relieved when the sound of speed diminished with no accompanying squeal of brakes or crashing sounds. Did the driver have second thoughts about speed or was something happening on that road? It was definitely another uncharacteristic sound in the night.
I sat there listening to the darkness for any sound that might explain why Dave wasn't back in the house. By now enough time had passed I knew something was wrong. Whatever it was Dave had not come to the house for help and that was unlike him. The only reason he would take so long without checking in was if the situation was too dangerous to leave.
To be continued......
The Discovery
Very scary! I hope it was resolved easily!
ReplyDeleteUh-Oh does sound rather worrisome!
ReplyDeleteCliff hangers! I can't wait to find out what happened.
ReplyDeleteYou must be feeling somewhat better to start torturing your readers again. It doesn't sound like you're completely recovered but we'll pray for daily progress.
I am in such suspense! I want to know what happened! And I hope everything was fine!
ReplyDeleteOh heck! I know that feeling all too well! We used to live on a busy corner where people would speed by or blow through stop signs. There was at least one accident a month there. The final straw was when a car hit our house (maybe you've seen the pics on FB), directly where my son had been sitting at the dining room table mere milliseconds before. Thankfully, the house was more than 100 years old, back when construction was still solid. The car came to a stop after rebounding off my house, about 20 ft from my pasture fence. My horses were looking at the car with puzzled faces, but easily could have been struck if momentum had carried the car forward any more.
ReplyDeleteIt was there at that house that I would frequently awaken in a panic that the horses were loose (no perimeter fence). My husband, dutifully, would get up and check every.single.time. After a year, I realized it was my Dane's nails on the wall when she was dreaming. Well, that and my own hearing impairment!
I sure hope this has a safe ending for all ponies who might be involved!
I think that has to be every owner's nightmare; a loose horse near a busy road. Funny how we "listen out" for the horses, just as we did our kids when they were younger (and the panic when something seems amiss is just about the same, too ;o)
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jen- we worry about the horses just about the same as we would our kids. Although nobody has run off the road and through our fence yet, we have our share of speeders zipping through the neighborhood for whatever reason.
ReplyDelete