FOOD
Pounding hooves, panicked whinnies, and the clash of steel horseshoes against stall doors awakened the young boy out of a deep sleep. It was still dark, but dawn was creeping up from the East. He didn’t know why the horses were so agitated, but he could sense an ominous presence in the air.
The boy got up and walked down the hall toward his parents’ room, dressed only in his boxers, socks and a tee shirt. The door was ajar, and he peeked in; they were deep asleep. Not wanting to wake them, he continued through the kitchen to the mud room. There he threw on a pair of overalls that were hanging on a hook, slipped into his muddy boots, and headed out to the barn to investigate.
Once outside the boy noticed a strange glow in the sky. This was odd because dawn had not yet broken. He smelled the air; in it was the scent of ozone, like after a big rainstorm. He ran into the barn, opened all the stalls, and the horses bolted out into the pasture.
There was an eerie silence. Then an orange glow. The sky lit up as a bright orange disk descended from the clouds. Hovering a few hundred feet above him, it was about the size of his school’s football field and emitted a slight hum. He stared at it in awe.
Suddenly, six smaller orange disks shot out from the large object and darted around the pasture and barn. One came within ten feet of him and stopped at eye level. The little one stared at him as if it were a sentient being.
The boy should have been terrified. Instead he was filled with a calm and sense of well-being. Whatever they were, they weren’t hostile.
The little one whisked away and joined the others. They continued to dart around the sky as if playing a game of tag. Then the hum from the large disk changed to a musical tone. All of the little disks congregated, shot up and disappeared into the larger disk. It slowly began to rise, then was gone. Silence.
The horses were calm now, grazing in the pasture. The strange glow gave way to the lightening dawn.The boy smiled, giddy, then turned and headed back to the house.
He kicked off his muddy boots and went into the kitchen; pulled a box of cereal from the cupboard and poured a large bowl. As he was getting milk from the fridge he heard his mother coming down the hall. She was surprised to see him up.
“Honey, what are you doing?”
“Having a bowl of cereal,” he replied.
“I heard the horses. Is everything okay?”
“Fine.”
“What was it?”
“Just UFOs”
“Oh,” she shrugged, “them again?”
She started to put on the coffee.
The boy got up and walked down the hall toward his parents’ room, dressed only in his boxers, socks and a tee shirt. The door was ajar, and he peeked in; they were deep asleep. Not wanting to wake them, he continued through the kitchen to the mud room. There he threw on a pair of overalls that were hanging on a hook, slipped into his muddy boots, and headed out to the barn to investigate.
Once outside the boy noticed a strange glow in the sky. This was odd because dawn had not yet broken. He smelled the air; in it was the scent of ozone, like after a big rainstorm. He ran into the barn, opened all the stalls, and the horses bolted out into the pasture.
There was an eerie silence. Then an orange glow. The sky lit up as a bright orange disk descended from the clouds. Hovering a few hundred feet above him, it was about the size of his school’s football field and emitted a slight hum. He stared at it in awe.
Suddenly, six smaller orange disks shot out from the large object and darted around the pasture and barn. One came within ten feet of him and stopped at eye level. The little one stared at him as if it were a sentient being.
The boy should have been terrified. Instead he was filled with a calm and sense of well-being. Whatever they were, they weren’t hostile.
The little one whisked away and joined the others. They continued to dart around the sky as if playing a game of tag. Then the hum from the large disk changed to a musical tone. All of the little disks congregated, shot up and disappeared into the larger disk. It slowly began to rise, then was gone. Silence.
The horses were calm now, grazing in the pasture. The strange glow gave way to the lightening dawn.The boy smiled, giddy, then turned and headed back to the house.
He kicked off his muddy boots and went into the kitchen; pulled a box of cereal from the cupboard and poured a large bowl. As he was getting milk from the fridge he heard his mother coming down the hall. She was surprised to see him up.
“Honey, what are you doing?”
“Having a bowl of cereal,” he replied.
“I heard the horses. Is everything okay?”
“Fine.”
“What was it?”
“Just UFOs”
“Oh,” she shrugged, “them again?”
She started to put on the coffee.
