Moonlight

Chapter 1 A New Life Begins

March 27, 1859

Bella was herding the goats toward home as the sun was low to the mountains. The sky and a few clouds were painted all of the colors of the rainbows. It was still March, early in the spring, so the breezes from the lake would chill quickly. She needed to coax one or another of the goats now and then to make sure they all made it home safely. Just as the last kid crested the last hill and went over an odd sound came from off to her right, behind some tall bushes. She wasn't far from home, and needed to keep the herd together all of the way home or they would scatter to the winds. She urged them to go faster and had them penned in no time. She counted to make sure all twelve were there and settled in. She milked the four from which they used the milk for cheese. It was getting dark and she put on her sweater, then her backpack, grabbed a lantern, checked to make sure the oil was full and lit it. She ran toward the barn and called out, "Father, I got the goats in the pen, but there was a strange noise about a little bit away and I want to go check it out. It sounded like a wild goat in distress. Sometimes they come down out of the mountains this far."

Her father, Charlie came around the corner of the barn and replied, "Okay. Do you need help?" His brown eyes found hers as he reached for his staff. He was about average height and build, with a brown hair, mustache and short beard. She had his coloring and fair skin, and felt that she was fairly average, too.

"No, I can handle it. Maybe it is just tangled in the brush. That's what it sounded like, and I'll be careful. I'll blow the flute for you if I need you," she answered, heading out.

Charlie had carved this ranch on the bench of the stream just out of the foothills with his wife, Renee, and they made enough to live on with their crops from the orchard and garden, and the livestock. They grew enough crops for the animals and family, and had enough to sell the dairy products, eggs and the rest at market days. Her older brother, Jasper (19) helped her dad with the orchard, the field, the cattle and the three dairy cows. Bella (17) was the next born. Her younger sister, Rosie (16) was the shepherd and tended the sheep as she tended the goats. Seth (14) was just finishing with school, and took care of the pigs. Their dad was teaching him how to also take care of and train the horses, though they only had the two. The younger two children, a brother and a sister, Liam (10) and Rachel (8), helped mom with the gardening and the poultry. They all had started that way and worked through the chores and the work with the animals so that they would be able to handle them all on their own when they were adults.

The nearest town, Twin Forks, was only about five miles down in the valley. Bella had gone to school there until she graduated at the ripe age of fourteen, when the children were old enough to learn trades and help on the farms. They went there on market days.

By the time she got back to the crest of the hill the shadows were getting long. It was a good thing that the moon was almost full, it made it easier to see further than the lantern cast light. She stood still to see if she could hear the sound again. Yes, there it was, though it was much quieter than it had been earlier. It sounded like a combination of a goat bleating and a horse whinnying, a moan from pain. She began searching. It didn't take long to discover the source of the sound. There was a smallish, white horse in the middle of the bushes that had been injured. There were cuts and blood. Bella looked quickly away from the blood. It was trying to stand, but was having a hard time of it, due to the wounds that had been inflicted to the shoulders, neck and head. If that weren't bad enough, there was a sudden tremor to the back end, and when she looked at the tops of the legs and hips, she could see a foal in the middle of being born. The mother didn't look strong enough to continue, and made the sounds continually which brought Bella to her.

She had been present at many births of her goats, but never a horse. However, she figured that the process would be similar. She knew that the goats were usually better off left alone, but this horse looked like she might not make it. Her breathing was erratic and weak. Her legs quivered. The foal was still in the sack, which was broken and torn. Bella was not sure that they would survive, and decided to try and help. She could see a scared look to her eyes, and a quiver to the haunches, and it looked like a contraction was beginning. Bella went to the back of the horse just in time for the legs to finish coming, but that was all that came. Bella waited for another contraction, but there was no progress. It seemed to be stuck, as they went a little way back in. At the next contraction she decided to help and grabbed the slippery ankles and pulled when it started. They got all of the legs out, and began to birth the body and head. Each contraction was harder for the mom. She had no strength. She was dying. Bella began to panic, but patted the flank of the mom and comforted her, trying to encourage her to hold onto life and push. She soothed her that the labor would be done and she would have a chance to recover. She hoped it would be true.

The momma turned her head to Bella and there were two things that were evident. The first was the soft blue eyes pleading with Bella for help, and the second was something that she hadn't noticed before. There was a thing sticking out of her forehead. No, it couldn't be. Bella looked again. She thought her eyes were playing tricks on her in the dark. This couldn't be a unicorn. No, they were just legends, folktales. But there was no time for staring. The momma had begun another contraction. Bella grabbed what she could and pulled with all of her might. The baby popped out, and Bella quickly made sure that the nose and mouth were clear and open for air. The baby took its first breath and shook its little head. The momma lifted her head with great effort to see the little one, whinnied softly, and then her head collapsed. She took one last breath and as she exhaled, the life went out of her eyes. Bella cried out softly to her, petting her, but there was nothing to be done.

The baby made its own little noises, reminding Bella of its new little life. She reached down to her leg, under her skirt to unsheathe the knife hidden there. She grabbed a bit of string from her utility backpack to tie off the umbilical cord a couple of inches away from its little belly. She knelt down and cut the cord, breaking the connection between the little one and its mother. She cleared it of the embryonic sack, took her sweater and rubbed it down, noticing it was a female. She saw the nub where the horn would grow later and watched as she began trying to stand. Bella stood and went around to the momma's head with the lantern. It was sad to lee the lifeless eyes and the cuts and bite wounds inflicted on her body, but the thing that Bella wanted to see was that horn. Sure enough, it was there. It was about a foot long, and sort of like the horns and antlers she had seen on other animals, except there was just the one. The skin wasn't luminescent or anything, just white, reflecting the three-quarter moon. Bella couldn't look too long, because the wounds turned her stomach, and she went quickly back to the baby. It had continued its struggles to stand, and was getting better, standing more each time.

Bella felt badly for the baby. She would never know her momma. She took one last look at the adult and wondered how she could give a legacy of the mother to the baby. She had already decided to take the foal home with her to raise with the goats, but an idea formed that she wasn't sure she wanted to carry out. She didn't want to desecrate the body, but she kept thinking that if she took the hair of the mane and tail, she could make it, or someone else could, for part of a blanket for the baby. She could not bury the body, and scavengers were sure to demolish it. It was the way of things in the wild. The hair meant nothing to anyone but her and perhaps the baby, so Bella took the knife and cut off the soft strands, putting them in her backpack. Between the mane and tail, there was a fair amount for a small blanket. She didn't want anyone to find the carcass or bones and see the horn. She looked at the amazing horn which would surely bring up questions. It seemed to call to her, asking to go home with her and her baby. Bella was aghast with the thought of cutting it off. She took a small step back from it, but it called to her heart not to leave it out here for the wolves, to take it for the baby. She hesitated one more time, but it resonated throughout her that she needed to take it with her, so she took a deep breath and struggled to cut it off and put it in her bag. She would figure out what to do with it later. She just felt that it was the right thing to do for the little one.

She went back to the baby and encouraged it to stand. "Come on, you can do it." She watched as it worked at it, determined to be able to get on its own four feet. She knew that it needed to do this, though, so she was patient. She cheered to it when it finally accomplished the task. It was unsteady, but it was up. She had seen mommas watch their new ones until they could stand, and then walk a couple of steps away so that they would have to take a few steps. Bella backed away, calling softly to her. She looked to Bella, who held out her arms for her. She took a step, and Bella continued talking to her. She took a couple more, right up to her. She stroked and praised her. The little one nuzzled her.

Bella knew that the next thing it would need to do was to nurse. The baby was following its natural instincts, but Bella had to get her to a momma goat that would accept her to get any milk. It was time to go. She picked her new charge up and laid it across her shoulders like she would her little goats and lambs, grabbed her lantern and headed home, turning one last time to say goodbye to the momma. She walked quickly to the ranch. When the gate was secure behind them she walked directly to the area with the she-goats with new kids. One of the mommas had on a blanket and Bella took it off of her to rub all over the new foal. She then brought it over to the experienced mama goat and placed it where it could nuzzle and find milk. The goat and baby looked at each other, and the mama smelled the baby, and then accepted it. The foal nuzzled around until she found the teat, and the rest was easy. Bella took a deep breath and released it and the tension that had built up with it. She sat down and watched for a while until they both settled down for the night. Bella figured that it was time for her to do the same. The next challenge would come inside of the house. She would have to figure out how and what to tell her family.

She walked through the yard toward the house, noting that it was later than she had thought. Birthing took a while. She heard a horse trotting up from the road and looked up to see Jasper arriving. She returned to the barn with him and couldn't help but notice his big smile. "Welcome home. No need to ask where you have been. How's Alice?"

"Hi there," his eyes glimmered at the mention of her name, "Oh, she is fine!"

"I'll just bet she is," I grinned up at him. He was definitely interested in Alice.

"What has you out here this late at night?" he queried.

"Jasper, can you help me? I have a real problem and I'm not sure what to do about it."

"Of course, what is it?"

"Well, I'll tell you about the first part of it while you put Flame in his stall."

"Okay, little sister." She told him all about her evening, except for the part about them being unicorns while he took care of the horse.

"Have you ever helped a birth before?" he asked.

"I have watched lots of times, but this was my first all alone."

"Well, you seem to have done a good job. The goat was all right with the new baby?"

"Yes, I rubbed its blanket all over the foal like I've seen you and father do."

"Good thinking. Dad's probably asleep by now; we'll tell him in the morning why there is a newborn colt in with the goats, thinking that the goat is its mother." They closed the horse in for the night and locked up the barn.

"Jasper, there is one more little thing that I don't want others to know. I trust you enough to tell you, but we can't tell anyone else."

"What is that?"

"The mother was a pretty white thing a bit smaller than our horses, but bigger than the goats. At first I didn't get a close look at the head because the baby was half born and sticking out."

"Yeah, that would sort of grab your attention."

"And there were wounds and bite marks all over it like wolves had attacked it."

"I know how you are with blood. I was wondering how you managed to make it through the birth."

"It was hard; I had to keep concentrating on the baby."

"What's the big secret?"

"When it was all over and done with, the momma turned her head around to see the baby before she drew her last breathe…" she paused.

"And…"

"She had a horn sticking out of her forehead. She was a unicorn," Bella rushed out the sentence all at once.

"Wait, what? Say that again. It sounded like you said that she was a unicorn," he gasped.

"Yes," she affirmed.

"No!" he raised his voice.

"Yes she was!" she reaffirmed.

"There is no such thing!"

"That's what I thought until tonight. If it was not midnight, I'd take you to see her body."

"We'll go first thing in the morning."

"Okay" They had arrived at the goat pen by then and she took him over to show him the little thing, curled up next to his new mama's side, next to her new stepbrother. She was small for a horse, but bigger than the other kid. She was grey all over.

"I thought you said that the mother was all white. Aren't unicorns all white?"

"She was, but this one isn't. Maybe they turn colors as they grow."

"We may find out. There's a bit more."

"What more can there be?"

"I wanted there to be a connection from the momma to the baby."

"What kind of connection could there be?" Jasper couldn't believe any of this.

"I sort of gave her a haircut. And I trimmed the horn a bit."

He gawked at her, "YOU WHAT?"

She went over to her backpack and took out the hair and horn. She handed it over to him. "I had a strong feeling that I needed to do this. It was hard to do this to her lovely body."

"We are definitely going on a hike first thing in the morning. What in the world do you think you will do with these?"

"I thought that I could use the hair as part of a blanket for her, and I'm not sure what I can do with the horn."

"I don't see one on the baby."

"Neither do I. Other animals with antlers or horns grow them when they get to be mature."

"That's true. Oh, Bella. What have you begun?"