Miro is on his way home after a long day of walking around the countryside, enjoying the colours of fall . He’s walking along a dry dirt road, the sounds of his hoof steps muffled by the dirt. The sun begins to slowly disappear behind the horizon and dark clouds are approaching from the south. He can see a grey wall coming with them.
“Oh for the love of…”, he says, clearly annoyed by the oncoming shower. He speeds up into a trot, hoping it would buy him time. The dirt road ends and merges into a normal pavement road. He turns right and goes into a gallop, the clopping of his horseshoes echoing from the ground. He tries to stay as far to the right as he can to give the cars passing by enough room. Now and then, he turns around to see how close the rain is.

While he runs, he comes across a small ranch on the other side of the road. However, he can see emergency vehicles by the building. Mainly Police and Ambulance. Their lights flickering in the dusk.
He slows down to a halt and watches for a while. He sees how one man in handcuffs gets pushed into one of the police cars and a teenage girl covered in blankets carefully into the other. Both cars take off and drive down the driveway before turning right and driving past Miro.
When the car with the man passes him, he could catch a glimpse of how he looks at him. The look in his eyes was very unsettling, almost crazy and murderous. Even that short glimpse was enough to give Miro the chills.
When the second car passed, he could see how the girl inside had a very disturb look on her face, starring into the void, clinching onto the blankets she’s wrapped in.
Both cars disappear into the distance with their sirens blaring, towards the rain.

His curiosity got the better of him and Miro walks up the driveway towards the buildings. The red lights of the ambulance illuminating the facade. When he walks past said car, he sees two man carrying a black bag on a stretcher out of the house. His intestines start to crumple as he realizes what happened. He watches them carrying it towards and into the ambulance back. They close the back doors and step into the passenger cab, not minding Miro any sort of looks, before driving off too. He stands there for a while looking after them, before taking in his surroundings again. The only light sources are the lamps on the walls on the buildings. While he looks around, he sees a pick-up with a trailer parked by a huge slide door. Inside the building the lights are on and he can hear noises from the inside. He slowly approaches the door, but as he came closer, the slight odor of death hits his nostrils. Miro stops dead in his tracks and covers his nose managing to suppress a gag reflex. “What the hell happened here?”, he thinks.

He slowly enters the building and looks around. He notices the single row of stalls along the wall. This is a stable then. Besides the odor mentioned before, the characteristic odor of horses lays in the air too. While he stands there, one of the stall gates opens and a man guiding a horse comes out of it.
Said horse is towering the man leading it. It has to be at least 2 metres tall. It’s coat is grey with a light touch of blue, and black patches along its body. It has a short black mane, same goes for its tail. Its lower legs are covered by feathering in the same colour. It’s eyes are what’s sticking out. While the left one has a green iris and looks normal, the right one is all bluish and cloudy. Is it blind on that eye, Miro asks himself?
The man leading it, talked to it while walking down the hallway. When he turned to look forward, he stopped when he spotted Miro.

“Who are you?”, he asks with a shocked expression. Even the horse got a bit nervous.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude. But… I saw all this commotion from the road and was wondering what going on?”, Miro says while holding his hands up to signalise that he has no bad intentions. “What…?”, the man tries to say something but just sighs and starts talking. “The father turned out to be a narcissistic madman, that’s what’s going on!”, the man said in a shaky voice.
Miro remembers the man in the police car. And the mad look he gave to him when passing by.
The man continues, “I knew his wife and her daughter for years when she was still married to her first man. I was working part-time as their helping hand for their horses. I work for animal rescue mainly. We all had a good relationship towards each other. But then he died in a riding accident. And shortly after, she met this… this…”,he gestures towards the doorway.
Miro nods quickly to show him that he understands what he means.
“When they dated, he played ‘Mr. Nice Guy’ towards her and her daughter. But after they married, t’was like a switch was activated in his head and he showed his true face”, he continues.
“In what way?”, Miro asks.
“He was abusive and narcissistic. When his daughter or wife talked to somebody else, he yelled at them for why they were ignoring him and stuff. When it was a person of the same sex, he called them lesbians and all sorts of names. They had nobody to talk to and nowhere to go, since he followed their every step. I only kept my job here because he knew, as long as someone’s there to look after the horses, so his wife and daughter don’t have to. But that didn’t stop him to give me AND the horses the same treatment”, the man says.
Miro is shocked when he heard that.
The man goes on, “One day, he started to beat one of the horses because he stepped into it’s poop. I tried to stop him. But grabbed the pitch fork and stabbed me.”
He lifts his shirt and shows Miro the five small circular scars on his abdomen. Miro takes a deep breath while he closes his eyes and quenches his fists as the anger in him rises up.
“I don’t know what happened in the meantime when I was in the hospital. But one day before I was released from it, I got the message that she managed to get a divorce and a restraining order against him. She also charged him for domestic abuse.” He smiles when he said those words. “We thought it was over and went to go back to our ordinary daily routine. But we should have known better.
That bastard came back and waited for them as she picked her daughter up from school before shooting at them and the horses. The girl and this guy here are the lone survivors,” he says while patting the horse’s neck. At the same time, fresh tears ran down his cheeks while he tries to keep himself together.
The images of the disturbed girl in the cop car and the body bag on the stretcher flash up in Miro’s head. But he said, that they’re ‘the lone survivors’. He turns his head and peaks into the stall next to him. Inside, he sees a dead white horse with multiple gun shot wounds across it’s body and half crusted blood covering it. The rage inside him grew as he tries to not lose his composure. The sound of thunder enacts from outside. He turns his head and sees that the storm has reached the site.
The man continues, “The policemen told me that he probably shot the horses first before heading into the house. He shot his ex as she tried to protect her daughter from him. She managed to hide and call 911. But by the time they arrived, he already found her and it all turned into a hostage situation. After hours of negotiating, he finally gave up and surrendered.
It was my day off today, so I wasn’t here the whole day until I got called by the police.”

As the man finishes, he and Miro stare at each other for while in silence, while the rain hits the roof of the stable. Miro then looks at the horse before breaking the silence.
“So… what’s his name?”, he asks, gesturing at the horse.
The man looks at him, “ We got him shortly after their wedding. We had no time to give him a name, as we were already fearing for our lives at that point.” He sighs, “But it doesn’t really matter anymore, I’m afraid.”
“What you mean?”, Miro asks.
“The good thing, someone’s interested in him already. The bad thing, it’s butcher. And he’s the only one so far who contacted us.”
Miro’s intestines twist again.
The man continues, “We, or to be more exact, I, am desperately trying to find someone who could take care of our boy here.” He pets the horse on his nose. “But sadly, nobody I contacted so far is interest in a half-blind male Belgian. I have to lie to my superiors and the only client, saying that I have other potential takers and that they’re currently contemplating.”
Miro feels depressed. He asks, “But I thought horse meat is illegal?”
The man looks at him, “I don’t know either. I think it differs from country to country. Or even from state to state. I don’t know.”
“But you said that you work for animal rescue. So you should know, no?”
“I joined shortly after they got divorced. That was a few months ago. So, to tell the truth, I’m actually a greenhorn. I still have a lot to learn. If I don’t get caught for what I’m doing here, of course.”
Miro sighs as he struggles for words. Finally, he says, “So… what you gonna do now? How long do you think you can avoid him ending on someones plate?”
The man sighs, “All I can do for now is to take him to our nearest sanctuary. I don’t how long I can keep up the ‘multiple takers’, but I honestly start to slowly loose hope. So…”
Miro looks between the man and the horse. This situation became really gloomy.
“Now, if you excuse us, we have to get going”, the man says as he leads the horse past him and towards the trailer, grabbing an umbrella leaning by the door and opening it, as he steps out in the rain.
Miro mind is racing. He wants to help them. But he might not have the financials to do so. He doesn’t know how to take care of a horse properly, especially this size, and he is one himself. Somehow. Therefore, he doesn’t even need one. But still… .
“I take him”, Miro finally says.
The man stops shortly before the open trailer and turns around and looks at Miro with big eyes. “Wait. You what sorry?” He was surprised.
“I take him”, Miro repeats. He steps out into the rainy night, unfazed of getting wet. He has a serious face. The man looks him up and down.
“Sorry, but you must be joking”, he finally says. He clearly seems to be confused.
“I’m not”, Miro says with a slight smile. “I know what you’re probably thinking, ‘A horse buying a horse? What is this?’. But I’m serious. I can sorta see how much you liked this family. Their horses. You were ready to put yourself into the way of this guy. To protect them.” He bends down and puts his fist gently where the man has his stab wound scars. “You even do it now. Risking being put into prison. For his sake.” He nods towards the horse. “So, lemme help both of you, please. Tell me the price.”
The man stands there in awe, processing what just happened. “You ARE serious! Oh my… I don’t know what to… But… but why?”, he asks.
“Maybe because it felt personal to me. I mean, look at me”, Miro says gesturing at himself, giggling.
The man smiles. He seems to be relieved to have found one for the horse. Even though, this someone is horse too.
“So, how much?”, Miro asks again.
The man looks up at him, “You know, just take him. Lemme handle the financials for you.”
“Wait, what?”, Miro asks surprised.
“You have no idea how much this means to me. If they would have handed him to that butcher, it would have felt to me like, that this monster of a ‘family father’ wins in the end somehow”, he says a bit excited.
“True. But how are you gonna manage the money thing?”, Miro asks.
“I’m just gonna say that I accidentally gave you the number to my bank account and that I transferred your money to them.”
“And if that doesn’t work?”
“Then I have to tell them the truth. And hope that they understand my actions.”
Miro gives him a worried look, doubting that either of those plans work.
“So… anywhere specific where I can drop you two off? I doubt you wanna go all the back to wherever you came from in all this rain”, he says gesturing at the trailer and the the rainy weather.
Just now, Miro realizes how soaking wet he is. He’s right. It would be torture to wander in that weather. “Actually yes. There’s a place you can take us”, he says while telling the man the address.
“Good. The all aboard. Next stop,…”, before he could finish the sentence, a loud thunder enacts and makes all three of them jump. The horse rears up in fear and Miro and the man have calm him down. “Lets hurry, shall we?”, the man says. Miro nods while grabbing the horse’ halter and stepping into the trailer with him.
“Like I said before, we didn’t had a chance to give him a name. Since he’s yours now, you’re free to name him what you want. I’ll come by tomorrow at some point, so we can go over the paper work”, the man says while closing the trailer and stepping into the car. He starts the engine and soon they hit the road.

The rain hits the trailer and the rain drops on the small windows get push off by the wind.
Miro looks to the horse to his right. And he looks at him with his green eye. He probably wonders what kind of being his new owner, friend, or whatever, is. “How did you guys not develop some sort of claustrophobia, given how narrow it is in here?” The horse keeps looking. “So, you weren’t given a name, if I understand right?”, Miro asks him. He just keeps watching him. “I’m not sure if I can come up with one that suits you, so bare with me”, he adds while thinking for a good name.
He looks back out of the window as the dark landscape passes by. He never thought that he’ll safe one of his half-relatives from ending up on someone’s plate. He tried to get a glimpse of the cabin of the car, but due to the rain, it’s nearly impossible. He watches the drops running across the window before blown off.
Just then he had an idea! He looks back at the horse as it quietly stands there. “Listen, I think I might have an idea for a name for you, but I’m not sure if you’ll like it or not”, he says. The horse slowly turns his head towards him. “How about… Cullinan?”
The horse nickers and moves his head closer. Miro lifts his hand instinctively. The horse puts his nose against it and start rubbing it. Miro grins. “I guess that means ‘Yes’ then”, he says while running his hand along Cullinan’s head. He spots his blind eye, which up close, looks like a mesmerising nebula. However, he can feel anger building up inside him. He leans closer to Cullinan and whispers, “I hope they lock this guy up for good. I don’t wanna even know what you and the rest had to go through. That poor girl, lost her mother and probably her future. I wonder if she’ll looking for you, Cully?” Cullinan nickers again. Miro moves closer and places his head onto his.
“You’re welcome.”