After the long slog through the woes of the last chapter, Karen’s determination and loyalty to Pegasus pay off. She rescues him from the ruined hippodrome! She instantly realizes they need to get off the pier and back to her house, and she directs him which way to go.

Scene 01: Trotting Home

Kitten jumped up onto Pegasus’ back. For a sweet moment, she stroked his soft mane with her right hand before grasping his reins.

“We have to get out of here,” she said. “Go straight up the pier to the ramp, then we can take a special horse path to my house. Don’t say another word. We have to keep your talking a secret!”

Pegasus looked back and up at her. His eyes were wide. Silently, he carried Kitten through the dense Friday night crowd. As people stepped out of the way to let them pass, Karen and Pegasus heard gasps of surprise.

“I didn’t know horses were allowed on the pier!” a man said. A woman’s voice replied, “That must be a special horse. It’s so tiny, and look at those amazing colors!”

As soon as they passed under the arched sign at the top of the pier, the crowd thinned and Pegasus broke into a trot. Karen directed him to a horse path that ran parallel to the main street of town. Block after block, they trotted with a quiet inner gusto and gladness. Pegasus’ hooves resonated sweetly as they struck the dirt of the trail. No one else was on the path, so they relaxed and spoke freely about their time apart. Pegasus told Karen how much he had missed talking with her.

“I really don’t know what I would have done, either, Kitten, especially knowing that I came to life to be of spiritual service to you. I have been trying to get out of that awful abandoned hippodrome, where they left us. Without the calliope and lights, and with the windows boarded up, it was cold and dreary. No one took care of us. We were just left lying in a heap. I heard your voice calling me from time to time, but I could not call back to you in front of the other horses, and there wasn’t any way for me to escape. Then, today, the workers removed my pole, and I could get my feet on the ground. At the end of the day, one of them left the back door open, too. So, when I heard you calling me, I did not hesitate at all, though the prospect of living away from a carousel is a bit daunting to me.

“I’m supposedly only a merry-go-round horse that takes children for fantasy rides on a carousel, but here I am trotting up a lane in the real world. Remember, we can’t spill our secret to anyone. I’m a little nervous about being away from the carousel, but my destiny is to be with you and not to go back.”

“Okay, Pegasus. Mama knows a little about you, but not about your talking or your spiritual role in my life. We can keep it that way.”

©2021, Karen Lynn-Chlup. All rights reserved.