Somehow, she knew to take the first off ramp once she hit the rez line. Maybe it was some habit she picked up in her time here? Or maybe it was just that damned bump that the BIA wouldnt fix?
She was not of this dry country, but had learned to love it.
In their years together, he was never able to afford to take her anywhere. The big cities she was from, wore him out, and he had been in most of them and limped away with a few more of the scars that he never wanted to talk about. When he was in those places that never slept, he constantly looked homeward. Every step with her, was another half step towards home.
Once he crossed that imaginary line on the freeway, he turned into a different person.
She didnt know why she had pulled over, she didnt know what to expect, but she felt something there.
As her Subaru rolled to a stop in the gravel, she saw a familiar spotted horse on the side of the road, breathing steam into the cold morning air, she even recognized the old saddle blanket because he never stopped talking about how his grandmother made it 30 years before…
Funny, I sorta thought you might be here. She spoke to the rough shod figure standing by the horse. Blue Birds sat in the pinon trees talking the morning rez gossip.
Well, sometimes I just stand here by the road, he replied.
The blue birds that were chatting and watching grew silent and looked at each other. Even the spotted horse rolled his eyes.
Its a native thing, you know, sometimes, the force just calls us places, and there’s nothing you can do but go there. The force called me to all sorts of places when I was younger, but now a days, well, I don’t think it calls you much when when a man turns grey…
He pulled his heavy coat close and glanced at her over the top of his glasses.
The birds looked at each other, then at the horse, then they all looked him as he looked away…
They stood in the morning sun on opposite sides of the frost covered highway fence, he looked to the big rigs going to the setting sun in LA and she looked to the big rigs coming east from the rising sun in Albuquerque, they were all comets on their eternal orbits flying through space, sometimes they fly in the same direction for a while, but eventually fly in separate ways..
He kept his hands in his pockets so she couldnt see the tremble that had grown and was eating his right arm since the last time he saw her.
Oh some horse, in some place kicked me one time, he used to say.
After a while, he handed it to her.
I didn’t actually get this for you, I wish I did, but my aunt bought it when I was broke and couldn’t afford anything, I just aint seen you in a while.
You still broke…she said, looking for an honest reaction
He looked at his reflection in the eyes of his old paint horse, then kicked some dirt..
Yeah, but not because I don’t have money, I still got this horse….
nezontherez 