Chapter 13: Cambria, Part 1

Seth looked around and found himself in a lush, green open field, with trees dotting the landscape, and patches of verdant, dense forests a short distance away. He turned around slowly, taking in his surroundings and there was no sign of civilization anywhere. There were no houses or other buildings, and Uncle Herman's house was nowhere in sight. In his panoramic view, what he saw was beauty - the untouched beauty of nature, stretching out as far as the eye could see. Ancient moss hung from the coniferous trees, and green, leafy vegetation and long grasses adorned the ground. Seth had never beheld anything so beautiful in his life.

Then panic ran through his mind and body as he remembered where he was. Maybe his uncle was playing an elaborate joke on him.

"Uncle Herman?" Seth called, looking around.

Nothing.

Seth looked around and appeared to be at the top of a tall

hill, with other hills in the distance that were also dotted with patches of thick, dense forest. The scent of fresh grass rushed

to his nostrils and many types of birds chirped in the trees.

Suddenly, he heard the pounding of hooves landing softly on the dirt in the rhythm of a galloping horse coming from a patch of dense forest to his right. Seth had spent the last two summers before working on the Jenkins' horse farm back home, and he was familiar with the beautiful, massive animals. In the shadows of the dense forest, Seth saw nothing at first, but the pounding hooves told him it was huge, and getting closer. Then as abruptly as it began, it slowed then stopped.

From the clearing, Seth could see something in the forest. Were eyes looking back at him? Fear should have filled his senses, but curiosity was winning out instead. Seth took a step closer, even though his mind was warning him not to. Adrenaline filled his system as he slowly drew close to the edge of the forest and stopped twenty feet away.

Seth and the creature from the forest studied one another. The creature's almond-shaped eyes were that of an animal and Seth was sure it had to be a horse. Only the eyes of the creature were visible in the dark, dense forest; eyes that appeared to hold a degree of intelligence, but were a brilliant blue instead of black, the usual color of horse's eyes. He couldn't see the body of the creature to be sure that it was a horse. The creature was wary of Seth, but he sensed the creature meant no harm, so Seth approached with caution, taking a slow step forward, holding out his hand, palm up, in a gesture of trust. Then the creature snorted and took a step back.

"Come on out, boy," Seth coaxed, holding out his hand. From his time around horses on the Jenkins' ranch, he knew to move slowly and not to make any sudden moves. He just wished he had a sugar cube or an apple with him. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you."

At that moment, the creature stepped gingerly from the

edge of the forest and Seth gasped, for before him stood a beautiful, white, winged unicorn. Seth was unable to believe his eyes, for he knew that unicorns just didn't exist-and had never existed as far as he knew. Yet here was this glorious creature, standing majestically before him. It was a gorgeous, massive creature, a stallion, with its back standing taller than Seth. The creature had a long, white mane and white tail that nearly touched the ground, and its eyes were a brilliant blue.

Seth gingerly stepped forward with his hand extended. The unicorn snorted and bobbed its head, then pawed the ground with its right front hoof, never taking his eyes from Seth.

"It's okay, boy," Seth cooed, stepping closer, as the massive creature watched. Seth could see a free spirit in the creature's eyes. "I won't hurt you," he repeated, cooing gingerly, slowly closing the gap between them. Seth carefully reached out a hand to touch its nose, but the glorious creature jerked its head back and stood its ground. After a moment, it held its head down to allow Seth to touch him, while stepping closer.

Seth placed a hand carefully just under its spiral, opal horn, then trailed his hand tenderly down its nose until it was palm up under its lips. He was glad he had spent time on the Jenkins' ranch, for it taught him a lot about the care of horses. The creature gingerly nuzzled and nibbled his palm, demonstrating trust. Smiling, Seth moved his hand up its soft, velvet nose toward the spiral opal horn on its forehead as the beautiful creature leaned toward his hand. Their eyes met and held. Seth felt as if he had just met an old friend that he hadn't seen in a long while; a soul mate.

Seth gingerly rubbed its head, and then moved his hand along its massive neck to its splendid white mane. The creature held perfectly still while Seth moved his hands along the contours of the creature's powerful body, then up along its back and down to its left front hoof. And the magnificent creature let Seth pick it up. For a moment, Seth cradled it gingerly in the palm of his hand. The unicorn didn't appear to be domesticated, because it had not been shoed. It also didn't have any inflicted markings or a brand. Seth assumed that it was probably wild, but was amazed that such a glorious animal still roamed free.

Seth ran a hand back to its long neck, talking gently to the glorious creature, and gingerly grabbed a handful of its long, white mane, when the creature snapped its head up abruptly.

"Whoa, boy," Seth said tenderly, looking directly into its eyes. "I won't hurt you."

The creature nodded, held perfectly still.

Once again, Seth took a handful of its mane and carefully swung his leg over the animal's back with ease, the way he had seen a thousand times on television shows back home with cowboys and Indians riding bareback. Suddenly, the unicorn whinnied loudly, and leapt forward into a full gallop with Seth on its back. Seth's eyes flew open wide, for he had barely enough time to hold on.