It was a late, wet night, and I walked the long lane to the barn. My uncle stood there in his dark blue bib overalls and a wool overcoat. He had a rifle over his shoulder. Across from him, stood my two cousins motionless. I could see their breath rising toward the single lightbulb above. They spoke in low tones. I shivered.
They looked up at me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something black, looking at me too. I turned my head slowly to see a big black bull staring right at me. Its eyes, like two cups of father's coffee, made me feel as if I was falling into them. They never blinked. I could see my reflection, and could not look away. I was in a staring contest with a bull.
"Did you walk all the way out here by yourself?" my cousin asked.
I had to lose the contest when I turned to speak to him. He was drying some knives in a bath towel. How strange.
"Aunt Marie wants to know how long you'll be for supper." The bull was still staring at me.
"After we get a few more chores done." His voice trailed off as he grabbed a bucket to feed the calves inside the barn. I am not sure where my uncle went, but there I was alone staring at the bull again.
I shifted to the left. Its lidless eyes followed me.
I moved to the right. It was spooky now that we were alone.
As if drawn by some unseen threads, I stepped toward the bull. I do not know why. I inched closer, and lifted my hand to touch it. Its staring eyes affixed on mine drew me in to do the insane. My shin hit the corner of something, but I never broke contact and crept closer.
What am I doing?
I could almost touch its nose but my hand bypassed it and went for the forehead. Just a little farther up and I would be fingering the swirl of glossy hair right between its eyes.
"What are you doing with that bull?" My uncle emerged from the darkness with a bucket in his hand. "Go on. Touch it." I gulped. Seriously?
I now saw a trickle of red above the black swirl that ran around one eye and dribbled to the ground. Why is its tongue sticking out of its mouth?
I thought about what he said all during supper and as I stared out the window the mile ride home across the field.
I changed, brushed my teeth, and laid down to sleep in my warm bed. When I closed my eyes, the contest was still going on, and the bull finally won.
YOU ARE READING
That Night at Grandpa's (And Other Scary Stories)
Short StoryEach of the stories you are about to read are more than fifty percent true. Some parts you won't believe. Some stories are completely true. Feel free to ask my kids which of these stories are true. They might tell you. They might not. They have firs...
