Where Inspiration Meets Reality

"I have always known that something was not quite right about my horse. Little things were happening around the farm that didn’t add up."

The horse looked at me as I paused in my dictation, “Okay, enough, writing for one day.” I patted her neck and put away my phone, which I had been dictating my latest story into.

“Hey, Jean. You want to go riding?” My friend of twenty years walked up to me as I was leading my horse to the barn.

“Sure, I was just getting ready to go. When did you get here? I didn’t hear you pull in.”

“I know, I saw you talking into the phone again,” she laughed, “What are you writing about this time?”

“I can’t tell you, it’s still not quite ready to talk about.” Karen had been my best friend for so long and my beta reader for as long as I could remember. She always wanted to know what I was writing about. Karen was always eager to tell me whether or not it was a bestseller.

“Okay, but at least give me something,” she persisted, while grooming her horse.

“No, it's not ready yet, saddle up and let’s get out of here. I need to ride and soak up the forest.” I said as I finished tacking up my horse.

Karen saddled her horse and mounted. We had met the day she bought her first horse. She was looking for a place to board, and I was looking for a boarder, after my older horse had died. We became fast friends and bonded.

Over the years, she had helped me write countless books, and all of them had been bestsellers. It was a beneficial arrangement, and she was well compensated. She continued to board her horse on my farm, saying that it gave her an excuse to visit me every day. I didn’t mind, I had a stable hand who did all the necessary work around the barn. Plus, if she took her horse away, I would be forced to find another boarder or buy another horse. Horses are herd animals and need companionship to thrive.

We mounted up, turning the horses towards the trail that we had developed over the years. My property was several hundred acres of forest, that butted up to the national forest nearby. It was the perfect place to ride.

As we entered the forest, Karen suggested that I buy more horses and start a trail riding company.

I laughed, asking her if she knew how much the insurance would be for a venture like that.

She shrugged and said, “It was just a suggestion.”

That was Karen, always thinking about how I could improve my lot. I was comfortable with my income, generated from my books. The royalties kept my horse fed, my employee paid, and a roof over my head.

The forest was growing more dense as we rode on. I turned off onto one of the newer paths and pulled up.

“What’s up?” Karen said as her horse stopped beside mine.

“I wanted to take a picture of the trail. It would make a great cover for my next book.” I said as I pulled my phone out and aimed through the ears of my horse to snap a shot of the trail ahead. There was a sliver of sunlight stabbing the darkness ahead, and it was creating a dramatic, eerie, suspenseful picture in my mind. It was straight out of one of those horror movies. Of course, there was nothing horrific about this trail; it was just an illusion created by the canopy overhead. I snapped the picture, then I turned the phone to show Karen.

“Oh my God,” you have an eye for photography. That is creepy. I don’t see it when I look ahead. How did you do that? Karen asked in awe.

“I don’t know, it just looked weird when I stopped.” I clucked to my horse, putting my phone away, and continued down the path.

“Hey Karen, what would you think if your horse became something else? Like suddenly, flying, or maybe grew a horn?” I asked, suddenly getting inspiration for my book. “I need all the adjectives you can throw at me. How ‘bout it?”

“Hmm, let’s see. If he suddenly grew a horn… glamorous, wondrous, amazing, adorable, magnificent, and gorgeous. And if he could fly, I don’t know, scary, overwhelmed, I mean, if he took off. I am terrified of heights, you know.” Karen patted her horse, “Don’t you go getting any ideas.”

I laughed and made a mental note as we continued to ride into the dense forest. The forest was alive with the sounds of cicadas, crickets, and birds. Squirrels chattered as we rode beneath their nests. A couple of deer jumped across the trail in front of us, causing the horses to pause, startled, for a moment. We continued in a loop, riding back to the original trail, above where we had entered the loop, and headed back to the barn.

“That was a nice ride today. It wasn’t as humid and hot today as it was yesterday. I won’t be able to ride tomorrow, but I will be back the day after. I want to start reading what you’ve written so far. With that question about my horse, I assume it has to do with horses.” Karen giggled as she finished putting her horse away after removing her tack and brushing him. She hugged me and headed to her car, and drove away.

I headed to the house and my office, eager to get my thoughts down on paper. The typewriter smoked as I banged away at the keys, typing the words I was listening to from my dictation app. The computer was humming in the background, but I was old school and preferred the typewriter for my first draft. It was easier for me to see my errors for some odd reason. Finishing the last page, I pulled it from the typewriter and laid it upon the rest of the pages.

I strolled out to the barn to check the horses before going to bed. I smiled as I looked in the stalls. The inspiration for my latest book stood before me. The unicorns looked back at me as I opened the stall door and entered. I could never tell Karen that the horses were actually unicorns. They decided who could see them and who couldn’t. I was lucky to have been chosen, and that was enough for me. I hoped one day they would decide to allow Karen to see them as I do, but until that day, their secret was theirs and mine to keep.