Ghost Horse

There is a story told in these parts of a mysterious, pale horse that roams the forests on Halloween night each year. The horse they say, once belonged to a girl named Sarah who lived in the area in decades past. They say Sarah was a quiet girl with no real friends except her horse.

The horse, whom she called Ghost, was a beautiful white Arabian stallion her father had received as a trade for some services he provided to a local landowner. He saw no real value in the skinny white horse. It was too small to pull the plow and work the field but not wanting to be seen as a pushover who worked for free he accepted the horse as payment. He brought the horse home and when he saw his little girl Sarah fall instantly in love with it he told her he had brought it home for her. From that day forward Sarah and the horse had been inseparable. Her father had been worried about giving a stallion to a 9-year-old girl but his fears were unfounded. Ghost was mellow with the girl, gentle as a kitten, and very protective. He once saw the stallion take off after a coyote that got too close to the girl while she was playing near the edge of the woods. He watched in wonder as Ghost charged the coyote, snorting, his teeth bared in a snarl. He knew his girl was in good hands with Ghost and never worried about the girl when she was with her horse.

The following year on Halloween Sarah begged her father to allow her to go trick or treating on her own. She would ride Ghost and she promised to be careful. He was not thrilled at the prospect of his 10-year-old daughter going out on her own but the truth was he was very ill and would not be able to take her himself. It was just the two of them now, his wife had not survived Sarah's birth. He felt better knowing she would be with Ghost. The horse had always been very protective of her. He allowed her to go but told her to be home before dark.

Sarah dressed herself as a fairy with a pale blue dress and gossamer wings that she had made for herself from the veil of her mother's old wedding dress. She dressed Ghost up by painting magical runes on his neck to make him seem more like a magical fairy horse. She kissed her father on the cheek and set off on Ghost to go trick or treating. That was the last time her father ever saw her.

Several days after Sarah and Ghost went missing they found Ghost, his lifeless body was found in the woods, a single bullet had pierced his heart. Sarah's wings and a torn scrap of her dress were next to the horse's body but the girl was never found.

They say Ghost wanders the woods each Halloween night searching for his little girl.

Image notes: Only the horse is rendered.

503 words

Inspired by my love for Halloween, Horses and Ghost stories.

Word Count: 547
Hours Spent: 18
Software Used: Blender, Photoshop