Familiar tragedy

3. The Stranger.

"Oh precious child, my mother always said, peace to the soul doesn't come when you want it, it comes when you need it most and when it comes it brings healing , healing in the most unexpected way. I believe you are closer to finding peace, more than you ever were before." She said and placed a kiss on my cheek.

We never spoke of what happened on the bridge. My father brought on so much heartache and hurt to so many people , and Anna was one of them. We've been there for one another ever since, and we promised each other never to speak of what happened to avoid bringing up the trauma.

We watched about three movies and talked in between. Around 2AM i noticed what time it was. We were so caught up in the movies and conversations we didn't realize how late it was getting. Anna was fast asleep next to me, and I decided to turn off the TV and try to get some sleep. I tossed and turned for a time that felt like forever and when i finally fell asleep, I had a dream. It wasn't like the dreams I had every other night about what had happened all those years ago. No, this was peaceful.

I dreamed of an open field right before sunset. It was beautiful, peaceful, and then I heard the sounds of hooves coming up the hill.

I saw horses come over the hill, they split into two groups and galloped around me, then I saw a familiar horse. It was Heartly all grown up and on his back a person I couldn't see a face, but I could tell it wasn't someone I knew. The person came to a stop right next to me and spoke, "It's all over now, you are free."

The dream ended, and I was woken up by sunlight coming through the big windows in the living room. Anna was no longer next to me, but i could hear noises coming from the kitchen. She was probably making us breakfast.

I heard my phone ring from the table by the front door, but when I got to it, the call ended. I picked it up to see who had called and realized it was already 9AM. I must've been in a deep sleep because I never sleep in. I barely sleep.

Mr Harding had tried calling me three times now. I decided to step outside and call him back.

"LAINEY!" He said with his voice raised, he sounded worried.

"Mr Harding, is everything all right ? You sound shaken up ?"

"Can you get down here as soon as possible? I can't discuss it over the phone. You need to get down here now!"

"I am on my way !" I said and hung up.

I ran upstairs and took a quick shower. I put my dark blonde hair up in a messy bun and put on a pair of skinny jeans and a white t-shirt, paired with my white sneakers.

I headed to the kitchen to tell Anna where i was heading. She must've heard my conversation with Mr Harding because she packed me a to-go meal and a lunchbox with some extra food. I made my way to the garage and remembered my car was at the office. After the guard picked it up, he took it there. Just as i was about to go back inside, Anna came running out with the keys.

"Take my car. I am not going anywhere today. i want to do some work in the garden. Drive safe and call me when you get there." She said and waved goodbye as I drove off.

On my way to the Harding farm, I couldn't help but wonder what had Mr Harding so shaken up. I was still waiting for their call about the arrangement I offered them. I made my way down the long driveway and saw both Mr and Mrs Harding pacing up and down on the porch. They seemed worried.

"Lainey, thank heavens you came, there is something you need to see, and we didn't know who else to call," She said and took my hand.

"He is in the barn, we couldn't take him inside , we did not want Ayla to see him." Mr Harding chipped in as we walked over to the big red barn behind the house.

Who are they talking about, and why is he in the barn? Why does this person have the Harding's all shaked up ?

We walked through the barn to a staircase that led to the surface above the barn. What the hell happened to him, and why didn't they take him to a hospital ? He is in bad shape and he needs medical attention.

"Mary-Kate, who is he, and why didn't you take him to the hospital ? He is in bad shape. He needs help ?" I asked and walked over to the man lying on an old blanket on the floor.

"We don't know who he is. I was taking Heartly out to the fields for the day. When I got to Heartly he wouldn't move, he completely froze. When I tried to go into his stall he started to buck and that's when I saw him in the back of Heartly's stall it was like he was trying to protect him. I lured him out with some sugar cubes. When I came back, the man had woken up, but he was barely conscious. I asked for his name but all he said was, no hospitals they'll find me." She answered.

"Look, we have to help him, but be careful he could be dangerous until we can find out who he is or who he was referring to. We need to keep our distance. We'll need someone who can keep an eye on him. In the meantime, I'll get some medical staff to check him out. Give me a few minutes. I need to make some calls," I said, and exited the barn.

I called an old friend to drive down and examine the stranger in the barn and I called the detective from the precinct to help me look into the man. He owes me a favor and agreed to keep it quiet.

Mary-Kate went back to the house and gathered some things to help clean the blood on the man's body. He was covered in dirt and blood. The dirt made it hard to see where he was hurt, but by the amount of blood coming from his face, I could tell he had a nasty cut. I decided to wait on the porch for the detective and the medical staff. For some reason, the stranger in the barn felt familiar, but I know for a fact that I know this man. The blood on him was too much for me to handle, so i left. When the medical staff arrived, I showed them to the barn and proceeded back to where Detective Vascez was waiting.

"Lainey, love, it was about time you gave me a call, it's been ages. How have you been, and more importantly, who is the fella i need to check out?" He asked as he gave me a hug.

"I've been alright, how about you ? The thing is, we don't know this man or where he came from or how he got here. All we know is he is hurt really badly and someone is after him. He told Mary-Kate not to take him to the hospital right before he passed out."