TGWHD: Habit is an Old Horse, Lady-in-Waiting, The Bones Do Lie

[Melissa_W Moderator]

Please use this thread for discussion of the last three stories in The Girl Who Heard Dragons.

[dulcinea3]

OMG, what a tearjerker!!!  I still have one more story to go, but this is the only one so far without any science fiction or magic involved.  It is told from the point of view of an old horse.  He has had a good life, and a good mistress, and has many memories of when he was younger.  Out of habit, in the morning he goes to a point along the fence that faces his mistress' window and whinnies.  Usually, she would come out and give him a treat of sugar, a carrot, an apple, etc., but for some reason she hasn't done so for a while, although she sometimes has looked out of her window and he has seen her.  Of course, it is because she is old and is dying, but the horse doesn't know that.  He stands there all day this time - he isn't sure why, but something inside tells him to wait there.  People come, and it is clear to the reader that this is the day she dies.  Finally, someone comes and gives him some good feed and takes him to the barn, where he hasn't been kept for a long time.

Partway into this story, I knew what must be happening with the mistress, and the tears started flowing.  By the end, I was sobbing for a while after I finished, and had to blow my nose and dry my eyes!  I thought it was a very good story, but I will probably not read it again because of the way it affected me.  Just thinking about it makes me tear up!