+++
"You gotta smoke?" Jennifer looked up into the eyes of a stranger and shook her head.
"How about a lighter?" She shook her head again.
"Mind if I sit down?" He asked, and sat immediately on the other side of the bench.
"I like to come out here with my older brother on the weekends and just walk around and sit on benches and watch people."
Jennifer's right hand moved toward the paper of her notebook, but quickly returned to its stationary position.
"My brother is getting wasted at Hemingway's right now. Sometimes he'll sneak me a beer or a shot, but now that I need a cigarette he's being an asshole."
Jennifer inhaled and exhaled in rapid succession. "I'm Jenny," she nearly whispered.
"Cool. I'm Adam." Jennifer nodded.
"You 18 yet?" He asked.
"No. I'm 16." She paused. "You?"
Jennifer inhaled and exhaled in rapid succession. "I'm Jenny," she nearly whispered.
"Cool. I'm Adam." Jennifer nodded.
"You 18 yet?" He asked.
"No. I'm 16." She paused. "You?"
"I'll be 18 in a few months."
"There's something I've really wanted to do for a while now, but I've just been thinking and thinking about it."
"Oh yeah?" Jennifer's notebook had been discarded many minutes before.
"Yeah. You've seen those horse carriage tours around town, right?"
"Sure." Jennifer recalled a day Daddy paid for her and Peter to take one. Momma was at work and Daddy wanted to spend an hour alone at his favorite bar.
"Well, you've seen how sad those horses look, right?"
She nodded.
"They ride rich tourists around all day and their fat wives, even when it’s raining. And the people will whip them if they get tired or fed up. Well, one day I decided to follow one of 'em to see where the horses are kept. The barn is just a few blocks away and I bet the carriage tour people are sleeping by now."
"What do you want to do?"
As Jennifer trailed Adam on the poorly lit side of Greene Street, she envisioned the giant beasts in their stables, huddled in corners to keep warm, with hay spread over their limbs.
The stable was on a pitch-black lot save a dim porch light coming from a house toward the far left. The faint outline of barn stood to the right, close to them. She could hear the horses breathing and chewing. Adam moved his hand out of Jennifer's.
"Stay behind me and start running as soon as you spot anyone or hear anything," he whispered.
Jennifer heard the muffled scrapes of metal against metal as she envisioned Adam picking the lock on the barn door with a pocketknife. Eventually, she heard a creak as Adam tilted the door open.
"Come on," he said.
Jennifer walked as would a ballerina, on her toes, with both arms flat against her torso. She moved through the entrance gracefully while Adam stumbled and cursed under his breath. The moon brought light into the barn through a few broken boards along the west wall. Through these beams of moonlight, Jennifer spotted massive torsos, pointed ears, and frayed mains. They seemed multiple and gigantic, in shades of gray, brown, and sepia. Their breaths were long and infrequent, but steady.
Entering the barn again, the esoteric light of the moon had ceased and Jennifer spotted, plainly, the two horses in adjoining stables.
"You ready?" Adam asked. "As soon as we open the stables, we'll lead them out and then run for it. Be sure to back up and don't get behind them."
Crouched behind overgrown weeds in the woods adjacent to the barn, Jennifer and Adam waited for movement. Adam whispered to Jennifer about his first and only girlfriend while she nodded in sync with the tonal fluctuations of “Danny Boy."
"Oh shit, shit!" Adam pushed Jennifer onto her stomach, pointing toward the barn. One of the horses had moved near the house, but stopped to graze and explore.
"We have to go. Come on." Adam and Jennifer ran in unison toward the pavement, jogging haphazardly until they were nearly on Broad Street. They stalled at a small park, breathless and aching.
"That was insane. I thought they were gonna run out and never look back."
Jennifer smiled. "At least we showed those people how easy it is to break in."
"Yeah, you're right." They spent the remainder of that hour silent in the grass, catching glimpses of the night sky between high-reaching foliage. Jennifer imagined the horses still roaming near their barn, approaching another day of carriage tours.
"Curfew?" Adam asked.
"Nah."
"Me either. I'm supposed to find my brother by about two, but I usually walk home. I'm sure he can't drive, anyway."
"I walk home, too." They shared street names and directions.
"You know," she mumbled, "Being in that dark barn reminded me of something and I just now figured out what it is."
"Yeah?"
"You know Plato?"
"Who?"
"He was a Greek philosopher. My Daddy used to talk about Greeks a lot. I read about this thing he wrote once about life being like a dark cave, where everyone just stares at a wall that reflects reality and where sounds just echo. We think we're living but we're only getting like a bad version of something better."
"Huh."
"Well, when we were with those horses, I kept thinking I was seeing more than was there for me to see. And, like, if all we see is not real anyway or whatever, what do the horses matter? What do I matter?"
"Well, I don't believe in God or anything, if that's what you're asking."
"Nah. I'm not asking anything. I was just saying what I felt."
"Yeah. I mean, I know what you're saying, but I just don't even think about it anymore. I just take it as I see it, I guess."
Jennifer nodded. "You wanna go somewhere else?"
"Yeah."
+++
"There's something I've really wanted to do for a while now, but I've just been thinking and thinking about it."
"Oh yeah?" Jennifer's notebook had been discarded many minutes before.
"Yeah. You've seen those horse carriage tours around town, right?"
"Sure." Jennifer recalled a day Daddy paid for her and Peter to take one. Momma was at work and Daddy wanted to spend an hour alone at his favorite bar.
"Well, you've seen how sad those horses look, right?"
She nodded.
"They ride rich tourists around all day and their fat wives, even when it’s raining. And the people will whip them if they get tired or fed up. Well, one day I decided to follow one of 'em to see where the horses are kept. The barn is just a few blocks away and I bet the carriage tour people are sleeping by now."
"What do you want to do?"
"I want to break into the barn and free the horses!"
"But," Jennifer hesitated, "where will they go?"
Adam moved his hands through his hair and cradled his head. "You're right. It's a stupid idea."
"No, no. I don't think it's a stupid idea. I... I like it. I mean, it makes a statement, right?"
Adam smiled and nodded in agreement. Jennifer was not sure why she lied to him.
+++
As Jennifer trailed Adam on the poorly lit side of Greene Street, she envisioned the giant beasts in their stables, huddled in corners to keep warm, with hay spread over their limbs.
Uncertain about her adventure with Adam, Jennifer recalled a story her father once told her about his family. They had distant relatives who fled the Ionian Islands for continental Europe after the Greek War of Independence. Chest puffed, black hair dangling wildly from his brow and into his blacker eyes, her father leaned back into his recliner before beginning:
"Homer's got nothing on our family, Jenny. We're sea-crossing, monster-slaying folks. My dad told the stories of your great granddad just like I'm telling you now."
"But Momma says you're Irish, Daddy."
"My Momma's Irish, Jenny, but my Daddy's got Greek blood. You never got to look into your Grandpa's eyes, but they were as deep as the Mediterraean Sea."
"What's the Mediterraean Sea?"
Daddy sighed. "Don't worry about it, kid."
"What's so funny?" Adam asked as Jennifer laughed, enveloped by her past.
Jennifer's smiled quickly vanished. "Nothing."
"Huh... Well, anyway: I read this article on the internet one day at the library about animals in captivity. It was saying that even though they usually live longer, they’re still wild and deserve to live in nature. There's no way they enjoy carting people around all day."
"I'm definitely glad I found someone to do this with me." He looked back toward Jennifer affectionately, waiting for her to catch up with him. "You cold?"
"No," she lied, shivering.
"Want my jacket?"
"Nah. I'm fine."
"No," she lied, shivering.
"Want my jacket?"
"Nah. I'm fine."
Adam placed his coat around Jennifer's shoulders anyway. Soon after, he slid his right hand into her left and the sensation of his fingertips against her her knuckles brought Jennifer's emotions out of the shadows and crevices of her dreams.
+++
The stable was on a pitch-black lot save a dim porch light coming from a house toward the far left. The faint outline of barn stood to the right, close to them. She could hear the horses breathing and chewing. Adam moved his hand out of Jennifer's.
"Stay behind me and start running as soon as you spot anyone or hear anything," he whispered.
Jennifer heard the muffled scrapes of metal against metal as she envisioned Adam picking the lock on the barn door with a pocketknife. Eventually, she heard a creak as Adam tilted the door open.
"Come on," he said.
Jennifer walked as would a ballerina, on her toes, with both arms flat against her torso. She moved through the entrance gracefully while Adam stumbled and cursed under his breath. The moon brought light into the barn through a few broken boards along the west wall. Through these beams of moonlight, Jennifer spotted massive torsos, pointed ears, and frayed mains. They seemed multiple and gigantic, in shades of gray, brown, and sepia. Their breaths were long and infrequent, but steady.
"Quick, run!" Adam darted past Jennifer toward the door. Jennifer ran, too, until they both lay flat on ground littered by withered leaves, disguised by an ancient oak tree behind the barn.
"What happened?" Jennifer asked, still reeling from her experience in the barn.
"I heard something in the bushes near the house. But, look." Adam pointed toward a tabby cat stepping up onto the house’s porch.
"Oh." Jennifer said.
"It's okay." He moved on to his knees, putting his hand out for Jennifer. She took it.
"What happened?" Jennifer asked, still reeling from her experience in the barn.
"I heard something in the bushes near the house. But, look." Adam pointed toward a tabby cat stepping up onto the house’s porch.
"Oh." Jennifer said.
"It's okay." He moved on to his knees, putting his hand out for Jennifer. She took it.
"I was gonna say, anyway, that there are only two horses in there right now. I guess they took 'em all somewhere else since it's winter."
"What do you mean? There's a lot more than two." Jennifer was astonished by this.
"What do you mean? There's a lot more than two." Jennifer was astonished by this.
"There's definitely only two left. What do you think we should do?"
"I think we should still let them go." She declared.
"Yeah. Well, we gotta do it now or else they'll figure out something's up when the lock's been picked."
"Yeah. Well, we gotta do it now or else they'll figure out something's up when the lock's been picked."
Jennifer nodded, anxious to know what the barn really contained.
In the density of branches behind them, Jennifer heard the faint rhyme of her father's favorite Irish song. The closer Adam and she inched back toward the barn, the more she remembered until the words descended upon her in a hush:
"Oh Danny Boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling
From glen to glen, and down the mountainside.
The summer's gone, and all the roses falling.
It's you, It's you must go and I must bide."
"Oh Danny Boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling
From glen to glen, and down the mountainside.
The summer's gone, and all the roses falling.
It's you, It's you must go and I must bide."
+++
Entering the barn again, the esoteric light of the moon had ceased and Jennifer spotted, plainly, the two horses in adjoining stables.
"You ready?" Adam asked. "As soon as we open the stables, we'll lead them out and then run for it. Be sure to back up and don't get behind them."
Jennifer nodded.
Adam smiled. "Okay."
The stables were opened. Adam rustled his feet, as if to startle the animals toward freedom.
The stables were opened. Adam rustled his feet, as if to startle the animals toward freedom.
"You're free!" He whispered loudly, flailing his arms around. "Go!"
The horses wheezed.
"Maybe they're afraid of us and won't come out until we leave."
"I bet that's it." Adam said.
The horses wheezed.
"Maybe they're afraid of us and won't come out until we leave."
"I bet that's it." Adam said.
+++
Crouched behind overgrown weeds in the woods adjacent to the barn, Jennifer and Adam waited for movement. Adam whispered to Jennifer about his first and only girlfriend while she nodded in sync with the tonal fluctuations of “Danny Boy."
"Oh shit, shit!" Adam pushed Jennifer onto her stomach, pointing toward the barn. One of the horses had moved near the house, but stopped to graze and explore.
"We have to go. Come on." Adam and Jennifer ran in unison toward the pavement, jogging haphazardly until they were nearly on Broad Street. They stalled at a small park, breathless and aching.
"That was insane. I thought they were gonna run out and never look back."
Jennifer smiled. "At least we showed those people how easy it is to break in."
"Yeah, you're right." They spent the remainder of that hour silent in the grass, catching glimpses of the night sky between high-reaching foliage. Jennifer imagined the horses still roaming near their barn, approaching another day of carriage tours.
+++
"Curfew?" Adam asked.
"Nah."
"Me either. I'm supposed to find my brother by about two, but I usually walk home. I'm sure he can't drive, anyway."
"I walk home, too." They shared street names and directions.
"You know," she mumbled, "Being in that dark barn reminded me of something and I just now figured out what it is."
"Yeah?"
"You know Plato?"
"Who?"
"He was a Greek philosopher. My Daddy used to talk about Greeks a lot. I read about this thing he wrote once about life being like a dark cave, where everyone just stares at a wall that reflects reality and where sounds just echo. We think we're living but we're only getting like a bad version of something better."
"Huh."
"Well, when we were with those horses, I kept thinking I was seeing more than was there for me to see. And, like, if all we see is not real anyway or whatever, what do the horses matter? What do I matter?"
"Well, I don't believe in God or anything, if that's what you're asking."
"Nah. I'm not asking anything. I was just saying what I felt."
"Yeah. I mean, I know what you're saying, but I just don't even think about it anymore. I just take it as I see it, I guess."
Jennifer nodded. "You wanna go somewhere else?"
"Yeah."
+++
In the morning, Jennifer felt different. From her bed, she grabbed the notebook from her backpack and flipped through the empty pages that would have been filled with dialogue had she not met Adam.
She touched her vagina. It was sore and swollen. When she pulled her hand back from under the sheet, her fingertips were reddened. She jumped out of bed and pulled her blanket down to see the small blood stains. She looked at her body and then the blood and then her body again.
Adam's jacket was still on the floor. She propped it over herself and maneuvered back into bed. She recalled his kisses and the resultant pain and awkward pleasure.
She touched her vagina. It was sore and swollen. When she pulled her hand back from under the sheet, her fingertips were reddened. She jumped out of bed and pulled her blanket down to see the small blood stains. She looked at her body and then the blood and then her body again.
Adam's jacket was still on the floor. She propped it over herself and maneuvered back into bed. She recalled his kisses and the resultant pain and awkward pleasure.
Jennifer began humming the song she had rediscovered the night before. She closed her eyes and pretended the horses were in the room with her, not just two, but the many she had initially sensed.
Crowded, her imagination slid between those bulky, misty forms and met the undeniable scent of animal at the entrance of a giant cave where her father stood, waiting for her.
Crowded, her imagination slid between those bulky, misty forms and met the undeniable scent of animal at the entrance of a giant cave where her father stood, waiting for her.
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