The Longest Winter
Chapter 9
Ruth woke up from a dream. She had dreamt that she was a young girl again playing with her favorite dog. She shook the sleep from her head. Oh, how she had loved that dog. Which reminded her, she should check the porch again!
Sure enough, both bowls were empty. She opened the door and stepped out. Another chilly fall day. The sun was up without a cloud in the sky. A cool breeze blew across the cottage. She wrapped her arms around her to stay warm and ran around the porch to see if the mare was still hiding. She was gone again. Ruth had hoped that she might have worked up the courage to come up on the porch and knock on the door, but she was mistaken.
“What’s it gonna take, huh?” Ruth said shaking her head in frustration. She ran back inside and closed the door behind her. She stoked the fire and tossed on another log.
“Time to pull out the big guns.” She said with her hands on her hips as she looked out the window. “Let’s see if you can ignore me after I make some spaghetti, hmm?”
She headed towards the kitchen and pulled out her trusty old copper soup pot. She ran her hands across it with a smile. Each scratch and dent was a memory. She remembered cooking gumbo for her husband, his favorite. She remembered cooking chicken soup for her kids, their favorite.
She had made spaghetti and other pasta before, but only as a quick meal once in a while. But now she had a new friend who called it their favorite, so she took her time. She made and drained the pasta, then heated up the sauce. She placed some noodles on a plate and carefully added some sauce on top. She wondered how to keep it warm while she waited for the mare to approach it outside in the cold.
“Guess she’s just gonna have to deal with cold spaghetti until she comes inside.” Ruth muttered to herself. “Well, here goes nothin’.” She placed the spaghetti next to the freshly filled bowls of kibble and water. She sat on the stool by the window and watched.
A few minutes passed when she saw a little nose sniffing over the edge of the porch.
“That’s it! Come on! Ruth said excitedly.
The mare stepped up on the porch with quicker bravery this time. Never had she smelled something so delicious in her entire life. Every DNA fiber in her body craved the scent she was picking up. She somehow knew the word for it.
“Sketty…” she said as her mouth dribbled with drool.
Ruth watched as the little fluffy pony ignored the kibble and ravenously devoured the pasta. The old woman decided to open the door and say hello. She slowly opened the wooden door behind the screen and watched as the mare quickly scrambled to flee. She slipped and fell down the stairs, the green male falling off of her back as she tripped. She was already around the corner of the porch before she noticed.
“Oh no!” Ruth said as she quickly went down the steps to pick up the squealing foal. He was shivering cold and filthy with dirt, but she tucked him into her robe for warmth. “It’s ok, little one!” She said with a smile, scratching his belly. He instinctively began to suck on her finger hoping for milk. “Well, well!” Ruth chuckled. “Somebody’s hungry!”
She leaned forward to peek around the corner of the porch to see the mare shivering with her ears back flat against her head. The mare tried to growl but all that came out was a chattering cold wheeze.
“It’s ok, honey!” Ruth said as kindly as she could. “Look! I’m not hurting him. He’s safe and warm with me!”
The mare continued to silently shiver while glaring up at the old woman.
“You could be safe and warm too!” Ruth said invitingly. “Want some more spaghetti?”
The mares ears perked up. Sketti? Something about that word overrode every instinct that she had. She lifted her front hoof a bit as she tried to resist stepping forward.
“S-sketti?” She said in a shivering voice. “No… no huwt babies?”
“Of course not, honey!” Ruth said, starting to shiver herself. The cold wind wasn’t doing either of them any favors. “Come inside and I’ll make you some fresh warm spaghetti, ok? You can trust me! Aren’t you and your babies cold?”
The mare took a step forward, finally working up the courage to trust a human for the first time in her life. “No huwt fwuffy?” She asked again.
“I promise, honey.” Ruth said as she crouched down and outstretched her hand. The mare slowly approached and gave it a sniff.
“Wewe… inside?” She asked with a shiver.
“Come on.” Ruth said encouragingly as she went up the stairs and opened the screen door. “Inside here, it’s nice and warm.”
The mare slowly climbed the stairs and approached the door. She sniffed the food dishes on the porch while eyeing inside of the cottage. In all of her life, she had never been inside of a house before.
“Sketti?” She asked nervously, sniffing the cold spaghetti.
Ruth crouched down and grabbed the dish with her free hand as she continued to hold the green foal cooing against her chest. She propped the door open with her foot while moving the dishes inside of the cottage.
“There you go.” She said sweetly. “Come on in, don’t be scared!”
The mare slowly stepped inside, looking around the interior with suspicion. She felt the warmth of the fireplace and smelled the fresh spaghetti in the kitchen. Soon she was all the way inside. Ruth closed the screen door behind her. The mare quickly turned around and sniffed the bottom of the door.
“Scawy!” She said, looking up at Ruth. “Wet out! Twapped!”
“Don’t you want to eat first?” Ruth said kindly, pointing to the food on the floor. “After you eat I’ll let you go back out, don’t worry.”
The mare sniffed the food and began to eat. She munched away eagerly as Ruth placed the baby green foal back into her back fluff. He nuzzled his way in and peeped excitedly as he sniffed his siblings.
The mare’s back was caked with filth. Her babies’ poop had begun to clump into her fur. She let out a bowel movement herself as she ate.
“Oh my.” Ruth said, pinching her nose. She went to the kitchen to grab a rag. She ran it under some water and picked up the poop before wiping the floor.
“We’re gonna have to work on that.” She said, shaking her head.
Soon the mare had emptied the food dishes and looked up at Ruth, her face covered in sauce. Ruth bent down to pet the dirty creature but the mare shied aware from her.
“Wet out now?” The mare said, looking up with a worried expression as she backed towards the door.
“Ok, honey.” Ruth said. She figured keeping her promise would help gain the mare’s trust. “Here you go.”
She opened the screen door and the little pony trotted back outside. It only looked back once before ducking around and back under the porch to her leafy nest.
Ruth wondered how long it would take before the mare would trust her completely, but this was progress. She closed the door and threw another log on the fire. She opened her next book titled ‘Fluffy Owners - From Chefs to Breeders’. She settled into her rocking chair and began reading. Maybe tomorrow would bring the pony closer to her feet, and her heart.
Meanwhile the mare nuzzled into her warm, leafy nest under the porch. Her babies climbed down excitedly and drank another full belly’s worth of milk. The mother was so happy as she sang her nursing song and watched her children eat. They would sleep well tonight and now had a better chance of growing big and strong. Soon they were buried in her fluff, one happy, sleeping fluff pile. They cooed and squirmed as they dreamt, warm in their mother’s embrace. She too fell asleep, happier than she had ever been before. Maybe tomorrow she would get more sketti? She was still wary of the old woman, but her heart was beginning to thaw towards humans.
She dreamt of more sketti and warmth. Soon the sun set on the little cottage as smoke slowly climbed from the chimney. A crescent moon rose into the star filled sky as the woods fell quiet.
