Divine Mortals

by Allison, J

  Very country.

  I hadn’t visited the ranch in over five years, but the house never changed, it stood now looking the same as it always had.

  “Home sweet home,” Nan smiled, turning in her seat to look at me as Pop bought the vehicle to a stop. I wasn’t sure what to say so I gave her the best smile I could conjure, even as I felt my lips wobble.

  “Here we are.” Pops words echoed my thoughts, and I took a deep shaky breath before stepping out of the pickup.

  Home sweet home.

  2.

  The rest of the afternoon passed quickly, it was almost dinner when we arrived and my grandparents, thankfully, had left me alone in my new room to ‘unpack and get comfortable’.

  I didn’t unpack any more than the fresh set of clothes I needed after taking a long hot shower. The en-suite had been refurbished since I had last visited, it was by far the most modern room in the house with its bronze taps and shiny tiles.

  Nan had made a lovely home style roast beef for my first night and her and Pop proceeded to distract me with inane chatter and town gossip until it was suitably late enough for me to make my excuses and go to bed.

  I lay still, listening; it was so quiet here, and dark. There were none of the usual sounds I was used to at night, no noise from the street outside or soft glow of street lights through my curtains.

  Just silence.

  In truth it was a little scary, that silence, another facet to this unfamiliar new life.

  Sleep over the last two weeks had consisted of a black nothingness, a dark void so deep that I woke feeling numb. But tonight the colors and sounds of sleep were back again, although the dream itself was unsettling.

  The field was huge, trees lined the outer perimeter, like distant shadowy guards, I could only just make out their silhouettes in the dark. Rain ran down my neck, and I could hear the drops splashing loudly as they hit the ground around me.

  Turning from left to right I tried to recognize my surroundings.

  A man stood before me, startling me, his face hidden in shadows, his identity secret. It didn’t matter what angle I tried to see him from, I couldn’t make out his features. He didn’t unnerve me, quite the opposite actually, I felt safe in his presence, I trusted him instantly and completely.

  I tried to stand, everything would be okay now that he was with me. But I couldn’t move, I could only sit there looking up at him, unable to get any closer even though my entire being ached to be near him.

  He was afraid of something, and that knowledge made my blood run cold until I no longer felt the icy rain running down my back.

  His face jerked up, focusing somewhere over my shoulder, past where I was huddled in the wet slippery grass. His focus fixed on something behind me, his fear turning instantly to anger at what he saw, anger that radiated from him with so much intensity that I could almost feel the vibration of it. I turned my head slowly to look over my shoulder, following the line of his gaze. Another man stood in the distance behind me, masked completely in black. There was no color to him, no defining features, he was a dark figure, someone that I feared, someone black to their very soul, except for his eyes which shone a brilliant emerald green.

  In that instant the man in front of me leapt at the black figure in a movement so swift, so fast that my eyes couldn’t follow it, I ducked screaming in fear for him.

  My scream woke me.

  I clasped my hands over my mouth, humiliated. I had never dreamed so vividly before, I waited a full minute for my breathing to return to normal, straining my ears the entire time to see if either of my grandparents had heard me or if they were coming to investigate.

  The house remained silent, the creaking boards of the ancient structure the only sound I could hear. A breeze came through my window carrying the whiney of a horse on it, but no footfalls, no human noise, apparently I had to be thankful for the hearing loss that came with age. I hadn’t woken them.

  I moved my hand slowly from my mouth, breathing deeply, trying to remember what had happened in my dream to make me scream. I had the vague memory of a field and rain but that was all, like most dreams I was unable to recall the details upon waking. Although I couldn’t shake the feeling of terror, not fear for myself, I was terrified beyond imagination for someone else, I just wasn’t sure who.

  I ran my hands through my hair trying to clear my thoughts, to think of something else, anything to shake the unease of my nightmare.

  I glanced at my clock, it was just after five, this instantly lifted my mood. I had managed to sleep most of the night, without a pill, that hadn’t happened in a while.

  A soft clanging noise carried to me though the open window, stepping gently from my bed I made my way silently across the soft carpet, pulling back the curtains.

  The sky had lightened from the pitch black of night to the deep blue of pre-dawn, I looked towards the machinery shed where I could still hear noises. Murmured voices carried occasionally on the wind to me, the ranch hands, already up and preparing for the day. I rested my chin on my hands watching their indistinct shapes move through the dark. A light switched on inside the stable, gently glowing out across the yard from beneath the large doors and within a couple of minutes one of the hands led three horses into the early morning light. He was quickly joined by two others and I listened to their hoof beats fade into the distance as they galloped off towards paddocks still enveloped in darkness.

  I walked slowly back towards my bed, far too awake now to sleep again. Flicking on my lamp I took in my new room.

  It was very plainly decorated, a guest room before my arrival, the walls were a pale cream and completely void of any pictures or paintings, the large double windows I had been standing at were surrounded by soft yellow drapes. On the opposite side of my room was the door to my bathroom, next to this was the only thing that hung on the wall, a full length mirror.

  My eyes moved back to my suitcases, sitting where I had left them, neatly next to the wardrobe.

  Swinging my legs out of bed once more I crossed the room slowly towards my luggage, now or never, it was time to unpack.

  By the time my unpacking was done and I had showered and arranged my toiletries in the bathroom it was just after seven. I could hear Nan banging around in the kitchen, it seemed that ranch life meant early starts, I sighed inwardly. I had never traditionally been an early riser, and once my sleep patterns got back to normal, if they ever did, I would hate that. I hoped they didn’t expect me up at the crack of dawn every morning.

  I stretched, reaching my arms high above my head feeling my muscles spark and pull along their lengths.

  Wandering down the long hallway to the kitchen was like taking a trip down memory lane, a very painful trip. Numerous family photos hung on the walls its entire length and I tried not to look at them, not yet. This hallway had always scared me as a child, it was so long and dimly lit, like a room from out of a nightmare with six doors leading off of it, three each side. It was even more frightening now with its images of happy memories and snapshots from the past.

  Leaving behind the darkness of the hallway I hustled into Nans old kitchen, the sun was streaming in through the large windows above the sink, the kitchen was painted a pale cream that kept it bright and airy looking, despite its aged décor.

  Nans back was to me as she stirred something in a pot on the stove top.

  “Good Morning love, sleep well?” her grey eyebrows arched to emphasize the question.

  I sidled up next to her, peeking over her shoulder into the saucepan.

  “Wow, is that porridge?” I couldn’t remember the last time I had eaten porridge and definitely not porridge made on the stove top, I was more of a microwave guru.

  “Sure is dear, it’s ready if you’d like some?”

  Nan dished me up a large helping which I preceded to cover in milk and brown sugar. It was delicious and I burnt my mouth more times than I could count as I wolfed it down far too quickly. Pop came in as I was scraping my plate clean, his
clothes already dirty from jobs outdoors.

  “Hungry?” he joked,

  “Apparently,” I laughed out loud, startling myself, it seemed like forever since I had laughed, and the sound of it surprised me, something about this place was making me feel lighter than I had in weeks and I clung to that, desperate not to let it fade.

  Perhaps it had been the great sleep, I wasn’t sure, but the survival part of my subconscious had reared its head again this morning, stronger than it had been in days.

  After I cleared my plate and excused myself I grabbed my iPod and headed towards the hammock I had seen hanging on the porch last night. It was still early and I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do with the day, let alone the seven weeks remaining until school went back.

  The thought of school made me nervous, I could already imagine the hordes of students who would stare at me, the new girl. I’d never had to start a new school before and I was guessing that starting again for senior year would be the worst, I knew all too well how clicky girl groups could be.

  Lowering myself into the faded white hammock I switched on some old rock and turned the volume up in an attempt to drown out any further thoughts of school.

  I gazed across the yard, a number of cattle were milling around impatiently, held captive behind high wooden fences in a holding pen. The stable doors were hanging open and the horses were once more grazing in the paddock beyond. I wondered again which of these were mine, the thought of owning a horse made my stomach turn in a violent case of butterflies.

  I must have dozed because next thing I knew I was being woken by Pops gentle shaking.

  “Ava,” his voice was soft, his eyes gentle as he tried not to startle me.

  “Mmmmm,” I opened my eyes feeling more than a little embarrassed at having drifted off so soon after getting up.

  “I’ve asked Robert to bring Beaut in for you, do you want to meet him?”

  “Ah…sure?” My voice came out sounding a little too high, nausea swept instantly through me, my palms turned clammy. I stood, removing my earphones and stuffing my iPod into the pocket of my shorts. The day was already sweltering, I could see heat waves rippling off of the iron roof of the machinery shed.

  Pop strode ahead of me, the lope of a fit man used to years of working the land, I almost had to jog to keep up with him. Skipping down the stairs away from the sanctuary of the porch I pulled my hair from its ponytail, shaking it loose as I went, I was starting to get a headache.

  Pop had already reached one of the high sided pens and was peering between the rails waiting patiently for me to catch up.

  Beaut stood in the center of the pen happily munching on a pile of hay, his coat was a deep glistening black, he was both absolutely stunning and completely terrifying. It was easy to forget just how big horses were and I felt a prick of fear as I took him in. I swallowed this down, fear wouldn’t hurt me, it might actually make for a welcome distraction, a new emotion to keep the others I currently had at bay.

  “What do you think?” Pop asked, turning a large smile my way.

  “He’s beautiful,” I admitted, at least I could give my honest feelings about that, “Let me guess, Beaut? As in Black Beauty, not real original Pop.”

  He laughed.

  “No we aren’t really about the imagination here, more practicality, your Nan came up with that when he was born, we were just going to call him Blacky.”

  “Really? Well in that case Beaut is one hundred times better”.

  A loud bang came from the shed behind us, Pop turned to look.

  “Come and meet the hands Ava,” he gestured to me, “it looks like all three of them are in at the moment.”

  I turned back towards the pen that held Beaut and then again towards Pop, who without waiting to hear my reply, was already on his way towards the noises in the shed. I followed reluctantly, I wasn’t really ready to start meeting new people just yet, but it didn’t seem possible to get out of it with Pop almost at the shed already and the alternative being a few hundred pounds of horse flesh.

  “Ava this is Jed,” Grandpop motioned to the first man who was sweating over the tractor he worked on.

  “He manages these other two.” Pop continued, gesturing vaguely to the other two men in the shed.

  “Hello.” I mumbled, sounding shy even to my own ears. I had never been very good at meeting new people.

  “Nice to meet you honey,” he tipped his hat, I suppressed a smile, I thought that only happened in western movies.

  Jed had a kind face, it was lined and tanned to a deep brown, hard baked and leathery looking. I guessed him to be in his late forties, he was tall and wiry, the veins standing out on his arms in the heat. He looked like the kind of guy who had been working outside his entire life.

  “Perfect timing,” he smiled, continuing, “We need a new musterer.”

  “Oh,” I returned his smile, “You may be waiting a while then, I can’t ride.”

  Jed feigned shock at this and another voice spoke up from the other side of the tractor.

  “Are you sure she’s your granddaughter then Fred?”

  “And that’s Shaun,” Pop gestured towards the second man who was now chuckling at his own joke, I smiled towards him, giving him a small wave.

  “Hey,”

  “Hi,” Shaun smiled broadly, he was not much younger than Jed, and obviously a man of humor, deep laugh lines surrounded his mouth and eyes. Like Jed he was weathered and leathery, although Shaun was slightly overweight. While Jed and Shaun shared the same skin they obviously didn’t share the same diet.

  “Nice to meet you.” I murmured,

  “You too.” He echoed, his eyes were as kind as his voice and I couldn’t help but instantly like this happy round man.

  “So you’ll be needing some riding lessons then?” he continued, giving me a wink.

  “Ahhh…” I laughed, “We’ll see, perhaps I’d do better with a motorbike.”

  Shaun boomed out a laugh, rolling his eyes at me, no doubt wondering what use a city chick could possibly be on a farm.

  “And over there loading the trailer is Robert.” Pop interrupted, pointing in the direction of his third employee before turning to talk to Jed, leaving it to me to make conversation. I glanced for the first time at the third man and found myself staring.

  He was completely different from the other two, to start with he had to be no more than twenty.

  The first thing that caught me was his eyes, such a deep brown as to seem almost bottomless. His face was smooth and bronzed from the sun, his mouth full and curved, nearly too large for his face but somehow still fitting. His blonde hair swept back from his forehead in a way that foretold of a morning spent pushing it from his eyes in the heat.

  He was tall, a little over six feet I guessed, his shirt and jeans although dirty from a morning outside complimented what looked to be a very athletic figure.

  “Hey,” I said simply, finally gathering sense enough to speak and again sounding far too shy. I gave him a smile unable to tear my eyes from those dark pools of amber.

  Robert looked up briefly, his eyes seemed to widen slightly, his whole posture freezing momentarily as he met my gaze. But this wide eyed look changed again almost instantly, replaced by total indifference.

  “Hi.” he replied brusquely before turning his back and showing an exaggerated interest in the tools on the bench before him.

  I stood stupidly for a moment, shocked at how rude he was being.

  Grandpop seemed oblivious to this snub, he was still chatting animatedly with Jed, waving his hands about feed levels or something of the like. I felt my cheeks start to burn, I was still facing Robert who was acting as though I wasn’t there.

  I stood, stunned, for a moment longer and then turned on my heel and strode back towards the house, leaving Grandpop to talk farming and Robert to go to hell.

  3.

  From the porch I could see Nan in her vegetable garden. I called a quick greeting and carried on into the dim
hallway, rushing down it without looking at the walls, towards the kitchen. I was just about to grab some milk from the fridge when the phone rang.

  It felt a little strange answering it, this didn’t yet feel like home, but there was no one else inside and so I picked it up on the third ring.

  “Hello Ava speaking,”

  “Oh Hi,” The voice on the other end was bubbly and excited, “You’re just the person I’m after,”

  “I am?” I was a little confused, I didn’t know anyone here yet, except of course the three farm hands I had just met.

  “Yeah, Norma called my Mom a couple of days ago and told her you were moving down from Chicago, she asked if I’d mind showing you around the thriving metropolis of Huntington,” she paused, snorting a little at her own sarcasm before continuing,

  “I’m warning you though, you’ll be lucky to stay awake through it, we’re definitely nowhere near on scale with Chicago.”

  Whoever this was she was a talker.

  “I’m Sally by the way,” she cut in again, answering my unspoken question.

  “Well ah,” I wasn’t sure what to say, it wasn’t every day a complete stranger called and offered to be your official tour guide. My gut reaction was to say thanks but no thanks. I didn’t know if I was ready to tackle the whole social aspect of meeting new friends.

  My new personal mantra picked now to chime in,

  You will be okay, darn subconscious.

  “Ah, sure…?” I spoke quietly, sounding anything but.

  “Great.” Sally on the other hand sounded excited, I wondered briefly how much her mother was paying her to do this.

  “I’ll pick you up around three and take you into town, maybe we can grab a juice at the diner.”

  “Yeah that sounds good…” I hoped I sounded more enthusiastic then I felt.

  “Great I’ll see you this afternoon then.” the phone went dead, Sally was already gone.

  I sighed, so Nan had been meddling already, but I couldn’t be angry, she was only doing what she thought would make things easier for me. I guess it couldn’t hurt to make a friend here.