The Healing Horse, Ch. 8, Scene 12: Mama Dozes Off

The day ends on a happy note, with Kitten asleep by Pegasus in the garage, and Mama in her own bed, knowing that having Pegasus in their lives is exactly what her girl needs.

Scene 12: Mama Dozes Off

As she felt her eyes close, she realized how thrilled she was that Karen had brought Pegasus home. Her intuition told her that the adventure ahead would be exactly what her Kitten needed. Besides, showing respect for Karen’s judgment was important. Otherwise, she would never develop the confidence to make her own decisions as an adult. It had taken courage and determination to bring the horse home. Mama was not going to discourage that. Mama felt herself smile a bigger smile than she had worn in a long time. Having a magically colored horse was going to make their lives better. She was not going to allow what anyone else thought to sabotage Kitten and her future.

Thank God nothing worse happened to either one of them, and they’re both okay, now. I know how important this is to her, emotionally, and how important it is to have a trustworthy friend.

The Healing Horse, Ch. 8, Scene 11: Mama Tucks In Kitten

The day winds down, as Mama tucks little Karen into a makeshift bed next to Pegasus in the garage.

Scene 11: Mama Tucks In Kitten

From Kitten’s bedroom, she brought two blankets, a pillow and a long cushion. Without waking Karen, she rolled her little body onto the cushion and tucked her in under the blankets with her head on the pillow. After kissing the sleeping child on the forehead, she retreated to her own bed. She was exhausted, too tired even to eat her nightly bowl of ice cream.

The Healing Horse, Ch. 8, Scene 10: Mama Talks to Pegasus

In this scene, Mama understands that Pegasus is giving her daughter hope, and that after all the challenges little Karen has been through, this is exactly what she needs.

Scene 10: Mama Talks to Pegasus

Dishes done, Mama went looking for Kitten. When she opened the garage door, she found her daughter lying fast asleep, curled up in the corner of the cement floor at the feet of the little lavender horse. The horse had not moved, and she wondered if it could. It looked almost wooden. She checked the scab on the animal’s back, but it had not changed since it formed an hour before.

“So, you’re Pegasus the flying horse, who is going to help my Krana Layala,” she whispered, more to herself than to him. “What a little life she’s had. First the DPT shot and her awful coma. Then the paralysis and the learning problems. Then the endless reading of horse stories. And now a magical, healing horse. I don’t know what to think of any of this, especially that hole in your back, like you’d been crucified or something. And the way it healed when Karen touched it. My thumb’s still purple. All I know for sure is that you mean everything to my daughter, and you’re giving her hope. So, I don’t care what anybody says, we’re keeping you.”

The horse turned his head toward her and slowly nodded as if he understood what she had said. She gasped and slipped back out of the garage.

The Healing Horse, Ch. 8, Scene 09: Mama Energetically Looks Up Ichor

Mama’s intuition leads her to the dictionary, where she gets an important clue about who and what Pegasus is. Ichor is not the same as mortal blood. Pegasus is not just a pretend horse.

Scene 09: Mama Energetically Looks Up Ichor

As soon as she finished the dishes, she went directly to her desk. She felt full of energy and eager to understand what was happening with her Krana Layala and this wooden horse. She opened the thick dictionary she kept on the desk.

Ichor, she thought as she read, like blood but in Greek gods and other supernatural beings.

Silently, she let her mind work, thinking and reasoning as she leaned back in her chair. It was all coming together now. Her intuition was putting all the pieces into place. She understood on a deeper level than ever before how important this horse was to her Kitten, and the spiritual meaning behind it.

The Healing Horse, Ch. 8, Scene 08: Mama Does the Dishes

Mama washes the dishes in the kitchen and wonders if the blood stain that will not wash off is a clue to what Pegasus really is.

Scene 08: Mama Does the Dishes

As Mama carefully washed and dried the dinner dishes, she could not stop herself from looking at her right hand. Even after a soak in the hot dishwater, the purple stain on her thumb persisted. It wasn’t like an ordinary blood stain, or like ordinary blood—not like she used to wash off her father’s hands when he got hurt at work. She stared at it and wondered if she had ever heard of a horse with purple blood. The word ichor kept running through her mind. She used to know what the word meant, but she could not bring it to mind. She promised herself that she would look it up as soon as possible. It was a clue about the horse. She knew that.

The Healing Horse, Ch. 8, Scene 07: Karen Falls Asleep in the Garage with Pegasus

Karen and Pegasus continue bonding, as they realize that they were made for each other.

Scene 07: Karen Falls Asleep in the Garage with Pegasus

After supper, Karen hurried back to the garage so she check on her beloved Arabian. She looked closely at his back. The lavender scab still covered the wound.

“I’m back, Pegasus, I’m back,” she whispered. “How are you feeling? You didn’t say anything about being wounded.”

“I did not want to worry you, Kitten. When the workers pulled out my pole, it was the worst pain I had ever felt—far worse than when the boy slashed my hoof with his knife. It did not come out easily. One of them had to hold onto me while the other one pulled. Not only did it hurt, physically, but as it came free, I realized that never again would I be part of a carousel. Nevermore would I gallop with the other horses. Nevermore would I carry girls and boys on my back and away from their cares. Only the hope of reuniting with you kept my heart beating. Without that hope and purpose, I would have broken into pieces and died on the floor of the abandoned hippodrome.”

“Oh, Pegasus! I can feel exactly what you mean. You have made the ultimate sacrifice for me. You have given up your immortality and become a living, wounded horse for me.”

“Kitten, finding and fulfilling my purpose as your spiritual mentor makes any amount of suffering bearable. Being with you is a joy. Rest easy. The pain is bearable, and your touch will heal me. Let us speak no more of this, for now. Let us enjoy each other’s spiritual presence and gather our strength for tomorrow.”

Karen sobbed. Just as she had felt his physical pain when she had laid her hands on his wound, she now felt his emotional suffering at the prospect of giving up life on his beloved carousel. At the same time, she felt his joyous sense of purpose. Just as he was made to be her spiritual mentor, she was made to be his student. Exhausted, she sat on the floor at his feet. He lowered his head to nuzzle her.

Through the evening, she fought to stay awake, but her eyes got heavier and heavier. Periodically, they closed and she fought to reopen them. In the end, her weariness won. Karen fell into a deep slumber.

Having Pegasus near has made everything all right again.

The Healing Horse, Ch. 8, Scene 06: Karen Shares Her Day with Mama

Now that little Karen has regained her vitality and rescued Pegasus, the story continues on a positive note, as Mama commits to caring for the horse.

Scene 06: Karen Shares Her Day with Mama

As they ate their spaghetti, Karen told Mama all about what happened. The only part she kept to herself was about Pegasus talking. She kept her promise of secrecy to him. Mama listened carefully and promised to look for a stable in the morning, someplace close by so Kitten could visit him every day. Karen was relieved that Mama accepted Pegasus and was willing to take on the responsibility of caring for him.

With Hope in My Heart, an article I wrote for Audacity Magazine

Recently, my friend Nathasha Alvarez asked me to write an article for her online Audacity Magazine. I was delighted because memories of the struggles I went through to get an education in the 1970s, when inclusion was not an ideal that many people or organizations strove for, often fill my mind, and I want to share my struggle and my victory.

Here are the beginning and ending paragraphs of my article. (If you want to read the whole thing, then click here to read it on Audacity Magazine.)

In the pre-ADA era, while struggling for inclusion and putting forth an unending effort, a leader in her own quiet way took on the system with no help from anyone beyond her immediate family and friends. She had cerebral palsy and dyslexia, and was in for the fight of her life.

Here are some insights into that person’s heart and soul. Throughout her life, the purpose of her struggle was to be viewed as the equal, capable person she was. This was difficult in a society ruled by stereotypes and prejudices, and that expected people like herself to be content to live out their days in institutions. But she was not content. She was me, Karen….

Let us dig deep into our hearts to find kindness and caring from within. Let us share it with others and give true support with unconditional acceptance to one another.

My question to you is: What can you bring to the table in support of disability rights and inclusion?

If you liked what you just read, then click here to read the full article, and remember to subscribe to Audacity Magazine! It’s one of my favorite reads, and it will be yours, too!

The Healing Horse, Ch. 8, Scene 05: Mama Meets Pegasus

We have been building up to this scene, and finally Pegasus has broken free from the carousel. It was a good life for him, but a limited life, a life limited to running in a frozen posture as the pole that ran through his heart lifted and lowered him to the music, and the children climbed onto and off of his saddle. It was a life devoted to giving pleasure to thousands of children and their parents, but it was not his true mission. Now that he has been freed from the brass pole and the merry-go-round, he must submit to the realities of life as a mortal. Even though his body remains tiny and wooden, he must hold fast to his vision of himself as the spiritual mentor of the little girl Karen, who rescued him and whose mother now holds his life in her loving hands.

Scene 05: Mama Meets Pegasus

In the garage, Karen watched Mama stare down at Pegasus and realized how tiny he was—just her Kitten size, even shorter than Mama. He did not speak but remained silent, like an ordinary horse except for his small size, extraordinary coloring and wooden appearance. Then came a long, thoughtful silence.

“So, this is Pegasus,” Mama said. “He’s very pretty, isn’t he? May I touch him?”

“Yes, Mama, but remember to be gentle with horses.”

Karen watched as Mama smiled and slowly stroked his mane. She ran her hand over his back. She slipped her thumb into the hole where his pole had been and rocked him back and forth. He shifted from side to side with her push and pull, and his eyes moved nervously.

“He’s too big and heavy for you to have carried him home, isn’t he?” she asked.

“Oh, yes, Mama. I actually rode him all the way from the far end of the pier to our driveway.”

“Without any help? No one carried you in a truck?”

“No, Mama. When I could not see into the hippodrome, I walked to the end of the pier. I followed my intuition, Mama, like you always say, and it lead me there after I looked for him everywhere else on the pier. I called his name into the wind. Somehow he heard me. And just earlier today, the workers who were dismantling the carousel had removed his pole so he could put his feet onto the ground. Or, I mean they didn’t intend that, but it let him get his feet on the ground so he could run. Later, one of them left a door open, so when he heard me call his name, he could escape, and he did!”

Mama jerked her hand away from the hole and glared at her thumb. It was stained purple.

“He’s hurt. How did this happen?”

Karen looked closely at his back. In the dark, she had not seen the circular wound. It was bigger around than a silver dollar.

“It’s where his pole went, Mama. I didn’t see it outside in the dark, and he didn’t say anything. I mean, I really didn’t notice.”

Instinctively, she lifted her weak left hand with her strong right. She placed them both over the gaping hole, the left directly on his skin and the strong right on top to protect the weak left. In her heart, she felt pain as if she had been run through by a lance. Her eyes rolled up, and for a moment, she felt her knees give way, but then a deep feeling of well-being pushed the pain away, and she regained her strength. Opening her eyes, she saw that Mama was holding her.

“Did you just faint?” Mama asked. “This horse business is too much for you! It has to stop!”

Karen squeezed Pegasus’ back, the wound on his back, with both her hands and pulled herself up to her full height.

“No,” she said. “This horse business is just beginning. It’s healing me, and it’s healing Pegasus.”

She lifted her hands from her horse’s back and gently removed Mama’s hands from herself. She could stand tall on her own. She pointed to the wound, and as they stared at the hole in the horse’s back, it closed and healed except for a lavender scab and a drop of purple ichor.

For a moment, Mama froze. A cold chill ran down her back, undefinable, but she understood more deeply than before. Her sixth sense enlightened her as she touched the crust with the tip of her finger.

“He looks like he’s going to be all right, but I’m not so sure about you. Let’s just keep an eye on this wound. He can stay in the garage for tonight, but tomorrow we must start looking for a stable straight away. We can’t leave him here for long. It’s just not good for a horse. He needs food, water, and proper shelter. Plus, he needs a place to roam.”

“I know, Mama. I completely understand. I feel the same way. I’ve thought about that myself. As much as I love having him close to me, I know a garage is no place for a horse.”

“Why don’t you come inside, now, and have your dinner, Krana Layala? You can tell me all about your day, and we can decide on the best way to take care of your horse.”

As Karen followed Mama out of the garage, she looked back at Pegasus and wondered if Mama really were okay with her bringing him home, especially after that long period of silence and the cross-examination.

After all, it’s not like I brought home a stray kitten or puppy. This is my spiritual mentor.

The Healing Horse, Ch. 8, Scene 04: Karen Tells Mama She Brought Pegasus Home

Imagine her mother’s surprise when little Karen runs into the kitchen and announces that she has brought her magical horse home with her. But wait! She gets an even bigger surprise in the next scene, so stay tuned…

Scene 04: Karen Tells Mama She Brought Pegasus Home

When Karen ran into the kitchen, she found Mama stirring a large pot on the stove. It smelled wonderful, but she did not want to take time to ask what was in it. She knew she would enjoy it for dinner, very soon.

“Mama, do you remember how I told you about the carousel being torn down and my magical horse, Pegasus, being thrown onto a heap with the other horses? Well, the note you left me, last night, made me feel stronger! So, I went to the carousel after school, today, and Pegasus found me!”

“Mazel tov! What do you mean? Found you? Where?”

With disquietude tearing her heart, Karen revealed, “At the pier he heard my voice, and he came directly to me. He’s outside in the garage, now. He’s there only until we find a suitable stable for him. Okay, Mama?”

“Sure, darling, that’s fine, I think. Let’s go out to the garage and take a look. I want to make sure he’s okay, there.”