Free Down the Dirt Road by Carolyn LaRoche Page B

words stuck in her throat when she finally saw her pet.  The two thousand pound cow lay on her side in the mud, her tongue lolling lazily out of her mouth, her big brown eyes reflecting agonizing pain.
         “BESSIE!”  Jennie screamed as she took off at a run across the field.  Blood still ran freely from the wound on her forehead, rainwater running it into her mouth as she ran.  Her flip flops were completely saturated, the foot bed slick.  Halfway across the field, the thong snapped away from the soul, tripping her and sending Jennie sliding, right shoulder to the ground, a good ten feet across the past ure.  When she slid to a stop, Jennie jumped to her feet, ignoring the burning pain in her should er and ran barefoot the rest of the way to her fallen animal.
        Bessie brayed qui etly as Jennie dropped back down to the ground in front of Bessie’s head.
        “What happened, old girl?!  What happened?!”
         Another round of tears began to stream down her cheeks mixing with the blood and rain water. Bessie lifted her large tongue and lolled it toward Jennie’s hands as she rubbed the animal between the eyes. Bessie was dying.  
        The rain began to lighten ever so slightly.  Thunder still crashed but it was further away, a longer time after each crack of lightning.  As the wind began to recede and the black clouds shifted to the east, Jennie spotted a charred are of flesh on Bessie left haunch.  The beast had been hit by lightning!
         “Oh, Bessie!  I’m so sorry!  I’m so, so sorry!”  She wra pped her arms around the cows thick neck, the tears and blood on her face mixing with the water saturating Bessie’s coat.  Bessie brayed ever so quietly in response as she flipped her tail on time against the muddy ground.  As Jennie laid her head against her favorite animal, she could feel the chain as Bessie’s body relaxed against the ground with the onset of death.
        There was no telling how long she lay there in the soaking field crying into Bessie’s fur.  The rain stopped, the sun began to warm her back and the birds resumed their chirping conversati ons when she felt Momma’s hand against her back.
        “Come on child, come on.  Let’s back to the house so I can tend to that cut on your forehead.”
        “NO!” She cried into the side of Bessie’s still body.
         “Come on, Jennie, get up out of the mud.  Let’s go inside and clean you up.  Bessie’s gone, nothing we can do for her now.”
         Her sobs drown out the sound of Momma’s pleas and eventually Momma just gave up.  When the screen door slammed against the back of the house, she knew she was alone with her favorite pet.
        “I’m sorry Bessie!  I’m so sorry I didn’t get out here in time.  I didn’t know it was gonna rain and then the storm came outta nowhere so fast…”
        She cried until the tears ran dry, fists gripping the wet coat of old Bessie.  There was no way to tell how long she lay there in the mud mourning the loss of so many things she loved in so short a time.
        “It was an accident, Jennie-girl.   Bessie was a good animal but she was tired. ”
         The deep voic e, warm and smooth as fresh maple syrup , made her freeze.  There was only one man with a voice like that.
         “Da…Daddy?”   She turned her head real slow away from Bessie’s still body and followed the sound of the familiar voice.
        Standing behind her, the light of the sun enveloped him like the light of heaven.  “Daddy?  Is it you? Is it really you?”   
        “It’s me Jennie- girl.  Ju st dropped in for a quick visit- thought Bessie might wanna see a familiar face on her way.”
       “Oh Daddy!  I have missed you so much!”  She jumped up, feet sliding in the mud throwing off her balance and sending her back to the ground where she landed square on Bessie’s haunch.
        “I’ve gotta get Momma!  She’s