The Little Sea Horse 5t6f5o

The Little Sea Horse

Written by Clara E. Stuart

Copyright © 2012 by Clara E. Stuart.

Sketches by Clara Stuart

ISBN: Softcover 978-1-4797-3588-4

Ebook 978-1-4797-3589-1

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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Contents

The Vacation Chapter One

Teresa Chapter Two

Lily’s Sea Horse Chapter Three

Community Unity Chapter Four

L Sea Meets Sally Chapter Five

L Sea Makes His Own Choice Chapter Six

The Proud New Owners Chapter Seven

Little Runaways Chapter Eight

Family Chapter Nine

Gifted? Chapter Ten

Christmas Chapter Eleven

Spring at last Chapter Twelve

Job For L Sea Chapter Thirteen

Abby Chapter Fourteen

Aunt Lois Chapter Fifteen

Dedication

I gratefully acknowledge my greatest inspiration and Savior, Jesus Christ. He gives me the words and I put them on paper. I want to thank the other half of my heart, my best friend and husband of 47 years. He has encouraged me every step of the way. To him who loves us unconditionally, and to my precious family, I dedicate this book

The Vacation

Chapter One

It was late October, a chill was in the early morning air and the eerie fog that had settled on the murky water was beginning to dissipate. Al and Ellen Lewis were out a mile or two toward the Snake River, fishing and enjoying the scenery. The entire valley was picturesque with its rolling hills partially hidden by the low clouds, secluding a small herd of elk that were grazing along their slopes. They watched a lone coyote running around along the shoreline rummaging for food among the driftwood. While high in the branches of a cottonwood tree, a golden eagle was perched, ready to dive down and snatch any unsuspecting fish from the water below him, or whatever tasty morsels the coyote might leave. This was the Lewis’s favorite place on earth. All their vacations were spent right here. Friends and family loved to travel to different places, and they always came back raving about the beautiful scenery in Hawaii, Costa Rica, and Ireland, all of which seemed intriguing for sure. But Al and Ellen chose this place because they were sure that no countryside in the world could be more gorgeous than it was right here. There was no place they would rather be. It wasn’t merely the beautiful brown rolling hills that attracted all sorts of wildlife that captivated them, nor the snow capped mountains standing tall and majestic behind them. It wasn’t just the rivers and streams tumbling swiftly over rock beds and flowing through the plush green valley or the breathtaking sunsets. No, it was much more than that, there was something about this place that was almost magnetic to them. It drew them with its beauty that was true, but it was the serenity and the pure fresh air. It was the friendliness of the local ranchers and town’s people, who never failed to throw up their hands to welcome them that brought the Lewis’s back year after year. “It doesn’t get any better than this,” Al commented, leaning back in his seat. “I know what you mean, I could sit here all day just watching the beauty of this place and never get tired of it, Our God is an awesome artist,” Ellen sighed.

Suddenly her attention was snapped away from the hills to something in the river. It was moving frantically in the water and seemed to be caught on a snag in the currant. Debris and foam had collected around it making it nearly impossible to tell what it was. As their boat slowly drifted toward the floating mass, they could see the form of a tiny animal struggling desperately to stay afloat in the chilling water. Ellen couldn’t imagine what it could be but it appeared to be green! “Al, Pull over to the right a little, let me see if I can help the poor little thing.” The closer they got the more clearly Ellen could see what was causing the disturbance; it was a newborn foal all tangled up in a tree branch. They drifted in cautiously until they were finally close enough for her to reach out and grab the branch. The foal, frightened by the noise of the outboard motor and at the sight of what must have looked like giants, made one last attempt to free itself. It lunged, was in the water and had gone under before Ellen could grab it. “Oh no!” she yelled, “dear Lord no!” All at once the water began to boil wildly and then the foal bobbed to the surface like a balloon full of air. “There!” Al shouted. “Got him!” gasped Ellen, giving a sigh of relief as she tugged the creature into the boat. It was indeed a very green and rather slimy colt.

“Oh look Al, the umbilical cord is still attached! Poor baby, do you think he’ll make it?” Ellen asked, shivering at the sight of the limp little form.

“It’ll be a miracle if he does,” replied Al. “Hypothermia is deadly enough for a grown person, much less a tiny animal like this.”

Al, a slightly balding, gray haired man with muscular arms and a little pot belly, smiled as he watched as his wife wrapped the now shivering colt in her parka and laid him close to the propane heater they brought with them. He couldn’t help but ire her for her tenderness as she soothed the colt, speaking softly to him and making sure he was warm. It reminded him of the gentle way she cared for their children as they were growing up. The wind was blowing her graying hair back, exposing her face to the sunlight now peaking through the broken clouds. He could see how aging had marked her brow with what his mother would call “worry lines” and he was amused by the way her hazel eyes seemed to reflect the blue from the life vest she was wearing. It was just one more thing to remind him of just how much he loved her. Ellen seemed a little more hopeful than her husband who was the more practical of the two. Although he was small in stature, still he was very firm about keeping a level head. She searched his face for any sign of hope, but the steel blue eyes that she’d learned to trust for strength didn’t reveal what she had hoped to see. Her mind was racing as they headed for the dock. Fishing would be delayed for today. “I wonder who he belongs to . . . ?” she finally managed to say, thinking out loud really. “I wonder how he ended up in the river,” Al answered. “That storm last night was really fierce. All the wind and heavy rain probably caused a flash flood that swept him away from his mother, right on out to the river,” she said. “Well anyway we’d better see if we can find the owner,” Al said, concerned. “Um hum,” Ellen responded, not really paying attention to him. Her thoughts were on the colt who was beginning to show signs of life. His eyes came open and he snorted! Water spewed everywhere! “Goodness!” laughed Ellen. “You’re a regular little sea horse aren’t you?” She spoke softly, trying not to frighten him. He blinked his big eyes at her as though he understood what she was saying. The algae now drying in his hair, mixed with blood from the few minor cuts and scrapes, caused the colt to have funny little greenish highlights, but they could

see that, underneath it all, he was actually white. “Yep, that confirms it,” she giggled, “a regular little sea horse, easy baby,” she whispered as he began to wriggle out of the parka. “You’re going to be okay.” “Look at him Al, I think he knows we’re trying to help him, look how calm he is.” “He’s still half frozen, probably in shock. You’d better find something to put around his neck before he comes to all the way. We don’t want a panic-stricken animal on board, we could all end up in the river,” Al said, genuinely concerned. Ellen looked around the boat. All she could find was an extra life vest. She carefully wrapped it around the colt and fastened the buckle snuggly. He was so tiny that the strap hung long enough to use as a lead rope. As they approached the dock, the colt leapt to his feet and seemed to be as glad to see land as they were. But still he was calm and at ease with them. “Come on little sea horse,” she coaxed. But his fragile little legs were still very weak and wobbly, so Al quickly took him up into his arms and lifted the reluctant little fellow onto the dock. “I think we’d better find a vet,” Al said. “they can check him over and they’ll probably have a pretty good idea who the owner is.” In her heart Ellen was hoping they wouldn’t find the owner, that by some small miracle they could keep him. After all, he would have died if they hadn’t seen him in time, if at all! And they did fish him out of the water didn’t they? But the truth was, and thus she realized, that without the tiny foal’s mother to nurture him, he wouldn’t survive. They made their way to their truck and Al lifted the colt onto the back. Ellen climbed in with him, tied the strap to the rail and held on to the life vest firmly. Al unhitched the boat and trailer, they had decided to leave it on the parking lot. As Al cautiously began to pull out, Ellen began talking to the colt softly, trying to reassure him. His eyes started to have a wild look of panic at first, but after she got his attention he was calmed by the “soothing noise” of her voice and settled down. They drove around town, up one street and down another until finally, after what seemed like hours to Ellen, they pulled onto the parking lot of the only veterinarian in town. Al went in first to alert the doctor of the

emergency they brought him. He appeared in the doorway, a tall, slim, gentle looking man in his early sixties. His face was kind, and he had the look of comion, the way Ellen expected a veterinarian to be, yet he had a worried look on his face. But by the time he reached the truck where Ellen was anxiously waiting with the colt, his countenance had changed to that of disbelief. “This is amazing. There is absolutely no way a foal this young could have survived an ordeal like that! I can’t believe my eyes,” he said. “Why just look at you little fellow! Bright eyes and all!” The colt just blinked his questioning eyes. Ellen followed the Vet, who introduced himself as Doctor Steven Young, into the building, Al followed carrying the colt. They were both surprised to see that this little country clinic was so well equipped. Everything was arranged in perfect order, and there seemed to be all the best instruments necessary to perform any procedure that might come up. Against the wall stood a floor to ceiling cabinet stocked with vitamins medications, food and treats, as well as shampoos, skin treatments, and flea dips. She noticed a display of pet care pamphlets near the waiting area. “This place is very impressive,” Ellen commented to Al as they followed the doctor to a small room and watched as he gently took the colt from Al and laid him on the gurney, all the while talking softly to him. After checking the colt all over for serious injuries and treating the minor ones, the vet was satisfied that nothing was broken. “I feel pretty confident that he’ll be fine, but just the same, I’d like to keep him overnight just as a precaution. He’s suffered some hypothermia, and the trauma may have caused him to go into shock,” he told them. “I’ll just bunk in here tonight and keep an eye on him. I’ll call you in the morning, then we can try to figure out who the owner is. Are there any questions I can answer for you?” he asked “I’m concerned about malnutrition,” Ellen spoke up. “He’s so young and so tiny.” “Oh no, no don’t worry about that, we get a lot of this around here. Nothing this dramatic of course, but we do get orphaned or abandoned animals. Sometimes the mama rejects them and refuses to feed them,” he explained trying to reassure

them. “We get goats milk from local ranchers,” he continued, “sometimes they even loan us a female to act as a wet nurse. There is something I need to ask,” said Dr. Young; “if the owners can’t be located, would you be willing, or perhaps I should say, able, to assume financial responsibility as well as ownership?” “Absolutely!” Ellen said without hesitating, almost leaping out of the chair she was sitting in. “Ellen are you sure you want to take this on? Are you ready to be tied to the farm for the next year?” Al asked, shocked by her quick response, and concerned about the fact that she hadn’t given any thought to the commitment she had just made. “Do you have any idea what a job it is to raise a horse? And a newborn at that? Not to mention all the complications!” A new surge of excitement suddenly flowed through Ellen as she began to comprehend the possibility of them actually taking the colt home with them. Horse owners! “We can do it Al, I know we can!” she began. “We? Whoa now! Who said I was volunteering?” he protested. “We have enough land, we have a barn, a pasture; we can . . .” she went on. “Ellen,” he interrupted, “we just bought the place and we haven’t even checked it out yet. The fences will probably need a lot repairing. I know for sure the corral is a mess. Besides, we’re retired now, we’re supposed to be slowing down, enjoying life.” “Come on Al, where’s your sense of adventure? You’ve always loved a challenge. Let’s at least think about it. I think owning a horse would be fun,” she retaliated. “Doctor Young . . . .” Al began “Please, all the folks around here call me Doc.” he interrupted. “Okay, Doc. If the owners don’t claim him and we do decide to keep him, how

will we feed him? Can he be bottle-fed, or would we have to buy a mare to raise him? We don’t know the first thing about raising a horse.” Al had a lot of questions and concerns. “Well Al, Ellen, let’s not get the cart before the horse, if you’ll excuse the pun. The thing is that the next few hours will be crucial. First of all, we don’t know if we’ll find the owners, or that they’ll claim him,” he told them. “Secondly, the crisis isn’t over for the little fellow yet. But in answer to your question, a mare would be wonderful, however, it isn’t as easy as it sounds. The best thing for this baby would be to find his mother. Whether or not a strange mare would accept this baby or if he would take to her is very risky. It’s very possible to raise him on a bottle, which would be what I would recommend, no matter who ends up taking him,” Doc continued. “The rest is just a matter of common sense, like raising a child. Do you have kids?” he asked. “Yes, but they’re all grown and living away from home, raising families of their own,” Ellen told him. “Well then, you do have the motherly instinct,” he said. “Besides, right now that’s the least of my concerns.” “Why? What do you mean?” Ellen asked, suddenly frightened. “What concerns?” asked Al. “If the colt got water in his lungs he could develop pneumonia or any number of pulmonary disorders. It could weaken his heart, cause brain damage; his nervous system could be affected. The list goes on and on. But it’s just too soon to tell,” Doc answered. “Will you be able to do anything for him, I mean, he will be okay won’t he?” asked Ellen. “Well, we’ll just have to trust the good Lord on this one,” he said. “We should know by morning if he’s going to get sick. If he makes it through the night without having a fever, he may just be okay.” They all stood silently for some time, then Doc spoke up; “You may as well go on back to the cabin and get some rest. I’ll give you a call if there are any changes. Is there a phone where I can reach you?”

“Yes, we’re staying at the Cabins By The Lake, room 10,” Al said, Doc jotted down the phone number, gave them a card with the clinic’s phone number as well as his home phone, then they left him to tend to the soggy bundle they brought him. As they were driving to the cabin, they began praying for the fragile little creature they had fished out of the river. When they left the dock at first light to go fishing that morning, they had no idea that their “Catch of the day” would turn out to be a special little sea horse! Who would have ever dreamed of such a thing? After debating on whether or not to get up early and continue their planned fishing trip, or stay and check on the colt, they decided that it would be a good idea to go fishing, if for no other reason than to get their minds off the colt for awhile. They would come in early to call Doc, then if all was well, they’d go back out after lunch. Al wanted to try for some channel cats. They knew the colt was in capable hands, he was being well cared for and besides, there really wasn’t anything they could do right now. Al knew it would be better for Ellen to have something to do, rather than sitting at the motel worrying about the colt. They were up at dawn and ready for a good morning’s fishing trip. The rain had stopped, and most of the clouds had gone. The mountains were glistening with new snow, and the air had a fresh crispness to it. It was surprisingly easy to get into the boat. Ellen expected to struggle with her emotions and long to be either near a phone or at the clinic in case any news came through. But she felt an inner peace after they prayed. “Maybe we’ll be able to take some pictures today,” Al commented. “I hope so, it’ll be fun to see what’s happening in the canyon today,” said Ellen. They spent the morning fishing as planned, praying and rehashing the crazy drama they had experienced the day before. The Elk had moved on and except for the coyote, who seemed to have claimed that span of shoreline, the hillsides were quiet. They couldn’t seem to get the catfish to bite, but they got into a good school of trout and caught their limits quickly, so they decided to go in and call.

“Well, I’ve got some good news and some bad news,” Doc said when he heard Al’s voice on the other end of the line. “The good news is, the colt has made it past the critical stage. Some more good news is that we’ve located the owners. They’re John and Teresa Houston. John is one of our local ranchers. He’s coming over in about an hour to see the colt , and to talk things over.” Ellen’s heart was glad that the colt was doing okay, but the news of the owners being found gave her a sinking feeling. Suddenly her mind was flooded with thoughts and worries. All the time they were driving to the clinic she wondered what the bad news could be. “Were the owners coming to take the colt home? Will they even want him? Maybe they want to sell him to us.” Questions started pouring out as soon as they walked through the door. “You said you had good news and bad news,” said Al. “what’s the bad news?” “The colt’s mother didn’t survive the gully washer. She got tangled in a fallen tree and the jolt apparently broke her neck,” Doc said. “Oh no! The poor thing. But that would explain how the colt got caught in that branch. It must have broken off from the tree under all that pressure,” said Ellen. In stressful anticipation, they waited at the clinic to meet the colt’s owners. Ellen felt like she had a knot in the pit of her stomach, yet she realized that they had no rightful claim to him. Al took her hand in his and clasped it gently. It was then that she knew he shared her love for the colt. The minutes crawled by, they thought that rancher would never get there. Ellen grew more and more anxious. Finally, they saw him coming. They watched as his vehicle pulled onto the parking lot, come to a stop and a rather frail looking man emerge. He was tall, but stooped over. He had been a hard worker, one could clearly see that. He looked elderly, yet his black wavy hair suggested he might be younger than he looked. Her heart went out to John and her entire outlook changed. Now Ellen’s thoughts were, “what has this poor man been through? How much has he lost? How much more disappointment can he stand?” His face showed signs of disgust, pain and exhaustion. “Hi. You must be the heroes huh?” he said, barely managing a smile. “I’m John Houston.” he said, extending his hand in friendship, and then sat down, wearily.

“We’re the Lewis’s, Al and Ellen. But hold on now, I wouldn’t exactly call us heroes, flattering as it sounds,” Al said, as he too sat down. “We just caught a little sea horse instead of a trout,” Ellen nervously butted in. “Well I’m sure the little Sea Horse is very grateful that you came along when you did,” said John glancing over at the foal. “How’s he doin’ Doc?”

“He’s not out of the woods yet, but I must say he’s doing better than I expected. It’s a real miracle that he survived this whole terrible ordeal. I think the foal will be fine,” said Doc. “But Are you sure you want to do this right now? You look like you’ve been through an earthquake yourself John.” “You could say that. The gully washer caused a mudslide. The place is a mess. We lost the chicken coup, some of the chickens, part of the barn and most of the orchard. It didn’t get to the herd though, thank God. But the horse, that’s the worst part of it all. That mare was my wife’s pride and joy She was from a bloodline longer than the county. I didn’t even know she’d foaled. The force must have caused it. The Poor thing was dead when I went to check out the damage. Found her nearly buried in mud, tangled in a downed tree, broke her neck.” John spoke slowly, rubbing his forehead. “Don’t know what we’re gonna do, money’s scarce as hen’s teeth. With Teresa’s illness, all the doctor and hospital bills, I just know I ain’t got the money or the energy to take care of it all. I’m too old and worn out to get things back up and running. We’ll probably have to sell out.” “Now don’t be too hasty, there are other options to consider,” Doc told him. “This is a community that pulls together in times like this. I’m sure everything will work out okay John.” “Well it’s going to take a lot of work, time and money, and now there’s this little critter to think about.” said John. “Let’s take it day by day. We’ll just watch and see what the man upstairs can do. We aren’t promised tomorrow but we can rejoice in each day we’re given,” said Doc. Al and Ellen stood silently, listening to the good advice and counseling Doc was

giving to John, wondering and expecting. They had seen the hand of God move time after time in their life’s journey. Many nights they knelt by their babies beds praying for God to take their fever away, and He did. They witnessed this miracle many times, so of course their hearts were blessed to find that this doctor of animals shared their faith in the Almighty Omnipotent Father who cares for all creatures, even little sea horses. Doc continued . . . “I need to keep him here so I can watch him for another day or so. If his lungs stay clear and his heart strong, he can go home as soon as he takes to bottle-feeding. Right now I’ve got him on IV feeding, with some medication. He’s getting a mild sedative besides antibiotics to ward off any “bugs” along with the nourishment. I needed to sedate him so I could complete the tests, x-rays, and all, but when he comes out of it we’ll need to introduce him to formula. If he accepts that, he’ll be ready to go home.” “Whoa now Doc,” John spoke up. “Home ain’t gonna work! Like I said, the place is a mess. The barn isn’t safe right now, The mudslide took out the corrals, everything’s wrecked. With my wife’s grieving over the mare and all, I just don’t know if she’ll be able to take care of the little fellow. Me, well I’m still trying to dig us out of the mud.” “Al and I have been talking,” Ellen broke in. “We’d love to take the colt . . . that is if you’d let us have him.” “Yes, we have a place a little over 100 miles from here. We have to do a lot of fixing up but we can make a place for him,” said Al. “I’d need to okay it with Teresa. She’s not in any shape to make a decision right now. Let’s do as the Doc here say’s and take it a day at a time.” John said. “I’ll go home and ease her in to what’s been happening. She doesn’t know about the colt or anything that’s been going on. She’s pretty frail as it is. I don’t want to over load the circuit.” “Maybe it’s best not to mention the colt at all,” suggested Doc. “I mean in case he doesn’t make it. If he doesn’t, it would probably be better for her to go on believing the mare was killed before she foaled.” “I don’t know Doc, that’s a pretty big loss, but perhaps you’re right. Let me think about it,” John said as he went out the door. “Call me if there’s any news, otherwise I’ll be back in the morning.”

Al and Ellen went back to the cabin. Nothing had been settled. The colt was still out from the anesthesia so there was no way to tell if he’d refuse the bottlefeeding or accept it. They fell asleep with a mixture of emotions, disappointment, concern, and confusion. The call came at 2:00am. It was Doc. “I hate to ask this of you, but there’s a problem with the colt, I need help and with all that John’s been through I really don’t want to drag him out tonight, could you come? You did say if I needed your help . . . . ?” “Of course, we’re on our way.” That was all Al had to say. Ellen was up, dressed and ready to go. When they got to the clinic Doc met them at the door. “He’s been having convulsions, probably a reaction to the anesthesia. The little guy’s a fighter I’ll give him that!” he said. “What can we do?” Asked Ellen, removing her parka. “He’s trying to come out of it. I need you to hold him down Al. Ellen I need you to keep him calmed down by talking to him. I have to keep his airway open.” he said.

They worked the rest of the night, rubbing, talking, and soothing him. By daybreak the colt finally gasped, coughed and opened his eyes. “Hello little Sea Horse,” Ellen whispered, tears sneaking their way down her cheeks. “You’re going to be okay, yes you’re okay now.” “Let’s try to get him to stand up. Careful, steady boy,” said Doc. “He’s pretty weak,” said Ellen, still a little frightened. “We need to get him to eat, may as well find out how he’ll take to the bottle,” said Doc as he prepared the formula. He filled a bottle with the warm liquid and offered it to the colt. “Here you go, try some of this,” but the tiny foal collapsed

to the floor. “Come on baby, just a little,” he coaxed. Doc tried wetting the colt’s tongue with the formula, but the colt refused it. “Let me try,” Ellen said, settling down on the floor beside the colt. She slid her hands under his neck and shoulder, pulling him onto her lap. “Hey little Sea Horse, I’m going to be your mommy for awhile. I want to help you if you’ll let me. Here’s some nice warm milk, can you try some?” She talked to him softly and stroked his fury neck. He opened his eyes wide and looked into hers as though he could feel her motherly touch. “Give me the bottle Doc,” she said. He handed it to her and she coaxed the foal to open his mouth. She held the nipple in his mouth refusing to let him spit it out, although he tried. Finally the muscles in his throat began to flex and he started to suckle, just a little. “Yes!” shouted Al and doc as their hands clapped into a loud ‘high five’ and they all gave a sigh of relief.

The colt didn’t take much of the formula at first, but with each feeding he took a little more. “We’ll watch him for a couple more days and if he’s eating okay and seems stronger he can go home,” said Doc. Home. Now reality sets in. Home where? Will John and his wife allow them to take the colt or will they decide to keep him themselves? There was so much to be hashed out, to get settled. What would be best for the colt? Who is more capable of caring for him? It would certainly add to John’s already heavy load. The questions kept going through Ellen’s mind, over and over again. She wanted that colt more than she’d ever wanted anything in her life, but the important thing right now was knowing that the little Sea Horse was going to be okay. It was an agonizing weekend. The hours crept slowly by and it was hard for them to think about anything other than the colt and who his owners would be.

The destination of the frail little animal was now being weighed in the balance. Of course they wanted what was best for him, but in their hearts Al and Ellen were hoping, yes even praying, that their little Sea Horse would be going home with them. “I can’t help wondering about John’s wife.” said Ellen, breaking the silence. “Why did he say ‘she’s very frail right now’? Is she sick, or is it because she’s grieving over the loss of her mare, the mother of the colt?” “I don’t know honey, but I’m sure we’ll learn more about her soon,” Al replied. “I just can’t stand waiting like this!” she said. “The ‘not knowing’ is making me crazy!”

“I know me too. I wish we could talk to them and find out what they’re thinking,” said Al. “Well why can’t we? Couldn’t we call them and invite them for coffee or something?” she perked. “I don’t know,” Al commented. “We probably shouldn’t push too hard, it’s got to be pretty tough for them with everything that’s happened to them lately; losing the mare, and the mudslide nearly wiping out their ranch. I think we should give them a little more time. Let’s let them tell us when they’re ready,” he said. Just about then the phone rang; Al picked it up, “Hello? Yes this is Al Lewis. Who? Oh, hi John. Well as a matter of fact Ellen and I were just talking about having coffee or something. At 6:00? Sure, we can do that. Yes, I understand. Okay we’ll see you there, bye now.” He hung up the phone and turned to Ellen with a grin, “That’s really odd,” he said. “We were just talking about him and he called to invite us out for coffee.” “What about his wife, is she coming too? I’m anxious to meet her,” replied Ellen. “No, John says she’s too weak to go out,” he answered. “Well did he say anything about the colt? Did he sound like he’s going to let us

have him? Do you think he’s made a decision?” asked Ellen, suddenly full of questions. “I don’t know, he just said he wanted to talk to us. I assume he meant about the colt. We’re supposed to meet him at the café around the corner for coffee,” said Al. Now she was really anxious. It was only 3:00 pm. They had three hours to wait. Three more hours and they would know if they would get to keep their little Sea Horse or not. It was the “or not” that had her nerves twisting in knots. “How could I let myself get this attached?” she asked herself. “We can go by the clinic to check on the colt before we go can’t we?” she asked. “Of course! I don’t want to get killed!” he teased. They straightened up a few of their things in the cabin, then headed out to the truck. It was beginning to sprinkle again and from the looks of the clouds they knew it could get worse. Ellen was glad they took the day off from fishing. Even though they had a top on their boat, still the wind was bone-chilling out on the water that time of year, especially when it was raining. At that elevation, they wouldn’t be surprised if the rain showers turned to snow. Approaching the clinic the Lewis’s were pleasantly surprised to see Doc and the colt outside. “Oh look Al!” Ellen giggled as she pointed to the grassy spot next to the parking lot. Doc had a little halter on the colt and was letting him get acquainted with the outdoors. He looked like an oversized puppy sniffing and puzzling over the grass, rocks, flowers and trees. A raindrop splashed on his nose and the colt jumped back, trying to figure out what hit him. The three of them roared with laughter. “Okay little fellow, time to go in,” said Doc. Al and Ellen followed them inside and Ellen volunteered to rub the colt down with a warm towel while Doc heated a bottle for him. The colt had become accustomed to her voice and seemed to expect her touch. She scratched his ears and rubbed his muzzle his little tail twitching happily as he nursed. “I think he’s ready to go home,” Doc was saying, “Have you and John come to an agreement yet?” he asked.

“No, not yet, we have an appointment with him at 6:00 this evening. We’re having coffee and most likely will be discussing the colt then,” Al answered. “Well the sooner we get this little fellow into a natural environment the better it will be for him. He needs to be acclimated to the outdoors,” said Doc. They left the clinic with anticipation and a new excitement in their hearts. They still had a half hour before John was to arrive; they sat at a booth and ordered coffee. Sipping the hot steamy brew, neither of them speaking but both deep in thought, they wondered what the outcome would be for them, John and the colt. The silence was broken when John slid into the booth beside Al . . . “Hi there.” said John. “Hello John, how’s your wife?” Ellen asked, genuinely concerned. “I was hoping to meet her tonight.” “She’s a little better this evening I think, but still, she wasn’t strong enough to come with me. Gotta take her to Boise on Tuesday for more tests, she’s seeing a surgeon there.” he said. It wasn’t until then that they noticed that the worried look had deepened in John’s eyes. He was obviously very troubled. “John what is it? You look awful,” said Al. “Tests came back. Not good,” he said simply. “Cancer I’m afraid.” “Oh John I’m so sorry. What can we do to help?” offered Ellen. “Oh no Ellen, it ain’t that we need help right now, I can manage. It’s the ‘not knowing’ that’s hard . . . . but thanks for asking,” he replied. Isn’t that what she’d said only minutes before, about the colt? That made her feel really bad. All she had been concerned about was how badly she wanted that colt, this poor man had the weight of the world on his shoulders right now. “How could I be so selfish?” she scolded herself. “What I wanted to talk to you about is the foal,” said John. “I finally broke down

and told Teresa about him and everything that’s been going on. Never could keep a secret from her,” he said through a broken smile. “Anyway, she was real excited, and she wants to see him. I told her he was the spittin’ image of his mama. It brought a sparkle to her eyes I haven’t seen in a very long time. Thing is, she’s in no shape to go very far from the house right now. I don’t know how I’m going to pull it off,” he said sadly. “You just leave that to us. Tell you what, we’ll go get the colt and bring him to your place. Would she be able to come out of the house to see him?” asked Al. “Why yes, yes I think she could do that; say that’s very kind of you. You sure it wouldn’t be too much trouble?” he replied with tears filling his eyes once again. “Not at all!” said Ellen. “We’d be glad to do that for you.” “Now the other thing I wanted to talk to you about is, well, I told you what it’s like out at my place, mud everywhere, everything’s wrecked, and Teresa, she’s not able to take care of the little fellow, and well, I just can’t keep him there right now. So I was wondering if you’d be willing to take the colt home with you, to take care of him until we know how Teresa . . . that is if she . . . . you know. I’ll see to it that Doc is properly paid.” He couldn’t contain the tears any longer. As he was wiping his face with his handkerchief, Al spoke to him quietly, “John,” he said “will you let us for you and Teresa?”

“It couldn’t hurt none I guess,” was his reply. They each took John’s hands and clasped theirs together, making a circle, and Al began to pray;

“Father God, we trust you in all things great or small. Now we bring Teresa before you, and we ask that you smile upon her, and touch her body. Give her strength. Minister to her needs right now. And Lord, we pray that you will strengthen John, and give him both knowledge and courage to face this trial. We speak peace to them both, and their household. Amen.”

Impulsively, Ellen wrapped her arms around John and embraced him gently. There were tears in his eyes, and his chin quivered slightly. She wondered if he was a believer, but now didn’t seem to be the time to ask. After the prayer Al said, “Listen John, we love that colt. We’d be more than happy to keep him for you, but we won’t hear of you paying the entire vet bill. How about splitting it down the middle?” “Well unfortunately I’m not in any position to argue the point,” said John. “That sounds good to me. But there’s something I need to say, it’s really hard, but . . . if things get worse here, if she . . . well . . . you know, I, I want you to have the colt. Now I’m not saying that I’m giving him to you right off, he comes from prize stock. But what I am saying is that you can keep him until we know how Teresa’s going to do. If she doesn’t make it, then the colt is yours,” the tears started again. “It’s okay John, we understand. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, like Doc says, one day at a time. We’ll take the colt and keep him until, well you just let us know when you’re ready to make a decision either way, okay?” Ellen said not really knowing what else to say. “We want you to know we really care and we’re praying for you both everyday. You will keep us updated on Teresa’s condition, and her progress won’t you?” “Of course, soon as I know anything.” he promised. “John, what about insurance?” asked Ellen “We had to cut it back to liability last year. Most of the rigs needed repairs, we had to buy hay and feed. We didn’t fair too well at the auction. You know what they say; “When it rains, it pours!” They all left the café, John back to the ranch to tend to his wife, and the Lewis’s back to their cabin. The next morning Al and Ellen went to the clinic to tell Doc of their plan to take the colt to the Houston’s Ranch so Teresa could see him. He wasn’t exactly thrilled with the idea, mostly because he felt it might be too much for Teresa. But he went along with it in spite of his reservations.

Teresa

Chapter Two

They loaded the colt onto the back of their pickup once again, but this time they had the proper restraints for his protection. They headed for the Houston Ranch taking the riverside route. The further they got the more destruction they saw. On approaching the ranch they could clearly see that they had gotten hit the worst by the mudslide. They made their way slowly down the long muddy driveway, across the creek on a log bridge. The place was a disaster to say the least. There were trees like dominoes toppled in rows one on top of another, and so on. The barn was caved in on one side, with mounds of mud and logs piled high against the broken boards. What was left of the chicken coup lay in twisted ruin. The old house looked like someone had splattered it with mud balls. It was a miracle that it withstood the slide at all. John came to the door to greet them. “Come in, come in, we’ve been expecting you,” he said, shaking Al’s hand. “Here, let me take your coat,” he said to Ellen. “We won’t stay long,” Ellen said, handing him her parka, and looking around the room. It was modest but beautifully decorated, from custom made draperies, and lace doilies to a hand crocheted tablecloth. Everything was neatly in place. “This is adorable!” Ellen blurted out. “Thanks,” said John “Teresa made it all herself, she’s quite the little homemaker.” he said, smiling fondly at the small form in the recliner. Their attention now drawn to Teresa, they walked across the room and introduced themselves. She managed a smile through her obvious pain. Her hair had been neatly placed in a bun, and she was dressed to perfection. It was obvious that John took good care of her.

“The . . . colt . . . ?” she said weakly. “Oh yes, we brought him. He’s in the truck, can you . . . ?” answered Ellen. She looked at John and he said, “I’ll get her wheelchair.” Ever so gently he lifted her, kissed her tenderly and sat her in the wheelchair. Then he carefully wrapped a blanket around her, tucking the edges in around her. Ellen was touched by his deep comion for his wife. As the light brushed Teresa’s face, the telltale signs of pain and weakness was evident. Yet looking beyond the dark circles and creases, a certain tenderness and love shone through. Ellen’s heart was melted by this truly special couple. When Teresa’s eyes focused on the colt, she began to weep softly. “Oh my poor Lily,” she whispered, “How proud you would have been of your beautiful son. Closer John, take me closer,” she said. “Wait a minute . . . . .” Ellen started to say, but before she could finish, Al had lifted the colt out of the truck and was leading him toward Teresa. Ellen smiled at her husband. Once again they were of one mind. As though the colt could sense the bond this woman had with his mother, he did something that surprised them all, he laid his head in her lap! Ellen couldn’t stop the tears if she wanted to, they came freely and streamed down her face. It was the most emotional, touching moment she had ever witnessed. Then Teresa spoke, in a barely audible whisper she said, “Lily’s son needs a family to love him the way we loved her, and someone to raise him to be strong. I don’t believe this was an accident, you finding him and all.” “And,” she continued, “I know John will agree with me, the colt belongs to you. We know you will love him and give him a good home. But please promise me that you’ll never sell him. The other thing is, we want to be able to come visit him from time to time.” “Oh Teresa, Of course you can come see him, whenever you want. And don’t worry, we could never even think of selling him, we love him. He’s a precious little miracle. Thank you so much for trusting us to care for him,” Ellen told her, fighting her emotions.

It took nearly all of Teresa’s strength to speak. She was ready to return to her recliner. After they helped John get her inside and settled into her chair, they thanked the Houston’s, hugged them both, and promised to take good care of the colt. They loaded him onto the truck and left to prepare for their journey home. “Al, just a simple “thank you” seems almost rude. Do you think they know we’re more than thankful?” Ellen asked. “Of course they do honey, you can see it all over your face, they know. But better still, they’re relieved to know how much we love him. They know we’ll take excellent care of him,” said Al “I just can’t believe it. I’m so excited!” she giggled. “I can’t believe we came for fish and we’re going home with a horse! Retirement isn’t going to be the way we planned that’s for sure.” said Al. “Don’t worry honey, winter’s coming. We won’t be doing much ‘til spring anyway. By then the little Sea Horse will be big enough to either take with us or we can pay a neighbor to feed him while were gone. Nothing’s going to change, you’ll see,” said Ellen sounding very sure of herself. “No Ellen, you’re going to see, there’s a lot of work in raising a horse,” he said. They dropped their little Sea Horse off at the clinic for one last night and went back to the cabin.

Lily’s Sea Horse

Chapter Three

The next morning Al got up early and went to the dock, loaded the boat, then went to the clinic to get the colt while Ellen stayed and packed. He had intended to pay their half of the bill, but decided to wait to talk to Ellen. They could swing back by the clinic on the way out of town. When Al and the colt got back, he and Ellen finished packing and loaded the truck. The colt watched every move they made, twitching his ears this way and that, trying to figure out what they were doing. “Hey little Sea Horse, we’re going home,” Ellen said as she rubbed his neck. “Lily’s Sea Horse, that’s what I’m going to call you,” she said. “I think Teresa would like that.” “Yes, it’s perfect!” said Al. “let’s take Lily’s Sea Horse and head for home, but first we need to settle the bill with Doc. I don’t think it would be right for John to have to pay any of it,” he said. “but I wanted to see if you agreed.” he added. “Of course I do.” she said. They stopped by the clinic and paid the bill in full. “I need to give him his shots before he leaves here, then you’ll need to bring him in for the next one in a couple of months, either back here or at a vet in your town. Or, I could teach you how to give them yourself,” he suggested. “That’s probably the best idea,” said Ellen So after a quick lesson on the technique of giving shots, dressing wounds, and mixing formula, the Lewis’s left with their little Sea Horse, medicine kit, formula and a new adventure just ahead. The clouds were beginning to scatter and now were only lining the horizon. The

sky was a bright and shimmering azure blue. It had the promise of a gorgeous day even though it was quite chilly. “It’s a lovely day for traveling isn’t it honey?” Ellen commented. “It is, and I’m really glad. I was a little worried about hauling the colt in the rain,” he said. They had barely reached the freeway when they noticed a steady stream of traffic headed up the river highway toward the Houston’s ranch. There were tractors, plows, a backhoe, and several dump trucks, plus a semi with a flatbed loaded with lumber, sandbags, PVC pipe, cement and what seemed like all the men from town! “Wow, look at that!” exclaimed Al. “Doc was sure right when he said this community pulls together in times of crisis,” Ellen said, “but I didn’t expect this at all.” “I wonder what we can do to help,” said Al. “I don’t know, let’s go back and talk to Doc,” Ellen suggested. “What about the colt? We can’t just leave him on the truck,” he said. “Well let’s just wait and see what Doc has to say,” she replied. They turned around and headed back toward the clinic they’d just left. Doc was locking up when they got there. “Well hello, I thought you two had already left for home,” he said.

Community Unity

Chapter Four

“We didn’t get very far. We saw a bunch of people, trucks, heavy equipment and supplies headed up to the Houston’s, how can we help?” Al asked. “Well actually I don’t know, I was just headed that way myself. Folks around here are used to working with mudslides. Gully washers happen a lot in this area. I’m pretty sure they’ve already got a plan worked out, but you’re welcome to come along,” he said. “What about the colt? We can’t leave him on the truck,” said Ellen. “And the boat, could we leave it on the parking lot?” Al asked “Of course, here let me give you a hand,” offered Doc. They unhitched the trailer and tugged it over to an out of the way spot on the parking lot. “It’ll be safe right here,” Doc told him “nobody will bother it. As for the colt, there’s a farm on the way to the Houston Ranch, I’m sure they’ll let us leave him there for a few hours,” he suggested. “Okay let’s go,” said Al. “we’ll follow you Doc.” They started out quickly, but soon caught up to the caravan. It was slow moving for miles it seemed. Reconstruction had already begun on the roadsides here and there. Bales of straw and sandbags had been piled along creeks and slide areas. But right now these workers had a mission and nothing would detour or discourage them from accomplishing what they had set out to do; their destination: the Houston Ranch! And they were going to be a part of it! Ellen’s heart was suddenly filled with a sense of pride she’d never felt before. “We’re so blessed to have discovered this town and these wonderful people who

really do care about one another,” she said. “You’re right Ellen. It makes me wonder about some of the other places we’ve been, where people are so caught up in their own problems that they don’t have any time for anyone else.” Al answered. Finally Doc gave his turn signal and pulled onto a long dirt driveway that led to an old farmhouse. Ellen ed seeing it when they brought the colt to the Houston’s for Teresa. They followed close behind. Everything was neat and tidy, obviously untouched by the mudslide. The fences were freshly painted, the barn groomed and standing proud. Chickens were fluttering about trying to catch the last remaining bugs of the season. A short chubby woman in her early forties, with red hair pulled back in a ponytail, appeared on the porch, wiping her hands on her apron. “Hi Doc. What brings you way out here?” she called to him, her hand now over her brow to shield her eyes from the glaring sun. “Morning Maggie, these are the Lewis’s, Al and Ellen. We’re going up to the Houston Ranch to see if we can help, you heard they nearly lost everything?” “Yes we did, matter of fact Henry’s up there now. I told him to bring Teresa back here so I can take care of her, at least she’ll be warm here. The noise will probably worry her to death if she stays there,” she said. “I was wondering if we could leave their foal here while we go up there?” asked Doc.

“Of course they can. Old Sally would probably love having a foal around again. We just sold hers and she’s been acting a little lonely.” she said.

L Sea Meets Sally

Chapter Five

They unloaded the little Sea Horse and led him in the direction of the barn. As they approached the corral, they got their first glimpse of old Sally, a beautiful charcoal colored donkey. Her bright eyes were fastened on the colt. “L Sea, this is Sally,” Ellen said as she unfastened the lead rope. “You’re going to be staying here for a little while, but we’ll be back soon, you be a good boy,” she said, kissing him on his muzzle. Ellen stepped back to see what he would do. He was shy at first, but old Sally was quick to welcome him. She butted him gently with her muzzle and L Sea anchored his little legs to keep from being toppled over. Ellen closed the gate and stood watching for a few minutes more just to make sure he’d be okay staying there. L Sea sniffed the grass beneath his feet then walked over to where Ellen and the others were standing, as though needing one more word of reassurance. “It’s okay baby, go on,” said Ellen, stroking his mane. That was all he needed to hear. He turned and began bouncing; leaping, scampering and then he took off running as hard as he could go, as though he’d been charged with new energy. It was the first time he’d been allowed to exercise without a rope tied to his harness. He loved it! “He’s going to wear himself out,” Ellen said, laughing at him. “It’ll be good for him, right Doc?” said Al “Best medicine there is,” Doc answered. They were just about to leave when Henry’s pickup turned into the long

driveway. As he stepped out of the truck, they could see that his appearance was that of a gruff man, tall and slender, yet strong. He had mousy brown hair, streaked with gray, and his tanned face was small and round, slightly concealed by a neatly groomed beard. He did have Teresa with him just like his wife instructed. “Henry, this is Al and Ellen Lewis,” said Doc. “Hi there!” Henry said, extending his hand. Al shook his hand. He noticed that it was rough and calloused from hard work. Al and Doc helped him get Teresa into her wheelchair. Then they wheeled her up to the porch, lifted the chair past the steps, and set her down. “O-o-o” squealed Teresa. “Sorry Teresa didn’t mean to be so rough,” Henry apologized They wheeled her on in to the living room and got her settled into a nice easy chair, and wrapped her blanket around her. “There you go Miss Teresa,” Henry said. “Now you can just sit here and visit with the gals.” “How’s it going at the ranch Henry?” asked Doc. “Everyone’s buzzing around like a bunch of bees. Equipment’s making so much noise you can’t hear one another, but they all seem to know what needs to be done and by golly they’re getting ‘er done,” Henry answered.

“We were going up to offer our help . . .” said Doc. “Don’t know what you could do Doc, they’ve got it all under control,” said Henry. “Well they’re going to need food and coffee,” said Ellen. “Nobody can work all day on an empty stomach.” Maggie, hearing what Ellen said, jumped to her feet. “Let’s set up a kitchen in the barn! We can borrow the big coffee pot from the café and set up a couple of

camp stoves. We can put together a pot of stew in the house and we can keep it warm out there,” she said excitedly. “We’ll need tables, chairs, maybe the café will lend us enough dishes and silverware to make do. Oh and we’ll need some groceries, I’d better make a list.” They put their plan into action and before they knew it, the men were carrying tables and setting them up in the barn with chairs enough to seat everyone. Doc drove back into town to help pick up the things needed and loaded them into his rig. Soon there were ladies from town in aprons fluttering happily this way and that. Some were carrying things from the house, some were setting out napkins and a couple of them were arranging cups, spoons, sugar and cream on the end of the table where the coffee pot was perking. In the air wonderful aromas were swirling with temptation. The barn was now officially given over to an actually quite enchanting dining hall. The weary ladies sat down to catch their breath, satisfied that everything was ready for the crew. It wasn’t long before they had coffee poured, stew served, with more warming on the camp stove, hot rolls ready to eat, pie, and men coming in shifts to get warmed up, refreshed and fed. It was fun hearing the laughter and chatter filling that old barn with life. Al and Ellen were amazed, and genuinely touched, to see a group of people as tired as they were, enjoying each other’s company. And more than that, their willingness to pitch in and help a fellow rancher in his time of need touched them deeply. It wasn’t something they would soon forget. By nightfall, the work was finished. Tons of earth had been moved, fences mended, the corral rebuilt and the barn was stood back up and reinforced. The surviving chickens seemed to be happy to have their little house back again. They salvaged some of the trees in the orchard, but most of them were piled for burning. They dredged the creek bed and dumped some boulders along side of it to prevent a repeat of this terrible disaster. For the most part, the Houston Ranch was once again in working order. John Houston was so humbled by the act of kindness and huge effort of the whole town. In a tearful attempt at showing his appreciation, he said, “I just don’t know how to thank you all . . .” he couldn’t continue, but it was enough. One by one the group of people who had come to his rescue, embraced him, and some of them even tucked a few dollars into his hand, telling him. . “I hope this will help.”

Finally, everyone had loaded their vehicles and had gone back to town, but Al and Ellen stayed to help clean up. The four of them sat exhausted in the living room almost too tired to speak. “What a day this has been.” Ellen sighed. “What a week it’s been!” Al exclaimed. “We’d better get going, we’ve got a long way to go. Let’s get our little Sea Horse and head out.” Maggie had a puzzled look on her face, “Sea horse?” she asked. “Well, it’s a long story. You see we fished him out of the river a few days ago. Ellen started calling him her little Sea Horse because he was green and slimy from the algae,” Al explained. “Oh yes, we heard about that! Heard you were regular heroes,” Henry said with a grin. “No, not heroes, we were just in the right place at the right time,” said Al. “Listen, you two don’t need to be driving home this time of night as tired as you are. Why don’t you spend the night here and leave in the morning?” Maggie offered. “Sure, we have a guest room, private bath and all,” said Henry. “I don’t know, what do you think Ellen?” Al asked. “It’s up to you,” she said. “Well I suppose it would be better for the colt if we waited until morning to leave. That way he’ll have the whole day to get used to his new home,” he concluded. With that decided, Maggie showed them to the guest room and they all settled in for the night. Al and Ellen fell asleep to the sound of an owl hooting softly in the darkness and were awakened abruptly by the sound of a rooster proudly announcing the arrival of the morning sun.

L Sea Makes His Own Choice

Chapter Six

“Good morning angel,” Al said fondly, with his usual morning greeting. “Good morning darlin’” she returned, sleepily. There was a soft rapping at their door. “Do I hear voices in here?” Maggie said through the door. Al opened the door and said, “Good morning Maggie.” “I just couldn’t wait another second, come on! You’ve got to see this, you won’t believe it!” she couldn’t hide her excitement. They followed Maggie outside, she was right, they couldn’t believe their eyes! There was L Sea with old Sally, he was nursing! And Sally was quite content allowing him to. “Well I’ll be darned,” said Al, shaking his head. “I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes!” said Ellen. Henry ed them at the corral, “Looks like your little Sea Horse has chosen old Sally to be is mother,” he said with a snicker. “Well now what are we going to do?” Ellen whined. They all just stood there pondering the dilemma. “Seems to me we’ve got two choices,” Henry finally spoke up. “you can either leave the colt here and let old Sally there suckle him, or you can take her home with you, but one thing’s for sure, old Sally plans to raise that foal.” he said. “I don’t think we should leave him here, he needs to get used to his own home,” said Ellen still a little mystified by it all.

“Well that’s fine, we’ll just loan you old Sally until the little one is weaned.” Maggie told them. “How will we get them both home? I don’t think Sally would tolerate the back of our truck, it would be too risky.” said Al. “Well, we have a horse trailer we could let you use if you’d like,” Henry suggested. “But we left our boat and trailer on the clinic parking lot. We can’t pull two trailers.” Ellen reminded Al. “I’m sure Doc wouldn’t object to us leaving the boat there for a few days, it isn’t that far, I can come back later and get I,” said Al. With the loan of a trailer, their new friends’ donkey and their own little Sea Horse, they were once again on their way home. After a quick stop to gas up, they were finally headed down the freeway. About five or six miles into the trip, Al looked over at his wife and said, “Ellen, what just happened here?” She innocently asked “Why? What do you mean?” “Well” he said, “We retired, bought a farm to retire on, went on vacation to just fish and relax a little bit, and we ended up going home with a colt and a donkey!” Ellen started laughing. Maybe it was the look on Al’s face, or maybe it was because she knew he was right. They didn’t know anything about raising animals, especially a colt and a donkey and in truth, she was a little nervous about it. She was thinking to herself, “What exactly have we gotten ourselves into?” “I know, it all happened so fast,” she itted “We didn’t really have time to think it through. But I think if we do a little research, and hopefully get a few pointers from neighbors, we’ll catch on, It’ll be okay Al,” she said.

The Proud New Owners

Chapter Seven

“Once again I hear Doc’s words, we’ll just have to take it one day at a time”, said Al. “I’m sure a lot of horse owners started out this way,” said Ellen. She had no way of knowing the vast lessons that lay ahead of them. At least the feeding problem was solved. All the way home they were planning. Rebuilding the barn and corral, mending fences, and buying hay and feed. They had no idea what shape the place was actually in. They didn’t really know what to expect and they were glad to be getting home early in the day. When they turned into their driveway they gave a deep sigh, “We’re home,” they said. “What a welcome sight,” sighed Al. “Just look at that wonderful old house!” “I don’t when I was so glad to be home,” Ellen agreed. “But we did make some great new friends and that is worth more than gold,” Al remarked “They’re good people, I’m so glad we met them. I hope we’ll all stay in touch even after we give Sally back,” Ellen said. The Lewis’s vehicle came to a stop at the end of the driveway. One quick glance to scan the property confirmed their suspicions; it was just as they thought; the barn and corral would need a few repairs before they could turn the animals loose. They unloaded Old Sally and L Sea and tied them to the fence. One end of the barn had holes in the roof where the shingles had blown off, but the rest looked pretty good, at least it was dry inside. There was hay and straw left by the previous owners. “This will do just fine for tonight,” Al said, after they finished the last of the minor repairs, which had taken most of the afternoon.

“Okay, I think we’re ready to untie them and get them settled in,” said Al. “Shouldn’t we check the fences first?” asked Ellen. “First things first,” he said, “let’s let them get the feel of the stalls and corral. Tomorrow we’ll check out the fences and turn them out,” he said. “Okay, let’s get it done, then I’ll go in and make dinner,” said Ellen. “Good, and I’ll fill the water trough for them and give them some hay,” said Al. Ellen was glad to be home. Even though they’d just moved there only weeks before, still they were surrounded by the familiarity of their own furnishings and pictures. Each lamp, every vase, they all had a story of their own to tell. Their talk during dinner was all about where they would go from there. “We’ll need to find a vet as soon as we can,” said Al, “and get some advice on how to raise a Sea Horse!” “What are we going to do when little L Sea gets bigger than Sally?” asked Ellen. “We’d better hope he’s able to eat on his own by then,” Al answered. It was getting late, darkness had come. As Ellen finished up the dishes, Al went out to check on their newly acquired “children”. “All is well on the home front,” he announced with satisfaction. They fell asleep contented as kittens in the comfort of their own bed. They slept soundly through the night. Ellen was the first one up the next morning.

Little Runaways

Chapter Eight

She started a pot of coffee and began her morning Bible reading. She was just finishing the first chapter of John when the coffee finished perking. She got up, poured herself a cup, stirred in some cream and went over to put her spoon in the sink When she did, she glanced out the window. “Our first snowfall,” she mused. Then she noticed some tracks in the snow. “That’s odd,” she said to herself. She slipped her parka on over her pajamas, pulled on her boots and went out to check on L Sea and Sally. They were nowhere to be seen! Panicked, she ran back to the house to get Al. “Al wake up! The colt and the donkey are gone!” she sobbed. “What do you mean they’re gone?! How? Where?” he said sleepily. “I don’t know, just get up! We’ve got to find them. It snowed, the baby will freeze to death,” she said. “Just calm down honey, we’ll find them,” Al said trying to sound as reassuring as he could. “let’s follow the tracks,” he said as they went outside. Look, loose boards, that’s how they got out.” “Oh no! The side of the barn is like a door,” cried Ellen. “God only knows where they are.” The tracks led to the neighboring farm just across the pasture, but there was no sign of their animals. The gate was open so they walked on through it. Just as they rounded the haystack they spotted them. Sally was helping herself to the neighbor’s freshly stacked hay, while little L Sea was nursing contentedly. “Howdy neighbor,” a voice spoke from out of the blue.

“Hi, I’m really sorry, we didn’t check the barn well enough. I’m afraid they got loose and . . .” stammered Al. “No harm done!” came another voice as two people emerged from behind the stall and were walking toward them. “anyway, it’s a good way to get acquainted don’t you think? I’m Lee Sanderson and this is my wife Katie,” said a lumberjack-sized fellow. “We’re the Lewis’s, Al and Ellen,” replied Al, humbly. ‘This isn’t how we planned to meet you,” Ellen apologized. “Oh well, sometimes people tend to shy away, but leave it to animals, they’ll share a meal anywhere. Why don’t you two come on in and have a cup of coffee with us?” said Katie, whose sweet smile captured Ellen’s heart immediately. She had a kind face and loving eyes. Her sandy hair lay in curls at her neck, and her warm hospitality made them feel right at home. “I’m kind of embarrassed; I’m still in my pajamas,” Ellen apologized. “That’s okay, come on in,” she said. They closed the gate and followed them into their warm kitchen. They all sat at the table, sharing coffee, sticky buns and the story of their past week’s “vacation turned adventure”. Lee and Katie laughed with them, and cried with them as they shared how God blessed the Houston’s, and how He blessed them with the colt. Then they prayed together for Teresa’s recovery. As they left with their little “runaways” the Sanderson’s promised to help them anytime at all, with L Sea and Sally. The entire day was spent repairing the barn, walls, roof and doors, as well as securing the corral gates and mending the few broken wires along the pasture. “Come Spring we’ll need to run all new barbed-wire,” said Al. “But this is going to have to do for now.” Ellen went inside to get the phone book and began her search for a vet. There were three in all, but only one that treated large breed animals.

“That simplifies that issue,” she said just as Al came through the back door. “What’s that?” he asked, pulling off his boots. “There’s only one Vet here that treats large breed animals. The other two only take small pets,” she explained. “Sure does simplify it doesn’t it. Did you find a feed store?” He asked. “Right here. It’s on Main Street. Stays open ‘til 8:00pm, you still have time to get there,” she told him. “I’m just going to see what the donkey needs for now,” he said, pulling his boots back on. “I’ll call the vet in the morning to find out what to do about the little guy,” he said. “Then I’ll make a quick trip to Doc’s to get the boat. I don’t want him to have to be burdened with it. I’ll stop in at the vet’s on the way back if I need something from there.” The next few weeks were quite challenging for the two novice horse owners. They lived a life of constant trial and error. They made a lot of mistakes, but they were learning volumes as they went along. One important lesson they learned was that their adorable little Sea Horse was the one who was doing the training, not them. He had them wrapped around his little hoof! Ellen found some old 4H books at the school bazaar, which proved to be helpful in some areas of raising a strong healthy colt, but most of the learning process, they found, was done by “hands on” experience. It was a day-to-day routine, watching, listening, doing, re-doing plus a lot of phone calls and prayer. Christmas was just around the corner, and soon the house would be filled with family. Everyone would be there except Al Jr. and his family. They lived in Erie and the weather wasn’t fit for traveling. It was a real disappointment for everyone, but safety was the most important thing. Their second son, Eugene, his wife Bridgett, and their two girls were coming from Oklahoma. And their Daughter Marie and her husband Ray would be coming with their three kids, from the West Coast. It would be the first time they got to meet L Sea. Such an exciting time for all of them. “Marie called awhile ago,” Ellen told Al as he came in from feeding. “She can hardly wait to get here. She says that all the kids can talk about is seeing the little

Sea Horse! I guess they’ll be here on Friday.” “Great! What about Eugene and his clan?” he asked, sampling the dinner she was just putting on the table. “They can’t leave until Saturday, so that should put them in here around noon on Monday,” she said. “We’d better get the tree up, and start putting up lights,” said Al. “I know, we’ve never waited ‘til the last minute like this before. Maybe we’ll just do a few, and then if the kid’s want more up, they can help us. I think that would be fun, don’t you?” said Ellen. “It’s up to them, but I enjoy doing lights. I’ll work on them as long as I can, okay?” he said. “Sure. I can help you with the lower ones, but you know how much I hate ladders,” she reminded him.

Family

Chapter Nine

They were just finishing with the tree in the living room when the door burst open and three little bodies came charging in, all arms and legs! “Grammy!, Grammy! Know what? It’s almost Christmas! I Want to see the horsy!” Hollered James, their five-year-old grandson, clinging to Ellen’s legs. “Hi Grammy! I’ve missed you so much!” their fourteen-year-old grandson Ray Junior said, giving Ellen a big squeeze. “Hi R.J., wow, I can’t believe how much you’ve grown! I’ve missed you a lot too honey,” Ellen told him. “Where’s Lynn?” she asked of the twelve year old, “there she is, come here and give me a hug.” “Well where’s my hugs?” Al asked, scooping little James up into his arms. “Papa, I want to see the horsy,” he whined. Ray and Marie walked in with both arms full of luggage. “All right kids, there’s more to bring in, let’s have some help out here,” said Ray. “Hi dad, mom, sorry about the troops barging in, they just couldn’t wait another minute!” he said “That’s okay, we couldn’t either!” Ellen told him. “Hi mom,” Marie said, giving her mother a bear hug. “Gosh it’s good to be here. I wish we could come more often. You’ve really done a lot of fixing up since we here and helped you move in, looks good,” she said. “Where daddy?” “He took James out to see the ‘horsy’”, Ellen told her. “I might have known. He’s still the kid spoiler huh?” she giggled. “I want to see

the little guy too.” “Well come on then, I’ll go with you,” said Ellen. As they walked to the corral Ellen was pointed out all the repairs and was telling her about all the near disasters and problems they had adjusting to their new life as “ranchers”. They found their way to the gate and there was James and Papa, and little L Sea, James with a grin from ear to ear. “Oh my gosh mom, he’s so little, he’s darling,” said Marie. “What do you think of him Jamey?” “I love him mommy. I want to hold him,” said James. “No son, you can’t hold him, but maybe later you and Papa can feed him, how would that be?” Al suggested “And the donkey too?” James asked. “Why sure, we can’t leave old Sally out can we?” he said.

Gifted?

Chapter Ten

L Sea took to the kids. He loved being petted and fussed over, but there was something unusual about the way he followed James. It was like a special rapport that he and James shared and he didn’t want to let him out of his sight. He seemed to have taken it upon himself to be Jamey’s guardian. Maybe it was because he was small for his age or the fact that he was the youngest, they didn’t know. All they knew was what they were seeing, L Sea had become his shadow. The rest of the children could brush him, pet him, hug him, he loved every minute of it. In fact he expected it, and even pouted when they had to leave him however briefly. But James was his. He watched his every move. If James fell down, L Sea would trot up to him and nuzzle him until he stood up. It wasn’t just what they saw, it was what they felt. A kind of spiritual connection that James and L Sea possessed. It was actually very touching to watch him. They had no way of knowing that little James had a medical problem, until he ed out the morning of Christmas eve. It was a very difficult and frightening moment. They knew they needed to get him to the hospital, but Eugene and his family were due in any time. Someone had to stay there, but everyone wanted to go with him to the hospital. “Don’t worry Grammy, Jesus is taking care of me,” James said weakly, Mommy and daddy can take me to the hospital, you stay for uncle Gene okay?” “What a brave boy you are Jamey boy,” said Ellen. “Okay we’ll keep the kids here, but call us the minute you find out what’s going on with him.” Al made them promise. They left for the hospital only minutes before Eugene and his family got there.

Casey, their fourteen year old came in with her mother Bridgett. “Hi Grammy, I missed you and grandpa so much.” she said then turned to give her grandpa a hug. “Merry Christmas!” “Merry Christmas, we’ve missed you too baby.” Ellen told her, not wanting to release her from the hug. “Hi papa, hi Grammy, Merry Christmas!” said a toothless eight year old. “Why Emily Rene’ what’s happened to your teeth? You been robbed by the Tooth Fairy?” Papa teased. “No papa,” she giggled, “They were loose so daddy yanked ‘em out with a string.” “I those days,” he said, looking fondly at his son. He reached out and grabbed him, and held him long and hard in his arms. It was Ellen’s turn for tears and hugging. They had been away for about eight months, the longest she’d ever been away from any of her kids and she was thankful to have her family at home once again. By now all the kids were chattering and giggling. They hadn’t missed little James yet. “Come on, do you want to see L Sea? Well show you where he is!” then out the door they went. With the excitement, greetings and unloading now behind them, the two couples sat down to visit.

“It’s so good to have you back home son,” Ellen told him. “Bridgett, how’s the new school working out?” She asked her daughter in law, who had recently taken on a new role as a fourth grade teacher. “Wonderful mom. I was really nervous at first, but they’re great kids, I couldn’t have asked for a better class,” answered Bridgett. “Where’s Sissy?” Eugene asked, looking around to see if she was in another room.

“On the way to the hospital with little James,” said Ellen. “Oh my gosh! what happened?” Bridgett paled as she spoke. “I don’t know, he was outside playing, and having fun with the colt, then all at once he just ed. Marie said he’s been acting a little strange lately. But we don’t know what’s going on yet,” Al explained. “Should we go? Do they need us to be there?” Eugene asked, concerned. “They said for us to wait here. They promised to call as soon as they know anything,” said Ellen. “I really wanted to see the foal, is it okay to leave the phone?” Eugene asked. “I’ll stay by the phone honey, you go ahead, I can see him later,” Bridgett told him. “Look at him daddy!” said Emily. “Isn’t he just the cutest?” “He is isn’t he honey, did you get to pet him?” he asked “Uh huh, and he licked my hand!” she giggled “Dad, he thinks Sally is his mother! That is so weird!” Casey said, scrunching her face. “Sure Case, that’s why she’s here. Grandma and grandpa borrowed her to feed L Sea,” he told his daughter. “Grandma, will you tell us the story again about how you rescued him?” Casey asked. “Let’s wait until things settle down a little bit, okay?” Said Ellen. “We need to get back inside in case auntie Marie calls.” Bridgett was on the phone when they walked in, “It’s Marie. Here’s dad now, you can tell him,” Bridgett said as she handed the phone to Al. “What’s going on?” he asked. “Is that right?! holy cow, bless his little heart. Well is he going to be okay? Good, what a relief. Okay, see you when you get here,” Al said as he set the phone back on the receiver.

“What happened?” they all wanted to know. “His blood sugar dropped down below 30. They had to make him drink juice and they had him hooked up to IV. The doctor told them that he was like borderline diabetic, but that he would most likely outgrow it. He gets to come home, but they have to make sure he doesn’t get real hungry,” Al explained as best as he could. “Thank God! He’s alright though?” asked Ellen “It’s kind of weird about L Sea, isn’t it?” she said. “What? What about L Sea?” Eugene asked. She and Al were just finishing telling them about how the colt took to James, when Ray, Marie and James pulled up. “That is strange,” Eugene was saying when Marie came through the door. “Hi Bubba!” she said, “Hi sis,” he said back “This is no way to spend Christmas Eve,” he said teasingly. “It was pretty scary. I don’t want to do this ever again!” she said. “Mom and dad were just telling us about how the colt has been sticking with James. It’s kind of spooky to think he may have sensed that he was getting sick,” he said. “Oh, I don’t know if that’s true. I think he just really loves James,” she said. “I know James really loves him.” It was getting late and they had to figure out where everyone was going to sleep. The two extra bedrooms would be for the adults, while the children would do their favorite thing at Grammy and Papa’s house; they would bunk on the floor! There were little bodies everywhere, and grandma and grandpa where in their height of glory!

Christmas

Chapter Eleven

Christmas morning came before anyone was ready for it. The kids were all waiting anxiously for the grownups to wake up. “Come on papa, hurry up! we want to open our presents!” said Emily. “Yah Papa, let’s open our presents,” they all ed in. “Just wait a minute, your grandma’s getting the camera,” he told his impatient grandchildren. “Look kids it’s snowing!” said Eugene. “Yay, and hooray, and yippee!” were the responses from the younger generation. But “Oh no!” were the men’s remarks, while the ladies all said, “How pretty; gorgeous! A white Christmas, that makes this whole holiday perfect.” Finally, all the gifts were opened, the mess was cleared, and they all sat eating their Christmas meal together. After everybody had eaten themselves to misery, the women cleaned up the dishes, While the men went in to watch football, and the children went out to play in the snow. Jamie snapped out of it just as though nothing had happened, and was right out there with the other kids, having a ball! What a wonderful time they had of sharing, praying, and catching up on the lives of their favorite people. “The only thing that would have made this better would have been for Al Jr. and the family to come,” said Ellen “I just wish they didn’t live so far away.” “I know mom, he misses out on so much. Our kids barely know each other,” Marie said.

The time went much too fast and after tearful hugs and kisses, Al and Ellen found themselves alone again as they stood on their porch waving goodbye. “I feel so empty, it’s kind of sad to see them go,” said Ellen as she turned to go inside. “You know, I enjoyed having them, it was wonderful getting to spend time with the kids and I’m going to miss them terribly, but just listen, can you hear that?” said Al. “Yes, peace and quiet!” Ellen said, taking a deep breath and collapsing in her chair. “It was a lot of work, but I’ve loved every minute of it. The girls really were a big help. I appreciated it a lot,” she said. “Me too, I’m already looking forward to next year.” he said. “I have some great ideas what to do with the lights.” “You and your lights!” she teased Ellen liked to fuss at him about it, but in truth, she liked the colorful, cheery Christmas lights every bit as much as he did. L Sea was growing fast. By the end of winter he was almost twice the size of Sally. Funny, Sally didn’t seem to notice, or at least she didn’t seem to mind. “He’s so skinny and gangly looking Al, he’s not so cute anymore. What are we doing wrong?” asked Ellen, worrying as usual. “ what Doc told us about the different stages he’d go through? I’m sure that’s all it is,” said Al. “That reminds me, we’ve been so busy with Sally and the colt and everything that we’ve neglected our friends there,” said Ellen. “Why don’t we give John a call after awhile and see how Teresa’s doing?” he said. “They were supposed to schedule her for surgery; I haven’t heard how that went.” said Ellen.

They did their normal everyday chores, fed the animals, and then came in to call John. “Hmm, no answer,” said Al, “I’ll try Doc.” Al dialed again, “Hi Doc, Al here. How’re things going out your way? Good, good. We’re great; colt’s growing like a weed. I just tried to call John, there was no answer . . . oh? In Boise? This morning huh? Well let us know as soon as you hear anything will you? How are Henry and Maggie? Good. Old Sally? Yes, she’s doing fine, still trying to mother the colt, but he’s getting too big for her to handle any more. Oh yes, he’s almost weaned. We’ll be bringing her home in the spring as soon as the snow is off the . Okay, well I have to get back to work, say hello to everyone for us and we’ll see you soon. Bye,” Al said and hung up. ‘Teresa?” Ellen questioned. “She’s having surgery this morning, in Boise,” he answered. “I wonder why they waited so long to do it.” she commented. “Doc said she had to go through Chemo and radiation treatments first. They wanted to shrink the tumor as much as they could before they went in.” Al answered. “How are Henry and Maggie doing?” Ellen asked. “They’re fine but they’re really missing their Sally,” said Al. “I’ll bet they are. I know L Sea is going to be lost without her for awhile,” she said, “I’ve gotten kind of used to having her around myself.” “Hello, anybody home?” It was Katie. She and Ellen had become the best of friends over the past few weeks. She and Lee were godsends, giving them pointers on how to care for the animals; how to brush them, how to tell when they were coming down with something and when they needed to call the vet. But more importantly, they had become crucial prayer partners. “In the kitchen, come on in,” Ellen hollered. “I brought you some chocolate cake. A whole cake is too much for the two of

us,” said Katie. “It’s hard to cut down recipes after being used to the family being here for so long. Now that it’s just us, we don’t need so much.” she said. “I know what you’re saying. When our kid’s lived at home I baked all the time, but now most of it goes to waste, so I just quit baking so much.” Ellen told her. Katie sat down and they had coffee and cake, and chatted about Sally, the colt, kids and grandkids. “Have you been listening to the news?” Katie asked “No, we haven’t had a chance, why? What’s going on?” Ellen asked, concerned. “We’re under a winter storm advisory. The temperature is supposed to drop down below freezing and they say we could have wind gusts up to 60 miles per hour,” Katie told her. “Maybe we should try to get some kind of heat in the barn for the animals,” said Ellen. “Just in case the temperature does drop below zero.” “No, I think as long as you’ve got plenty of dry bedding for them they’ll stay warm. Their body heat will hold in the straw,” Katie assured her. The “promised” storm fell right on schedule, 14 inches of it. The wind howled in powerful gusts, causing the lights to flicker and sending a chill up Ellen’s spine. She had never seen it snow so hard or heard a chimney whistle and moan the way it did that night. She was glad to be safely inside, and thankful for their wood stove. If the power went out at least they’d be warm. But the power miraculously stayed on, and everything stayed together. No downed trees or anything. The barn roof was intact, and the barn stayed dry inside. All was well the day after. “I’ll bet the animals were scared silly,” Ellen said, concerned. “Oh I don’t know, animals usually take things better than we humans do. But they’re better at sensing danger than we are too,” said Al. “Well I’ll feel better after we go out and check on them,” Ellen told him. They bundled up and made their way over snowdrifts and across ice puddles, all the way to the barn. When they opened the barn door, there they were, standing

there as if nothing had happened at all, expecting breakfast as usual. “Well hello babies! That old storm didn’t bother you at all did it?” said Ellen. Al threw a generous flake of hay into the manger, while Ellen filled their feed bin with the oat mix. Then they were going to clean the water trough and refill it. “Oh-oh!” exclaimed Al, “water’s froze up.” ‘Oh no! Now what are we going to do?” asked Ellen. “We’ll have to set up the camp stove and melt some snow. The warm water will thaw the rest,” he said. “Is that safe?” Ellen wondered out loud. “Maybe we should let it boil,” he suggested. “in the meantime, I think I’d better get the propane heater out of the boat and put it in the pump house. I should have known enough to do that in the first place,” he scolded himself. That was yet another lesson learned the hard way. Another step in the process of learning how to raise a Sea Horse. They knew springtime was going to bring more work than just mending fences. Right now all they wanted to concentrate on was making it through the winter and holding things together. It was tougher than they’d anticipated, but their scripture that morning from Philippians 4:13 gave them courage and assurance that they would make it through just fine. It said “I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengtheneth me.” With that assurance, they knew that when spring did come, they would begin fresh, with new strength, hard work and a lot more wisdom.

Spring at last

Chapter Twelve

“What’s that? Could it be?” Yes! Ellen woke up to the sun shining in her eyes and birds singing right outside her bedroom window. “It’s spring at last,” she said. “thank you Father for helping us make it through the winter.” she prayed as she got out of the bed. “Where you at?” she called to her husband who was already up and dressed. “Out here, come on I want to show you something.” he said. “What is it, honey?” she asked, stopping at his side. “Morning angel. Look at that,” he said, pointing to a flower bed still showing a few small patches snow. Crocuses, tulips and daffodils were proudly displaying their colors of red, purple and yellow, “How lovely,” she said. “I was wondering what kind of flowers were in there. I still want to set out some rose bushes and maybe a couple of Azalea’s,” she continued. “I’m going to the feed store to see if my barbed wire came in yet. Do you want me to check some prices?” Al asked her. “I’m anxious to get started on the new fence. What do you think about ordering a new gate?” “What’s wrong with the old one?” she asked. “It looks a little shabby, but I could probably paint it. Maybe I’ll wait and see how it looks,” he concluded. “Okay, and yes I would appreciate it if you would check the prices on rose bushes and any other flowering shrubs they have,” she told him. “How about this day!” Katie said as she slipped into the kitchen.

“Absolutely gorgeous!” replied Ellen, handing her friend a cup of coffee. “We really should be outdoors you know. We’ve been penned up all winter, come on let’s go for a walk,” Katie coaxed. “Okay, but let’s at least finish our coffee first,” said Ellen. They started out the door, but the wind was still pretty cool. “Well maybe we should wait for it to warm up a little more, maybe this afternoon?” Ellen suggested. “Good plan,” Katie agreed. Ellen was usually up for the outdoor type activities, but lately she’d been feeling a little shaky and weak at the knees. She didn’t want to chance catching cold. “I think I’ll take a little nap,” she told Katie as she was leaving to prepare her husband’s lunch. “Are you sure there’s nothing I can do to help you?” she asked one last time. “No, but thanks I’m just feeling tired, I’ll be okay by the time Al gets home.” she answered. And she went in to lie down on the couch. She went out like a light, and was still sleeping when Al got home. “Honey, are you okay?” he asked. “Al? What time is it?” she asked. “I need to get dinner ready, I slept longer than I wanted to.” “It’s okay honey, dinner’s already done. You looked so peaceful I didn’t have the heart to wake you. How do you feel?” he asked “Not so good,” she said, trying to raise up. “I’m so cold, and dizzy.” “You look a little flushed, oh yah, you’re burning up,” he said, laying his hand on her forehead “let me get you another blanket.” As Al went to the bedroom to get her a blanket, he glanced out the window. How on earth did he get out?” he said. “Honey, did you have the colt out of the pasture today?” “No, why?” she asked “Well he’s right outside, watching through the window,”

said Al as he spread the blanket over Ellen. “I’d better put him back in, will you be okay for a few minutes while I find out how he got out?” he asked. “I’ll be alright, go ahead,” she told him, dozing off again. As soon as the door came open, the colt pushed his way right past Al and walked over to where Ellen was laying. He wasn’t budging! He studied Ellen’s face until he saw her open her eyes. “Well what on earth are you doing in here?” she said. “Al?” “I’m trying to get him back outside, but he’s determined to stay with you. Say something to him,” said Al “It’s okay baby, go on now, I’m going to be alright,” she said to him. Then he let Al lead him outside and back into the corral. Al tossed some hay to him, and went to find out how he escaped. there was no broken barbed wire, no holes. “Odd,” he said to himself. “there has to be a fence down somewhere.” But he couldn’t find it. He looked over at Sally and she was minding her own business, not at all concerned. Al went inside to check on his wife. “Did you find a broken wire?” she asked. “No, there doesn’t seem to be any. It puzzles me,” he answered. The next day, even though she was feeling a little better, Ellen was still not well enough to get up. And just like the previous day, there was L Sea, waiting to come in to check on Ellen. “May as well let him have a look, he won’t be happy until he does, come on L Sea, she’s right in here,” said Al. “I don’t know how he’s getting out, but I’m sure going to find out. I’m beginning to think we gave him the wrong name, it should have been Houdini,” said Al, “I’m going to watch you this time fella. I know you have a special way of getting out, and I’m going to find out how,” Al told him. He got up early the next morning just to see if he could catch the colt escaping. Expecting to see a loose board or broken wire, he was amazed at the sight of the little colt clearing the fence with one leap! “Well I’ll be darned,” he said out loud. “he’s jumping the fence. He must really be desperate to see Ellen,” he thought.

Ellen got better each day, and was finally able to go out on the porch for some fresh air. The colt, apparently convinced that she’d be okay, stopped jumping the fence. L Sea was content once again. “You really are a strange one,” Ellen told him. “You seem to know when someone is sick, and you want to help don’t you?” Ellen just had to call Marie to tell her what had happened with L Sea. “It was just like with Jamey, he wouldn’t stop checking on me, how does he know?” she said. “Mom, that’s really weird,” said Marie. “Isn’t there like an animal shrink or something, where you can take him to be evaluated?” she asked. “I don’t know of anyone like that around here,” said Ellen. “Let me do some research on the computer,” Marie told her mother “I’ll get back to you in a couple days, okay?” “Who was that on the phone?” Al asked as he sat down in his recliner. “I called Marie to tell her what L Sea did. She wants to check her computer to see if there is any information on things like that,” Ellen told him. The phone rang. Al answered it. “Hello? Hi Doc. What?! Oh no, how’s John taking it?” he asked, sadly. “What happened, is it Teresa?” asked Ellen, almost afraid to hear his answer. “She ed away just a few minutes ago,” he told her. “Of course we’ll come, as soon as we can get packed. We may as well bring old Sally with us, now that the colt is weaned we don’t need to keep her any longer,” Al said then hung up. “I’ll call Katie and ask her if she’ll take care of L Sea for a couple of days,” Ellen suggested. “Poor John, Doc says he’s not taking it well at all, even though he knew it was coming,” said Al.

“Okay, all packed. Lee and Katie will come over after we leave, to check on the colt. I told her we’d call her as soon as we got there.” Ellen said as she did her last minute checklist. They loaded Sally onto the horse trailer, and pulled out of the driveway. “Oh oh, I was afraid of that!” Al said looking in his rear view mirror. “What?” asked Ellen. “L Sea just jumped the fence, he wants his mama,” he said. Al turned the truck around and stopped in front of the barn. Ellen jumped out and caught the colt by the mane, talking to him softly she coaxed him back into the corral. “I’d better call Katie and have them keep him in there until we get out of sight,” said Ellen. With everything settled and L Sea safely secured in the corral, they were finally on their way to Paradise. “I’ve always loved this trip,” said Ellen. “Me too but I wish it were under different circumstances,” Al replied. “I wonder how John’s holding up,” she said. “From what Doc said, he’s not doing well at all,” answered Al. They drove the rest of the way almost in total silence, each thinking about the situation they were about to face. The trip there was quick, and they decided to check into the Cabins by the Lake before going to see Doc. “Hello there! Good to see you again, how’s the little Sea Horse?” greeted Doc as they walked into the office. “He’s developing quite a unique personality. We don’t know what to make of it,” said Al. “Other than that he’s doing great, growing like a weed.” “Sounds interesting, we’ll have to get together and talk later, I know you must

have a lot to do right now, thanks for stopping by,” Doc replied. “Yes we do, and the trip wears me out,” said Ellen. “We’ve got old Sally out there, we need to get her home before it gets too late,” Al told him. “We’ll see you, probably in the morning Doc,” Ellen said as she started out the door. “I’ll be here after 10:00, I have a couple of house calls to make first thing in the morning,” he told them. They waved as they left the parking lot, and headed up the river view road. Henry and Maggie came out to the driveway to meet them. Ellen got out to visit with Maggie, while Henry guided the pickup and trailer as Al slowly backed toward the pasture. “That’s good!” Henry hollered and Al hit the brakes. They unloaded old Sally and released her back into her familiar terrain. She acted as if she’d never left, satisfied that she had completed her mission. The men backed the trailer to the place it had been before, unhitched it from the truck, and came into the house to their wives in catching up on the news. Ellen had told Maggie about Christmas with the family, and the strange attachment between the colt and her youngest grandson James. “We just can’t figure it out,” Ellen was saying as the men appeared in the doorway. “Can’t figure what out?” asked Henry as he shook Ellen’s hand and told her hello. “The way L Sea has of sensing illness or problems. He seems to have the idea that he needs to help somehow.” “Yah, it’s kind of weird, yet somehow very touching. You should have seen him with our little Jamey,” said Al. “And then when Ellen was so sick with a high fever, that little bitty thing jumped the fence to get to her. He was determined to check on her. He did that every day until her fever broke. I couldn’t figure out

how he was getting out of the pasture. I couldn’t believe it when I saw him clear that fence!” “I was just telling Maggie about that,” said Ellen “That is really weird,” Henry agreed. “I’ve never heard of anything like that before,” said Maggie. “I wonder if anyone else has had similar experience?” Henry commented. “Our daughter is checking it out on the internet, I’m hoping she’ll have some information for us when we get home,” Ellen told her. “Anyway, how are things going around here?” Ellen asked them. “We wintered fair,” he said, “but things were pretty rough for poor John.” “It was so sad to watch him, he took excellent care of Teresa right up to the end,” said Maggie. “I thought they had children, didn’t they come to help?” Al asked “Their only son was killed in the service, overseas,” Henry explained. “Their daughter in law and grandkids did come, but John insisted on taking care of her himself. Although he did let her make all the funeral arrangements,” he said. “I thought the surgery was successful,” said Ellen. “So did we, but it came back with a vengeance, and took her quickly. I think she was just plain tired of fighting, and gave up,” said Maggie. “What do you think John will do now?” Ellen asked. “I think his daughter in law Julie, and her kids will move in with him. He’s going to need help at least for awhile. The oldest boy is sixteen and stout as a gorilla, he’ll be a lot of help,” said Henry. “Is he up to having company, or would he rather be left alone right now?” Ellen asked. “He thinks he wants to be alone, but he really needs the of friends, go on

up and see him, I think he’d appreciate I,” said Maggie. Al and Ellen drove on up the steep windy road, along the river’s edge to the Houston ranch. It had been let go for awhile, and sadly the neglect was beginning to show. It was quiet, and lonely looking. As they pulled up to the end of the driveway, a slender lady appeared, wearing jeans and a sweatshirt. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, and her blonde hair was pulled back into a pony tail and tucked carelessly under the rubber band. Embarrassed by her appearance, she began, “I’m Julie, John’s daughter in law, I must look a mess, I’m sorry, come on in . . .” “You look fine honey, don’t worry about that. We’re the Lewis’s, this is Ellen, I’m Al,” he introduced themselves. “Is John at home?” “Yes, he’s out back sitting in the yard swing. This has been so hard on him. He never left her side the last few days. He’s tired and I think he’s in shock or something. I can’t get him to eat hardly anything,” she said. They went out the back door and they saw him sitting, still and quietly in the swing. “Daddy, you have company, it’s the Lewis’s,” Julie called to him. “Oh I know who you are now, you’re the ones who have Lily’s baby,” she said, and she smiled at them. “Yes that’s us,” said Ellen. John stood to his feet and turned around, facing his visitors. “Hi Al, Ellen, thanks for coming,” he said walking toward them. “No please, sit down John,” said Al “That’s okay, I was just getting ready to go in the house anyway, come on inside,” said John. They followed him obediently, and John and Al went in the living room to talk. Ellen found Julie in the kitchen, “Are you okay?” she asked, “I’m okay, just a little overwhelmed that’s all. I loved her so much,” Julie said and began to sob uncontrollably. Ellen put her hand on Julie’s shoulder and said a little prayer for the peace of the Holy Spirit to flood her heart and help her get through the hard days that were coming.

Julie regained her composure and said, “Thank you, I needed that,” “Listen Julie, if there’s anything we can do to help with the arrangements, or after, just let us know, we’ll be there for you I promise,” she said sincerely. “Thanks, I may just take you up on that. The funeral’s already arranged, it will be Saturday afternoon at two o’clock. We’re having a reception afterwards at the Nazarene church. If you really want to help, you can help set it up, or serve, or something,” she said. “I’ll be glad to do whatever is needed,” Ellen told her. “So tell me, how is our Lily’s son?” asked Julie. “He’s wonderful, we’re having so much fun learning to be “horse owners”, But to tell you the truth, I think he thinks he owns us,” said Ellen with a grin. “Tell me about him, does he resemble his mother in any way?” she asked. “Teresa said he was the spitting image of her, and John showed us a picture. I would say he certainly looks like his mother, but as far as personality, we didn’t get to see her, or know her,” Ellen answered. “She was one of a kind. There will never be another Lily. She had special insight, she truly cared about the people she loved. And she had favorites, that was what was so cute about her,” said Julie. “Special insights? Is that’s what it is? L Sea, we named him Lily’s Sea Horse, seems to know when someone is going to be sick or in trouble. He sticks right with the person who he thinks needs his help. It’s weird the way he not only knows about the sickness, but when we’re well again, he settles down to his normal every day life.” “That’s exactly how Lily was. He is just like his mother, I wondered if her special “gift” would be carried on through her colt. L Sea? Lily’s Sea Horse, Teresa would be so pleased.” she said, crying again. Of course Ellen had to explain how they came up with the name Sea Horse. At least that put a smile on Julie’s face.

“Did you know that when Teresa first got diagnosed with cancer, Lily wouldn’t let her out of her sight? She would jump the fence and stand at her window every day. Dad said that’s why she got caught out in the storm when the tree fell on her. He didn’t see her out there that night and I guess when it started thundering Lily spooked and was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Julie told Ellen. “So now John feels responsible for Lily’s death?” asked Ellen, “I don’t think so, at least he hasn’t said anything about that. He’s always said that things happen for a reason and we can’t stop whatever fate we must face. We just have to accept our lot in life and go on until it’s our turn,” she said. “I suppose that’s a practical way to look at it. We can’t change our own destiny, but we can change our destination. And if we do that the right way, we have someone to help us change our destiny as well.” Ellen commented “What do you mean, change our destination?” Julie wanted to know. “Do you know Jesus? His Father God?” Ellen asked her. “Of course I believe in God, but I don’t go to church or any of that stuff.” she said “No honey, I mean really know Him, can you feel him, in here,” she asked, patting her over her heart. “You mean, make a statement that I’m a Christian?” she asked. “No, the first step is asking him to forgive you of all your sin and wickedness, to cleanse you and heal your spirit,” Ellen explained to her. “then invite him into your heart and life and ask Him to change your lifestyle, the pattern you’re following, your destination.” “But I’m not a bad person, I don’t think I sin, I just don’t go to church” she defended herself. “No, I didn’t mean you’re a bad person Julie,” she said gently. “The bible says that everyone is born to sin and are sinners until God makes them clean. But the bonuses and healings we get from making the decision to serve Him is so wonderful we never want to go back to our old way of living. Our destination has been changed and we are no longer destined to go to hell.” “Here, let me leave this with you, and here’s my phone number and address, you

can call anytime you need to, we’ll talk, okay?” she said giving her a hug. It was late and They were ready to go back to the cabin. Physically and emotionally drained, Ellen slid into the truck seat and said, “I didn’t know how tired I was until I sat down. But I’m so glad we came.” The day of the funeral had come. It was the most beautiful funeral Ellen had ever attended. Everything was perfectly planned, the candles, the flowers, a picture display in the foyer, and the song selection and vocalist. The eldest grandson gave the eulogy. You could tell how hard it was for him, but he insisted. He shared about all the happy memories, even some funny ones. The minister’s presentation was more of a salvation message, sharing the hope through Jesus Christ, rather than the hopelessness of death. Everything blended into a wonderful celebration of the life of Teresa Houston. People who gathered at the reception comforted John with their condolences, offering of their love, money, and any help they could give. Ellen helped with setting the food trays out, serving, all the way through to the final clean-up. She was simply exhausted and couldn’t wait to pull her shoes off. They had said their “good byes” at the funeral, so Al and Ellen got an early start for home. It was a peaceful trip, relaxing and actually pleasurable. They took their time, stopping for lunch, doing a little sightseeing, there was no reason to rush. They got home in mid afternoon. Flowers were blooming in every flower bed on the place. They’d never seen it in the Spring and were pleasantly surprised by the variety of flowers, and the colors! “Oh my!” exclaimed Ellen, “that’s the most gorgeous yard I’ve ever seen!” she said. “Beautiful,” said Al “Breath-taking,” said Ellen, “Al, the colt isn’t in the pasture, where in the world could he be?” Ellen’s attention was suddenly drawn away from the yard. “He’s probably with the Sanderson’s, I’ll go get him,” said Al, unconcerned. “I want to go with you,” she told him They got to the Sanderson’s barn and saw Lee and Katie out there with L Sea. Everything seemed to be okay, except Lee was walking with a limp, and he had a

crutch tucked under his arm. They walked on up to where they were standing and was greeted with hugs and chatter. L Sea was beside himself he was so happy to see them. “You’d think he was a dog, he acts more like a puppy than a horse,” Al snickered. “Well we’ve never left him before.” said Ellen. “How’s he been? Why is he here and not at home? And what on earth happened to your leg?” Al asked. “It’s a long story, come on in and we’ll tell you all about it,” said Katie. “Oh oh,” was Ellen’s response. “No, it isn’t anything bad,” Lee assured them. “Well what then?” asked Ellen. “After you left and we got him settled down, we fed him and came on home. I guess he was just so lonely with old Sally gone and both of you gone. Anyway we got a phone call from the Johnson’s, who live just up the road. They were driving by and saw the colt standing at your house, looking in the window. They were concerned, so they called us to find out how to get a hold of you,” said Lee. “We got him back in the pasture, and checked all the fences for broken wire. There weren’t any, so we started looking around for any other likely places he could have slipped through. There weren’t any loose boards, we ed how he and old Sally got out through the barn that first night, but everything was nailed securely.” Katie said “So we thought he’d be okay and we went back home. He did do okay for the rest of that night, and the next day. But then the oddest thing happened, you won’t believe it but I swear it’s true,” said Lee “I got my foot caught in some baling wire out by the hay stacks and before I knew what happened, I was on the ground, my ankle was bleeding and screaming with pain. I couldn’t get up. I knew there’d be no use yelling for Katie, she wouldn’t have heard me from that far away. I was just laying there wondering what I was going to do. As I was praying, asking God to send help, I looked up and there was L Sea, standing over me. I know it sounds weird, but the way the sun was shining on him, he had a glow all over him. It gives me goose bumps to think

about it. Do you think God uses animals like He sends angels when we need help?” he asked then continued with his incredible story. “anyway, he kept nudging and pushing me with his muzzle, trying to make me stand up, but every time I tried, the pain would knock me back down. After several times of trying, that smart little colt of yours forced his body under my arm and literally held me up! I was able to hop on one foot and we went that way toward the house. When we got in ‘shouting distance’, I hollered for Katie. She ran out and the two of them got me into the house. I really thank God for that colt!” he said, with tears in his eyes. “He lost a lot of blood and had 25 stitches, but thank God L Sea came along when he did or it would have been a lot worse. Anyway, we decided to just keep him here until you got home. I don’t think he likes being alone,” said Katie. “We have a very unique colt here,” said Al, “I think we’ve been blessed with a special gift from God.” “This is exciting, but weird,” Ellen gasped. “I found out that the colt’s mother had the same “sixth sense”. I was talking with John’s daughter in law and she told me some of the things Lily did through the years. I don’t know if these things are just coincidence or if it’s really some supernatural thing going on,” she said. “There has to be a way of checking in to this, to find out what it is, or if there are other animals with a sixth sense.”, said Lee “Our daughter is searching the web to find out if there’s any record of other horses having this gift or whatever it is,” Al told him. “Well we need to get unpacked, we’ll take L Sea home now, and we’ll talk about it later,” said Al. “Thanks again for taking care of the colt.” Ellen took hold of L Sea’s harness, and led him through the gate. He didn’t resist when they put him back into the pasture. He seemed perfectly content to be back home again. “I’ll finish unpacking, then I’ll fix a quick supper and we can relax a little bit,” Ellen told Al as he carried in the last of the luggage. He just couldn’t understand why she always packed enough for six people staying a month, even for just a weekend.

“Okay honey, I’m going to check the answering machine for messages,” he told her. There was a message from their daughter; “Hi mom, it’s me. I haven’t found anything from the internet, give me a call when you can, love you.” and another one from Eugene, “Just checking in. The girls wanted to say hey, call me. Love ya, bye.” “Hey honey, you’ll probably want to listen to this one right away,” he said rewinding the tape. “Ellen, this is Julie, John Houston’s daughter in law. I really need to talk to you, you know, about the book you left with me? I’ve made a decision, to change my destination. I can’t thank you enough, I’ve already seen a difference in my life. My kid’s can see it too. Could you please call me, I’m going to be staying here at John’s, I think you have the number, thanks.” Al looked at Ellen, she was crying and praising the Lord. “What was that all about?” he asked. “We were talking about our destiny. I told her we can’t change our destiny until we’ve changed our destination. She asked me how, so I talked with her a little bit about the Lord, then I left my other bible with her. I’m glad I took an extra one with me. I gave her our phone number and told her to call me if she wanted to talk,” explained Ellen. “Oh Al, this could open a whole new channel for John. God is so awesome! He directs our path even when we’re not aware of His plan and His timing is incredibly right on!” she said. “That’s fantastic honey. It sounds like we’ve got another new babe in the church family,” said Al. Ellen returned the call to Julie while she finished preparing their meal. She hung up after a lot of sharing, instruction, and tears. “Wow! What a difference there is in that girl. She’s so exuberant. I could feel her enthusiasm right through the phone.” she said sitting down at the table. “What did you tell her?” asked Al genuinely interested. “I told her that the first thing she needs to do is find a church and go to every service. And I told her that the pastor would be able to answer all her questions and explain the things she didn’t understand,” she told him.

“Good advice,” he said, then they ed hands in prayer to thank God for the food He so graciously provided, and the new life born into the family of God.

Job For L Sea

Chapter Thirteen

Watching the little Sea Horse wandering around, searching for old Sally and looking so lonely without the donkey who mothered him, was so sad. Ellen didn’t know how to comfort him. She thought about buying another horse to keep him company, but would that really fill the void left by old Sally? She decided to wait a few weeks just to watch him and see if he would get used to not having her around. But L Sea was not comfortable being alone. When she or Al were out at the pasture or in the barn feeding him, he followed their every step. He whinnied and carried on when they got out of his sight, and it nearly broke Ellen’s heart to see him so miserable. He needed to be near them, and would do almost anything to get on the other side of the fence. It was for his own protection that they finally had to make the fences higher. Ellen was worried that it might break his spirit and cause him to go into depression, so she and Al brought him out every day, sometimes twice in a day. They came up with a brilliant plan to break him to a saddle; by soaking a saddle blanket. The weight would be close to that of a saddle. They laid the wet blanket across L Sea’s back and stood back expecting him to buck it off, but he didn’t move a muscle. Ellen called to him; “Come on L Sea, come over here to me,” He must have thought he was tied to something and couldn’t move, because when he realized he was free to go, he went wild. He was bucking and kicking up his hooves, he did not like that cold wet blanket on his back at all. He didn’t settle down until he had thrown it to the ground. Then he stopped, put his nose down and sniffed it, and walked away as though nothing had happened. “So much for that idea,” said Al “I guess he’s not ready.” Ellen replied. They took the colt back to the barn and Ellen got the curry comb and brush and then started brushing him. “It’s okay L Sea, we didn’t mean to frighten you with that old blanket. You know you can trust us, we aren’t going to make you do anything you don’t want to do,” she explained to him as though he could understand what she was saying. She brushed off his little hooves and rubbed

down his legs, he seemed to really enjoy that. “I’m going to hang it here to dry honey,” Al said as he swung the heavy blanket over the gate. “maybe if he sees it and becomes familiar with it he won’t be so scared when we try it again.” “That’s a good idea, but we should probably get some advise about when and how to start the training before we try anything else,” she said. Ellen talked to several different people about breaking horses and they all told her the same thing; you need a professional horse trainer to break a horse. Ellen didn’t want to hear that. She didn’t want to put L Sea through any harsh rugged training with strangers, not yet anyway. “I don’t care if he doesn’t get saddle broke, he doesn’t have to be ridden if he doesn’t want to,” she told Al. “He’s still too young anyway. I just thought that if we started early, it wouldn’t be so hard when the time came for him to be broke,” Al said. “I read somewhere that you have to be persistent in training a horse, I wonder if we just keep trying with a dry blanket for awhile if he would get used to it?” asked Ellen. “It’s worth a try. It just might work. We’ll try it again tomorrow,” said Al. Every day they worked with L Sea, and every day he bucked the blanket off. “We need to fasten it around him, so he can’t buck it off. Maybe when he realizes he can’t shake it, he’ll stop trying,” said Ellen. “Good idea, I have just the thing,” Al disappeared behind the stall, and reappeared with a large strap with a buckle. “This ought to work,” he said. Ellen held to L Sea’s halter, while Al firmly secured the strap around the colt and blanket. They turned him loose and stood back once again to see him bucking wildly, trying to shake the blanket off. It stayed put, he couldn’t shake it. L Sea stopped bucking and looked at Ellen. “I think if he could talk I probably wouldn’t want to hear what he was saying right now,” she said. “Probably not,” replied Al The tired colt stood helplessly bewildered and wouldn’t move. Ellen went to him and told him what a good job he had done, as Al released him from his ‘burden’.

Then L Sea trotted happily out to the pasture. They didn’t give in to his protests, but L Sea didn’t give in to the blanket either. For weeks they worked with him, and finally the colt relented and began to accept the blanket without fighting it. Sometimes they let him ‘wear’ it all day, just so he could get used to it. The next step would be to add weight using the dry blanket. They didn’t want to through what they’d just gone through with the wet one. Al decided to try using milk jugs half full of water, tied together and hung on each side, if that worked, he would add more water each day. L Sea didn’t seem to mind the extra weight, and the blanket had become a familiar part of his daily activities. Al and Ellen knew that the colt was still too young to be ridden, so they kept up with his training at a slow but steady pace. They knew it would be months before he would be ready for a saddle or a rider, but their plan was to keep him familiar with his “weight training” as they called it. Hopefully it would make it easier on them and the colt later on, when training would become more strict. When Al and Ellen went into the house there was a message on the answering machine from Marie, again; “Mom, I still can’t seem to find out anything on the internet. Maybe the library will have something. Anyway, Talk to you soon, I love you, hugs from the kids . . . bye.” And another one from her sister Ann Tiller; “Hey sis, I need to talk to you. As soon as you can, call me back okay? Love ya.” “I wonder what’s going on with Ann,” said Al. “I don’t know, I’ll call her and then I’ll fix us something to eat,” she said. “How about I go get us each a fish and chips to go at the café?” he suggested. “That sounds good to me, I’m really tired,” said Ellen with appreciation. Al left to get their dinner and Ellen made her phone call. “Hey Ann what’s going on?” said Ellen as soon as she heard her sister’s voice. “Really? how old is she? Is it serious? She won’t talk, or respond to anyone? That’s so sad. I don’t know, I’ll have to talk to Al, but I’m sure he won’t object, you know how he is when it comes to children. Okay I’ll get back to you as soon as we’ve had a chance to talk it over. Okay, I love you too sis. . . . bye.”

Ellen had just hung up the phone when Al came in with the food from the café. Umm it smells good,” she said, opening the box. “Well, what was so urgent with Ann?” he asked after they asked God to bless their meal. “She was talking to her pastor about the way L Sea responds to illness. Apparently he mentioned it to some people from his church who adopted a very troubled little girl. She’s only three years old, but she’s been through worse trauma than most people go through in a lifetime. The child was abused by her father, and she watched him beat her mother almost to death. The mother is in a mental hospital and has given complete custody of the little girl to these people,” said Ellen, trying hard to everything Ann told her. “Anyway, she won’t talk or respond to them at all. She seems to be lost inside herself, almost like autism, but ,they ,say ,she’s, seriously, in shock.” “That’s terrible, is the man in custody?” asked Al. “I don’t know but I would hope so. Anyway. Ann told them about L Sea and his special gift, and she told them that we might be willing to take the him to see her. Al it could be just the thing she needs to snap her out of it. It would be worth a try wouldn’t it?” she asked “Wow, that’s really wild. Where do they live?” Al replied. “Ann didn’t say, I have to call her back when we decide what we’re going to do. But I’m sure they live around there because I think they go to Ann’s church,” she told him. “I don’t see how we can refuse. Maybe this is the reason we found the little Sea Horse, he does have a special gift, and now maybe a job. This could actually turn into the “greater ministry” we’ve been praying for,” he said. “Al, God is so awesome! I mean the way things are opening up, like a story book, but we’re living it, this is so exciting!” said Ellen. “I’ll call Ann in the morning and see how soon they can arrange a meeting.” Ellen had a hard time getting to sleep, maybe it was the full moon shining too brightly, lighting up the room. Or maybe it was because she’d had a long day with the colt’s training. But her mind kept trying to picture the little girl and the

colt with his special touch. She finally fell asleep, but she dreamed about the colt and James. When she woke up the next morning, she almost expected to see her little grandson standing by her bed. “Al, my dream was so real, it was really weird. I dreamt that Jamey was helping L Sea with other children who were sick. He would take my hand, leading the colt and say; “Come on Grammy, the horsy wants to help.” “You had a lot on your mind when you went to bed last night,” said Al “and you’ve been worrying about Jamey. I think your thoughts just sort of connected in your dream.” “You don’t think that God was trying to show me something?” she asked. “I ‘d be scared to say one way or another. But if something comes of it we’ll know it was the Lord. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.” Al told her. They had their morning devotions and prayer time, then finished breakfast and went out to feed the colt. “Good morning my little Sea Horse, are you ready for breakfast?” Ellen said to L Sea. “Here you go,” she said as she tossed him a flake of hay. Al was cleaning the water trough and refilling it as she went to get the shovel and pitchfork. “Time to clean the stalls again, can you bring the wheelbarrow around here when you’re done with the water?” she asked Al. Cleaning the barn, especially the stalls, can be a long tedious job. It wasn’t their favorite thing to do, but they made the most of it. They’d always worked well together, and one of the ways they had of making the time go by faster was by singing. They chose a peppy song this time and were singing “When the Saints go marching in” at the top of their voice when Lee and Katie came marching in in perfect rhythm. “You’re in good voice this morning, sounds great!” Lee complimented them “Why thank you neighbor,” said Al, grinning from ear to ear, beads of sweat and all. “What do you have planned this afternoon?” Katie asked Ellen as the two men wandered out to the porch.

“Nothing after I make a few phone calls, why, whatcha got goin’?” Ellen asked her. “I thought if you wanted to go with me, we’d go visit my aunt at the Care Center, and maybe stop at a few yard sales on the way home,” Katie said. “Okay, let me call my sister and get a quick shower then I’ll be good to go,” said Ellen. “I’ll come back in what twenty minutes?” Katie asked. “Better make it forty five minutes, I need to make some lunch for Al, have you eaten yet?” Ellen asked her. “No, that’s what I was going back to the house for. You and Al go ahead and have your lunch, make your phone call, and get your shower, then call me when you’re ready, how would that be?” said Katie. “Sounds good, see you in a little while,” Ellen replied. Ellen talked to Ann while she prepared their lunch, she couldn’t make it without her cordless phone. “When would be a good time for us to come?” she was saying as Al sat down at the table. “Okay, just give us at least a day’s notice. We’ll be waiting to hear from you . . . . bye.” “What did she say?” he asked “She said she has to talk to her pastor to have him set up a time for us to come,” said Ellen. “That’s good, we’ll be ready to go when she calls. But we have one little problem, the colt is getting too big to ride the back of the pickup, how are we going to haul him?” he said. “We’ll just have to buy a trailer. We’ll need one anyway so why not now?” she replied “The man at the feed store has an older trailer on his lot, it’s been up for sale for quite a while. I’ll go see what he wants for it,” he told her. They finished eating and Al cleared the table while Ellen showered. She came out in her towel turban and grabbed the phone, “Hey lady, come get me . . . I’ll be ready in a shake. Okay, bye,” she said handing Al the Phone. “Lee wants to talk to you,” she told him. Ellen disappeared back into her room to finish drying

her hair. “I’m going with Lee to cut wood,” Al told her “It’ll probably be dark when we get back, so don’t worry if I’m not here when you get home,” said Al. Katie honked the horn and Ellen hurried out to her friend. “Love you . . .” she hollered to her husband. The two women walked into the office at the Care Center to check in. Katie had brought a bouquet of spring flowers for her aunt. A young woman with black hair and eyes to match popped her head up from behind her desk. She was dressed in bright pink and her smile was equally bright. “How pretty, Lois will love them.” the receptionist told her “ I see you’ve brought a friend,” “Yes, this is my friend Ellen Lewis, she’s the neighbor I was telling you about. Ellen this is Jan Marsh. She’s the afternoon receptionist.” said Katie. “I’m glad to meet you Jan,” said Ellen “I think she’s back from lunch go on back Katie,” the receptionist told them. When she saw Katie she quickly settled herself into a comfortable position, adjusted her pillow then stretched out both arms to her niece. “Come here and give your old auntie a hug,” she told Katie. “And who’s this, you can give me a hug too,” she said to Ellen, who obediently bent down to hug her. “Oh my what pretty flowers! I just love spring don’t you?” she said. “What’s the occasion? Is it my birthday?” she asked “No auntie, tomorrow is Mother’s Day, your birthday isn’t until September, ?” she told her Lois was stricken with dementia and the cruelty of the disease was robbing her of her memory much too fast. She was Katie’s favorite aunt and it broke her heart seeing the confusion and fear in her eyes. Some days were better than others and today seemed to be one of the better ones. “Auntie, this is my friend, Ellen Lewis. She and I are neighbors,” said Katie “Hello Lois, I’m so glad to meet you,” Ellen said as she studied the old woman’s face. From the form outlined by the blanket on her bed she was tall and large boned, but it was apparent from the deep wrinkles that she’d lost a lot of weight rather quickly. Her hair was solid white, like freshly fallen snow, and her eyes were a deep turquoise. As they were chattering away, two nurses came into the room with a chart, and the usual equipment used for monitoring “vitals”. “We need to check her blood pressure and give her her medication, would you mind

stepping outside for a moment?” one of the nurses asked politely. “Not at all, actually, we need to get going anyway. Auntie you have a good nap okay? I love you and I’ll be back to see you soon,” Katie told her. “Bye bye darlin’, I love you too. I’m glad to have met you Ellen,” said the old lady. They started past the reception desk, walking toward the door when someone said, “Wait a minute ladies,” they turned around and saw the young receptionist hurrying toward them. “Would you mind coming in for a minute?” she asked motioning to the office. “Not at all,” said Katie, “Is there something wrong with my aunt?” she asked. “Oh no, I’m sorry if I frightened you. No I just wanted to ask you, or I should say your friend here, a question,” she said. “Me?” Ellen asked, surprised. “Yes, but I don’t know exactly how to ask. Okay here goes, are you the Ellen Lewis who owns the little Sea Horse?” she blurted. “Why yes I am, but how did you . . . ?” answered Ellen, totally shocked by the recognition. “I guess you didn’t know that he’s the talk of the town. It is a small town, and it doesn’t take long for news to travel around here,” she explained a little redfaced. “I had no idea. I don’t know what to think,” she stammered. “What I wanted to ask you is would you be willing to bring the colt in to visit our critical patients? They are so low emotionally. They have nothing to look forward to. Some of them just lay around day after day with nothing to give them a lift. We try, we even bring in groups to entertain them, but after they leave it’s back to the same old thing for them. We thought that with you living so close, maybe you could bring him in once or twice a month,” she asked with pleading eyes. “Maybe just take it a day at a time? If it works out we did a good thing, if it doesn’t we won’t have lost anything by trying,” she said.

“Well, I’ll go home and pray, and talk it over with my husband. I’ll call you in a couple of days, okay? But we may be going out of town in a day or so, and if so, we’ll have to start this when we get back,” Ellen replied. When Katie and Ellen got into the car Ellen gave a big sigh and said “I can’t believe it, this is so weird.” “What?” asked Katie. “ when I told you about how we found the foal and how the vet we took him to used the expression “take it a day at a time?” It just seems a little strange to hear it from another person. It looks like our little Sea Horse has gotten pretty popular and it’s all happening so fast, I feel like I’ve been caught up in a whirlwind,” said Ellen. “I think it’s a God thing Ellen, I really do. I mean, first little Jamey, then you, and now all this. I don’t think it’s a coincidence. I believe God is opening new doors for you and Al, and He’s using the colt,” said Katie. “I can’t wait to tell Al, but he and Lee won’t be home for hours,” said Ellen. “Good, that leaves us the whole day together. Where should we go first?” Katie asked. There was a cross section in town, a four way stop that had a telephone pole on each corner. It was known for all the yard sale signs, everyone who was having a sale put their posters there. “Let’s go to ‘yard sale corner’, “ said Ellen, “I brought a pencil and paper to write the addresses down.” “Yard sale corner here we come!” said Katie and they were off. When they got home it was way past their usual time for dinner, and the guys were still gone. “What are you planning for dinner?” asked Ellen. “I don’t know, something with hamburger I guess,” said Katie. “I have stuff for a salad, and hamburger buns, why don’t we fix dinner at my house. We’ll go ahead and eat and the guys can eat when they get home,” suggested

Ellen. “That sounds good to me,” Katie agreed. “I’ll go check on the colt and you can run home and get your hamburger,” Ellen told her. The girls were busy putting things on the table and just having fun talking and giggling. They even made homemade French fries. “Well that worked out good,” said Katie. “What did?” asked Ellen. “Look who’s pulling up out there,” she said “Oh wow, we got dinner done just in time, now we can all eat together,” said Ellen. “Yah and I’ll get to see Al’s reaction when you tell him about what the people at the Care Center wants you to do,” Katie remarked. “Hey girls, what have you been up to today? Bet you walked your legs off at yard sales huh?” said Lee, “Hey Al, come in here and look at what the girls have set on the table for us.” “I can smell it! I’m about to starve to death, let’s eat,” Said Al, drying his hands and letting Lee take his turn in the wash room. They sat down, and Al said, “Lee, why don’t you ask the blessing tonight?” The prayer was said, and the meal was under siege from two very hungry “lumberjacks” and two yard sale weary women. “Ellen, tell them what Jan asked you today,” Katie prompted “What is she talking about?” asked Al, looking at his wife. “You aren’t going to believe this, but it seems our little Sea Horse has a reputation. Jan, the receptionist apparently heard about L Sea’s gift, and she asked if we would mind bringing the little Sea Horse to the nursing home to see if he could cheer up some of the patients,” said Ellen. “What!? That’s something else, I can’t believe how all this is falling into place,” he said. “It’s kind of weird isn’t it, I mean a horse at a nursing home?”

“I don’t know, I’ve read about people using dogs to help people out of their depression,” said Katie. “They say animals can cheer people up better than people can,” said Lee. “I don’t know about all this. Did you tell them we have to go out of town for a few days?” he asked. “Yes I did, and she said we’d talk when we get back,” answered Ellen. “Well it looks like L Sea has a job,” said Al.

Abby

Chapter Fourteen

Ellen’s sister Ann, arranged a meeting with the pastor of her church and the couple who had adopted the troubled child. Their hopes were high and their prayers urgent. The Lewis’s and their little Sea Horse with his new trailer Al bought at the feed store, were on their way to southern Oregon to meet with them. The big question was, “will the little Sea Horse be able to help the child?” “I’m a little nervous about this,” Ellen confessed as they pulled onto the parking lot of the church. “I wonder if they’ll have her with them.” “I don’t know, let’s go in and find out,” Al replied The two of them climbed the stairs and entered the small auditorium where Ann and the pastor were waiting for them. “Ah, right on time,” said a rather handsome man. His medium built frame filled the black suit he was wearing quite nicely. His smile was warm and gentle. Ellen noticed his honest eyes and comion that seemed to radiate from him. Ann gave Ellen a big squeeze and then Al. “Al, Ellen, this is my pastor, Reverend Richard Hubbard, we call him Pastor Rick” she introduced. “Pastor Rick, this is my brother in law Al and my sister Ellen.” “Glad to meet you Reverend,” said Al, shaking the pastor’s hand. “And I’m glad to finally meet you two, thanks for coming,” he said. “Let’s go into the office, the Peterson’s are anxious to meet you and the little Sea Horse, you did bring him?” “Of course, he’s out in the trailer,” said Ellen. They were waiting as promised. A young couple in their early twenties, stood quickly to their feet and rushed to greet the Lewis’s. The child wasn’t with them.

“Greg, Sandra, these are the Lewis’s, Al and Ellen,” said Pastor Rick. “Hi, it’s so good to meet you,” said the young man. “Thank you so much for coming, we’re at our wit’s end.” “We’ve tried everything, counseling, therapy, medication, nothing works. God knows we’ve prayed so hard for her, we asked Him to show us what to do for her,” Sandra tried to explain through her tears. “Then when Pastor Rick told us about your little Sea Horse, and his gift, well we kind of got a surge of new hope.” “That poor baby has been through hell and no one can blame her for not trusting anyone. But we love her so much and we want her to have a normal life, we just don’t know how to help her,” Greg continued for his wife who was weeping uncontrollably. “We don’t want you to get your hopes up too high, we can’t make any promises. L Sea seems to be able to sense things like illness, or depression, and he sort of shines on them and cheers them up. He’s amazing and special, but again, all we can do is get them together and see what he does for her,” Ellen explained. “Do you want to bring her here, or do you want us to come to your place?” Al asked. “Would you mind coming to our house? She is so scared of everything, I don’t think she could handle it,” Sandra replied. “Not at all, we’ll follow you, or do you need time to prepare her?” Al asked.

“No, I’m too anxious to see if he can help her, let’s go now,” said Greg. They climbed into the vehicles, Ann went with Al and Ellen, Pastor Rick with the Petersons, and they were on their way. It wasn’t that far to the Peterson’s house, they were there in just minutes. They had a big yard and it was full of playground equipment, the little girl was sitting on a swing. Her eyes were focused straight ahead of her, like she was staring into outer space, so far away. She didn’t seem to notice the vehicles driving up, or the people approaching her.

Sandra knelt down beside her and said , “Abby we brought someone to meet you, do you want to come with me to see who it is?” she said softly. Abby looked up and when she saw the strange people she panicked and ran sobbing toward the house. Greg ran after her and held her tightly in his arms until she calmed down. Sandra was at their side stroking the little girl’s blonde curls and gently soothing her. “It’s okay Abby, we’re right here, we won’t let anyone hurt you ever again,” said Greg. “Come and meet these nice people, won’t you?” Sandra asked her. Al brought L Sea out of the trailer and led him inside the gate and closed it behind them. He instructed Greg and Sandra to put her down. She went back to her swing and again began to stare into space. It seemed to be the only place she felt safe. Ellen went over to the Peterson’s and said, “Let’s go sit on the porch where she can’t see us, and see what L Sea does.” They sat while Sandra made coffee. She brought out some cookies and they chatted in low tones. L Sea was curious about the new place he was brought to, the smells, the humid air, the huge trees, he had to check everything out before he would settle down. Finally he made his way over to the child on the swing. She ignored him, and he couldn’t figure her out. All the other children he’d been around got all excited at seeing him but this one was different. L Sea nudged her with his muzzle, she didn’t respond. He snorted and she jumped, but still Abby didn’t change her focus. He trotted away, circled a tree not far from the swing set, then came back to try again to get her attention. “Look, he’s showing off for her,” said Ellen, “That’s so cute,” said Sandra, “Wait, wait, look!” she beamed. Abby had stood up and was eye to eye with the colt. After weeks of seeing her with no expression whatsoever on her face, she broke out with the most gorgeous grin they’d ever seen. She wrapped both of her little arms around his neck, and said, “My horsy.”

“Oh my gosh, she spoke! Greg did you hear her she spoke!” cried Sandra “Yes I did, I can’t believe it!” he said as they both went to her. “Mommy, daddy, my horsy!” she said, grinning from ear to ear. Abby climbed up on a chair and hopped onto L Sea’s back. Ellen cringed, terrified that he would throw her like he did the blanket. But he stood perfectly still and allowed the little girl to sit on his back. “Go horsy, ‘mon ess go,” she said. “He hasn’t been broke to riding yet Sandra,” Ellen warned “I’m not comfortable with her being on his back.” “He doesn’t seem to mind it, can’t we just see what he does?” asked Sandra. “Okay but let me hold his halter and I’ll lead them around the yard,” she told her. L Sea let her ride him without any objections, he actually seemed to enjoy it. Sandra lifted her daughter off the colt and stood her on the grass. L Sea nudged her and knocked her down. Everyone held their breath, they thought she would be frightened again, but to their delight, she cackled with laughter. L Sea nibbled at her hair and she got up and together they romped and played in the grassy yard. Abby ran up to Greg and extended her arms, “Abby tired,” she said and he picked her up. His face looked like a ton of pressure had been released from it. All Sandra could do was cry and praise God. “I don’t know what to say. How can we ever thank you for giving us back our little girl? I’m totally speechless,” Greg told them. “Me too, I don’t know what to say, except God bless you, and God bless the little Sea Horse, he really does have a special gift from God,” said Sandra. Pastor Rick, who had been silently watching from the porch with Ann and Sandra’s mother, walked up to them and said, “I would never have believed this if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. Praise God, what a wonderful gift He has given you.”

“Well I guess we’re going to have to buy Abby a pony aren’t we?” Greg commented. “You know what, I think a puppy would be good for her right now.” Pastor Rick advised. “You don’t have any place for a pony, and she’s pretty little yet.” “A puppy? Well I suppose we could try that,” said Sandra. All the way back Ann just couldn’t stop talking about what she’d just witnessed. “I really did believe you, honestly, but that was the most amazing thing! I’ve ever seen!” she exclaimed. “I still can’t believe it. I mean, I saw that child totally lost in her own little world where no one else could even get close to her. She wouldn’t smile, she wouldn’t respond to anything, she wouldn’t even let on if she knew anyone was around her. The only thing she would do was cry. That was incredible!” “Oh Ann, I was so nervous about it, but I knew what we saw before, with Jamey and me when I was sick. He seems to be able to sense sickness, or problems. I told you about how he helped our neighbor Lee Sanderson didn’t I?” said Ellen “Yes, and to be honest, I thought you were building him up a little too high,” Ann confessed. “But now I understand why, he’s amazing!” she said. “You know, that colt is remarkable as you say, but he is being used by God in a way that no human could. We’re receiving a wonderful blessing, but at the same time we’re glorifying God. I only hope we never forget to honor Him for His gift to us,” said Al. “And for doing a work through L Sea.” The three of them were planning to meet the girls’ other sister Jeannie Saylor and her husband Guy for lunch. It had been awhile since they had gotten together and they were really looking forward to it. The restaurant was just a few miles from the Peterson’s house, so it didn’t take any time at all for them to get there. Guy and Jeannie were already seated and were waving at them through the window. They hurried in and sat down just in time for the waitress to arrive with water and freshly brewed coffee. “That really looks good,” said Ann. “And it smells wonderful, I’ll have a cup.” “I’ll have some too,” Ellen spoke up “and I’d like some cream please.” “Decaf for me if you have any,” said Al.

The waitress poured the coffee then left to retrieve the decaf, and Guy began the conversation, “Well, how did it go with the little girl?” he asked. “It was awesome,” said Ann “you should have seen it, L Sea just pulled that little girl right out of her depression. He had her laughing and playing just like any other child. I’ll tell you what, I was impressed.” “I can’t wait to see him,” said Jeannie. “All I’ve seen so far is pictures.” They ordered their food, and the three sisters did some “catching up,” chattering like schoolgirls. They each had their own special look, yet they favored each other. Ann inherited the family’s brown eyes, Jeannie and Ellen had their mothers hazel eyes. They all had dark hair before it started to gray. Funny, Jeannie who was the oldest of the three, had the least gray hair. They were all hefty built, and showing their age, but watching them that day you would think they were still in their teens. “When are you going home?” Jeannie asked Al. “Not for a couple of days, we want to see the kids while were here, and visit our old home Church. But we need to get the colt back home pretty soon,” he told her. “How is Marie doing, and Ray and the kids?” Jeannie asked. “They’re doing great, Marie is doing some research for us, on special gifts in animals.” said Ellen. “And Eugene and his family?” asked Guy. “They’re doing fine. The girls would like to be back here, but they’ve adjusted pretty well. Bridgett loves her job and Eugene is moving right along.” said Al. They finished their lunch and went out to see the little Sea Horse. He was really wanting out of that trailer. Al snapped the lead rope to his harness and lead him out of the parking lot to a field beside the restaurant. They all followed and were soon showering the colt with hugs, and compliments. “Oh Ellen, he’s gorgeous,” Jeannie commented. “and he’s so cute, look at that little tail,” she giggled as his tail twitching excitedly. He really liked all the

attention he was getting. He liked grazing on the moist grass in the field and breathing in that fresh air. When it came time to put him back into the trailer, L Sea got a little stubborn streak and planted his feet firmly on the ramp. He wasn’t ready to go inside at all.

“What is it baby?” asked Ellen rushing to his side. “It’s okay, go on in,” she told him. But he refused to budge. Al backed him off the ramp and they waited a few more minutes. He looked around as though he was listening for something. Then they saw it, the Peterson’s car had just pulled onto lot at the far end of the restaurant. They had gotten out and Sandra was holding little Abby’s hand while Greg locked the car doors. The Petersons didn’t see them and started inside when L Sea started whinnying. Abby heard him and yelled, “My horsy!” Greg grabbed Abby up in his arms and brought her to see the colt one last time. She wrapped her arms around his neck and said, “Bye-bye horsy.” “We’re having a celebration dinner,” said Sandra, as she ed the group. “Celebration dinner huh?” said Al. “Yes indeed, right Abby?” Greg asked his daughter. “Uh huh I got a new puppy at home,” she said, grinning from ear to ear. “Well that’s wonderful honey,” Ellen told her, then introduced her sister and brother in law. They spent the night at Ann’s house since she was the only one who had a fenced area for L Sea and they could let him run loose for a little while. The next morning they left early and went to see Ray, Marie, and the kids. The visiting was finished, the grandchildren were properly hugged, maybe even a little bit spoiled by Grammy and papa. The following day was Sunday. They decided to go to church and then leave for home right after the service was over. Ellen especially enjoyed the service. The pastor gave any inspirational sermon. It was actually very encouraging to her. With all that had been going on in their lives since they found L Sea, there was little time to seek His divine direction. They just went on demand, but both Al and Ellen felt confident that God was leading them in all of it.

After the service was over, they headed for home, stopping only for lunch and gas. So once again they were on their way home; Al, Ellen and their little Sea Horse.

Aunt Lois

Chapter Fifteen

Home again, what a good feeling it was for them to settle back into their own easy chairs, and just relax. L Sea was equally happy to be home and he took full advantage of the pasture. He was having a ball, trotting, running, kicking up his heels, he was finally free after being confined to a trailer most of the weekend. There were messages, as usual, on the answering machine. The most urgent was from Jan Marsh at the Care Center. Katie’s aunt had had a stroke and was critical. She couldn’t reach Katie and didn’t want to leave a message of that nature on her recorder. Apparently they did finally reach her because the next message was from Katie. She was calling from the hospital for prayer. Ellen quickly gave her friend a call and was relieved to hear her voice, “Katie, is everything okay?” she asked her friend, “How’s your aunt Lois?” Katie filled her in on all that had happened and then Ellen relayed the information to Al; “She survived the stroke, but it left her partially paralyzed and her speech is slurred. Katie said it’s really hard to understand what she says, but they’re hopeful that speech therapy will snap her out of that. They’re more worried about the paralysis because she’s much too weak to even try therapy right now. But the longer they wait, the harder it will be to restore her legs,” Ellen explained. “I heard you mention Jan Marsh, what did she say about that?” He wanted to know. “Oh yah, Jan is still interested in L Sea coming in to see the patients there. Apparently the entire staff is looking forward to him coming,” she said. “When?” he asked.

“I have to call her as soon as I can arrange for him to come, how do you feel about it?” she asked. “It’s still mind boggling, but if this is another door the Lord has opened for him, and us, we need to obey and go for it I guess,” he said. “Well then, I’ll call her back and tell her we’ll come on the next visitation day,” said Ellen. “We decided to go ahead and bring the colt in, when will be a good time?” Ellen asked Jan when she returned her call. “The sooner the better,” she said. “We’ve told some of the residents about him and they’re really looking forward to seeing him. I’ll need to make some preparations, for sanitary purposes and I want to see if we can bring some of them out to the commons.” Jan said, “let me call you tomorrow and let you know what we decided, okay?” The rest of the evening was spent reviewing the events that had so mysteriously unfolded in their lives since the day they fished the little green slimy sea horse out of the river. Lee and Katie stopped by and the four of them talked, laughed and prayed until 1:00 am. They received the assurance they needed to proceed with the journey and new adventure God had opened up before them. In spite of the excitement, and anticipation of this new channel for L Sea, they slept peacefully until the phone woke them at 5:00 am. “Al? This is Katie, I know it’s awfully early, but can I talk to Ellen?” She sounded distressed. “Sure, here she is,” He told her, then handed the phone to Ellen. “Hi, what’s wrong?” Ellen asked “It’s Aunt Lois, she’s had another stroke. It doesn’t look good, will you go with me to the hospital?” she asked. “I’ll be ready when you get here,” she told her. They drove through the circle driveway and parked near the front door. The doctor, who looked like he was barely out of high school, was waiting for Katie when they walked in.

“She’s not going to come out of this one,” he said. “She’s had a cerebral hemorrhage and she’s in a coma. I’m so sorry.” “How long does she have?” Katie asked him, her lips trembling. “I can’t tell you how long she’ll hang on. She may come out of the coma and she may not, but she doesn’t have long,” he said. Katie broke into sobs, and Ellen tried desperately to comfort her. But ing how hard it was when she lost her parents, first her dad, then her mom, she knew she would not be comforted at that moment. She needed time to regain her composure, and all Ellen could do for her right then was to hold her and let her cry. “Thanks Ellen,” she said, trying to be brave. “Can I see her?” she asked the doctor. “I don’t want you to go in alone, and I’m afraid only family can go in there. I’ve called your husband, he’s on his way,” he told her. Lee walked in through the big automatic doors and rushed to his wife’s side. He felt so helpless, he wanted to comfort her but he didn’t know how. “Come on baby, let’s go in, you need to say good bye,” he said gently coaxing her. It was hard to hear, but she knew in her heart that he was right. She and Ellen had just had that same conversation a few days before. She knew what she had to do. They came and went day in and day out, but Lois showed no signs of awareness. She was breathing on her own and only seemed to be sleeping, there was nothing more they could do for her. “We’re going to send her back to the Care Center,” The doctor told Katie. “She’ll be more comfortable in her familiar surroundings, even though she’s not conscious she’ll be able to sense it.”

“Katie, I need to go for now,” said Ellen. “I’ve made the commitment to bring the colt in this afternoon. They’ve already made the preparations for him, I can’t back out now. But I’ll come in after they get her settled back into her room, as soon as I can,” she promised. “I understand, it’s alright Ellen. I kind of need to have some time alone with her anyway,” said Katie. Ellen went home, bathed her little Sea Horse in the special antiseptic soap that was required. She brushed him and taped his hooves, then she and Al loaded him into the trailer. They made their way to the Care Center, pulled onto the parking lot, and proceeded with their plan. Accepting this unusual invitation was a little strange even for them, but if L Sea could do some good for these people, they knew they had to try. Two orderlies opened the doors for them, and showed them where to go. The floors in the hallways were lined with plastic and newspaper, and the little colt was stepping lightly. He had never walked on a hard uncarpeted surface before, and the rattling of the paper and plastic made him nervous at first. He soon forgot about the strange feel of the floor when he saw all the people. Some in wheel chairs, some in recliners, one or two on gurneys and a lot of people with walkers all wanting to pet the little Sea Horse. He took it all in with pleasure. He liked being fussed over, and he picked out certain ones to snuggle up to. They were delighted. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen them so alive. They’re all simply glowing with excitement,” said Jan. “This was the best medicine we could’ve ever given them, I’m so glad we decided to do this.” said Shelly, the head nurse. Her green eyes were sparkling with joy. She had worked there for 25 years. But she chose to not retire because she loved the patients so much she couldn’t bear to be away from any of them. She wore her hair in a bun, fastened with flowers to match her bright blue uniform. “We like to dress in bright colors because it livens the place up a little bit. We won’t tolerate gloominess in here, no sir,” She told them. All at once L Sea took off down the hall and disappeared from sight.

“Where did he go?” Ellen asked in exasperation, “I don’t have a clue,” said Shelly, “He can’t go far, you take that hall, I’ll take this one,” Jan said as she darted down the hall and they began their search for the colt. They looked up and down the halls. He was nowhere to be seen. Al and Ellen were getting upset, and feeling a little embarrassed. “We’ve got to find him, he’ll panic when he realizes he’s out of our sight,” said Ellen. “Let’s look in the rooms,” suggested Al “But they’re all empty, everyone’s in the fellowship hall,” she said. “No, not all of them,” They heard someone say. It was Katie. They had come to Lois’s room. Katie was there, weeping softly and there beside Lois’s bed was L Sea. Aunt Lois had her arms wrapped around the colt’s neck and appeared to be sleeping peacefully. “Oh Ellen, I wish you could have seen it, it was so precious!” Katie said with tears running down her cheeks. “She woke up just for a second when L Sea came into the room and walked right up to her bed. She rolled over to reach for him and he moved closer so she could hug him. She said “Thank you Jesus,” and just fell asleep. She’s gone Ellen, it’s over. She went so peacefully, so beautifully. Even though I am going to miss her terribly, there’s no way I can be sad,” she said. “L Sea was here for her sake, and for yours,” said Al. “This is completely mind boggling and yet so like God. He said he would send us a comforter and He did send us the Holy Ghost for our spiritual needs and comfort, but he also uses the simple things however small to comfort us in the natural. We truly believe that was why he sent us a little Sea Horse, His name be Praised”. “It certainly was no accident that you were out there fishing at the exact time the foal was in trouble. God had a plan for him and for you. It is just so awesome it’s hard to fully understand what has happened,” said Katie “What’s even more mind-boggling is what He has in store for L Sea’s future. Where will He send us

next . . . . I wonder . . . . ?” Ellen mused.