The Prodigal Son....The Imagined Continuation of Anjewelraine's brilliant story.

Chapter - 4

The Prodigal Son
Chapter 4 / aka chap 131
'Lyndy Bartlett'
Written by: Mike Hurley
A story by; Anjewelraine

                       🍁❄️☃️🌷🐝

Leaves fall, and snowflakes dance with snowmen. Tulips jump from the earth and honeybees sing glory to God.

Some clouds float by with poise & grace, others spit rain, and obnoxious thunder.
While yet others hold hands and create blizzards.

What is a man who is born and walks the road of life. Who ordains his steps??
Chance, providence, or the hand of God?

Simple events dance and spin together, moving through time, and changing a man's life forever.
A young lady drives home from town in a car that dies.  It's a sunny afternoon so she sets out walking the 8 miles to home.

But a once in a century monster blizzard appears and blows and huffs and brings her to shivering desperation.  Hours later, she stands deep in snow in a giant pine tree and begs for warmth.....in the dark, and wind.......all alone.

Is this how she shall die??  Killed by a killer blizzard, miles from the warmth of home!  Only the pine tree is there to say good bye.

What happens next changes her life, and the lives of many others.  A big horse named Charlie finds her. His best friend, a man named Jack Bartlett doesn't know what to say to her......she's a girl.  He has little experience with their type. But Charlie charges off the road, and dives into the stalwart pine.  He warms her, and calms her.  The man and horse turn around and go back in the way they came.  It's late, and dangerous.  The wind is full of rage and the blizzard is a monster.  The snow is deep, she's shivering and crying.  Jack takes his coat off and covers her.  Thank-you she whispers.  She snuggles close to the stranger, her arms around his chest.....she keeps him warm.  The 3 of them relying on each other to survive.

They can't go anymore.  The cold wind chills them to their souls.  But Charlie refuses to stop.  He plows on.

They carry her home.  Still crying, she is young and strong but irritable too.  But she clings to Jack and keeps him warm.  His shivering scares her; but soon her eyes close, and she succumbs to sleep.

Jack holds her in his arms as Charlie plows on; he loves her.  She understands Charlie's thoughts.  Her kind eyes see his heart.

Hours later they arrive at her parent's farm, frozen and cold as an icebergs.  She's asleep and still, her soul clings to her body.
Jack dismounts the mighty Charlie, deep in the snow near the front porch.
His boots make crunching noises in the deep, cold, & fresh snow as he walks toward the porch.

The porch light is a lighthouse searching for her.  Lyndy is a beloved daughter; their eldest.  Full as spunk and spontaneity; her independent streak has never found her a young man.  She scares them away.
Yet, somehow tonight Lyndy felt safe with this man.  Every mile closer to home, Lyndy trusted him more.  She relaxed in his presence.  The storm howled and roared yet Jack was calm and confident as a giant oak tree in a hurricane.  He was quiet and shy but had a wolverine threatened them.....Jack was a mountain of a man.

She's asleep in his arms.  He is but a man. But he was taught to be a strangers keeper.
He carries her up the stairs.  The porch light unveils to Jack her beauty.  She is young and gorgeous.  Her long black hair hangs over his ice covered shirt. 

It's near midnight when Jack carries her to the door and bangs on it.  Charlie stands in the deep snow watching and aware that he loves her like a new friend.  She's wonderful.
The door opens & she whispers to put Charlie in the barn and care for him. She lays almost lifeless in Jack's arms, yet she points to the big chestnut horse standing 30 feet away looking at her. Her eyes meet the eyes of the horse who would die protecting her.