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Apollo.
Hellfire.
Jude’s Girl.
Their accommodations were better than any place I had ever lived. These creatures were well-cared for. They seemed happy and content. I envied them.
Who do you belong to?
When I got to the last stall, the largest horse poked her head out as if she had been waiting for me. Her brown eyes studied mine as she tilted her head.
“I told you I’d be back, Aurora.” I rubbed the side of her neck, admiring her sleek black coat. “You like that? I went to the library this morning and looked up how to pet you because I wasn’t sure.”
She leaned into my touch, encouraging me to continue.
“I don’t know how many more nights I can keep sneaking in here,” I said. “I know it’s wrong, but I don’t have anywhere else to go.”
I hesitantly trailed my hand to her chest and gently rubbed. She didn’t back away.
“That man came to see me again. He wasn’t very nice. I’m terrified of him.” I slipped my backpack off my shoulder and set it by the window. “He freaked my boss out, so now I don’t have to go back to work. I didn’t really like my job anyway, but I kind of needed it because I’m hungry.” I pressed my hand to my stomach. “I have a few dollars I was saving for a rainy day. Breakfast might have to be that day.”
Aurora continued to stare at me, almost as if she understood. Did she pity me because her belly was full? I wished mine was.
“I’ll start looking for a new job tomorrow, and maybe I can stay here one last time before I move on.” I rubbed her neck again. “I’m going to miss you all.”
There was an extra blanket on the bench across from Macy’s stall. That wasn’t there last night.
“Do you think anyone will mind if I borrow this?” I took the blanket from the bench, and then curled up under the window, across from Hellfire’s stall. “You look like a pretty good protector.” I wrapped myself in the blanket. “I hope you don’t mind the intrusion, but I feel safe here.”
I rummaged through my backpack, looking for my water bottle. There wasn’t much in my bag. When I got evicted from my room, I had to leave some things behind. I only took a few shirts, two pairs of jeans, some panties, and a bra. All of my clothes were worn, ripped, or faded. I managed to make it to the laundromat a couple times a week, but that might soon be a luxury I couldn’t afford if I didn’t find another job. It was difficult to find a decent job when I had to show up looking so unkempt. It didn’t help that I didn’t have a phone or an address.
“It’s going to start getting colder at night,” I told my new friends. “I’m probably going to have to stay at a shelter.” I opened my water bottle and drank the last sip from it. I had filled it before coming here, but the walk was a few miles from the city, and I must have had more than I thought on the way. “It’s not the worst thing in the world, the shelter, but it isn’t the best either.” I giggled. “Well, I guess it’s not that funny.”
I rested my head on the ground and pulled the blanket over me. The temperature had dropped a few degrees, so I was thankful for the blanket even if it did belong to the horses.
“Anyway, I’ll have to find a shelter that isn’t on that awful man’s radar. I stayed at one before. They give you food, but it gets crowded.” I stared up at the large windows above the stalls, gazing at the stars. “There are some strange men there. That kind of frightened me. I got a weird vibe, so I left.”
After a while, my friends quieted down. The sounds of the crickets chirping, and an owl hooting in the distance took over. There was a new moon, so it wasn’t as bright as it was when it had been full.
I closed my eyes, letting the noises of nature lull me to sleep. Before long, visions of the six horses running through a field flooded my mind. They were fast, wild, and free.
A door opened in the distance. Footsteps, I think. A bright light in my face.A flashlight?
I jolted awake, holding my hand in front of my eyes to block the brightness. The strange thing about the light was it wasn’t unwanted. For once, the universe offered me a radiance I seldom found.
“Comfortable?” An attractive, well-dressed man wearing a large, shiny silver watch looked down at me. “What are you doing here?”
“I, ah…” I sat up, trying to get my bearings. My joints ached from laying on the frigid, solid ground. Had someone called the police? “I’m…”
“Trespassing.”
Chapter 2
Jude
A few minutes after the grandfather clock struck midnight, I poured myself a glass of vodka, and then took a seat on the leather chair in my study.
It had been a productive night at the club. The backroom card game generated the cash flow I had hoped for. My associates would be pleased. If they were pleased, so was everyone else.
