The snow was still falling when he decided to take a walk. Despite the cold filling his lungs, he felt excited; it was the first time he genuinely felt good. As he reached the city center, he saw lights illuminating all the establishments. Indeed, even the people seemed to glow. December tends to do that to people, especially in the last two weeks, and even he, who no longer believed in anything, felt fine.
For the third time, he would spend Christmas alone. The first times were tough, but now he felt he could handle it. He entered the bar, ordered a double shot of whiskey, and while drinking, a girl caught his eye. He didn't know whether to look or look away; he hadn't flirted in a long time. But she was beautiful. He held her gaze for a few seconds; she returned it and smiled, his heart raced. However, just as he felt his chest leap, another man embraced her from behind. "What bad luck," he thought, "Nothing new under the sun" was his second thought.
He left the bar shortly afterward, taking a deep breath. His usual melancholy threatened to return, but he got distracted watching children playing under a large decorated pine tree. He remembered his nephew he hadn't seen in 5 years, and held back a tear. "It's time to go home."
He found a horse on the way back near the trail that passed close to his house. He was startled; it was already dark, and the horse was as black as coal. He stared at it for a few minutes, then headed home. When he reached the door, he realized the horse had followed him. At first, he decided to ignore it, then made coffee and sat on the porch; the horse was still there, in the snow.
Image created on Bing AI.
"Go home!" he shouted at one point, as if the creature could understand or obey. However, the horse just approached closer. He decided to face it up close. It was a truly beautiful horse. Its eyes were very light brown and barely blinked. The impression he had about horses was that they were more intelligent than they showed. He felt like he could see its soul as he looked into its eyes. He decided to pet it. It was gentle.
Before going to sleep, he took an old rug he had and placed it in the area so that the horse would have a place to sleep too. As he lay in bed, he still thought about the woman he had seen in the bar, his nephew, and the animal he had found. It was a strange day.
The next morning, he woke up feeling good, already thinking of going to the pet store to buy food for his new friend. He went downstairs, put on his jacket, and opened the door, but the animal was no longer there. He thought of his nephew, thought of the woman from the bar, and wanted to cry. "What bad luck."
Portuguese
Um homem sozinho.
A neve ainda caía quando ele decidiu dar uma volta. Se sentia animado, mesmo com o frio preenchendo seus pulmões, era a primeira vez que se sentia verdadeiramente bem. Quando chegou no centro da cidade, viu as luzes em todos os estabelecimentos. Na verdade, notou que até as pessoas estavam iluminadas. Dezembro é um mês que costuma fazer isso com as pessoas, principalmente nas duas últimas semanas, e mesmo ele, que não acreditava mais em nada, estava bem.
Pela terceira vez passaria o Natal sozinho, nas primeiras foi realmente difícil, mas agora sentia que poderia lidar com isso numa boa. Entrou no bar, pediu uma dose dupla de uísque, e enquanto bebia, uma moça chamou sua atenção. Ele não sabia se olhava ou se baixava o olhar, não flertava há muito tempo, mas ela era linda, segurou o olhar por alguns segundos, ela retribuiu e sorriu, o coração dele acelerou. Mas, no mesmo instante que sentiu seu peito num pulo, um outro homem abraçou por trás. ‘’Que falta de sorte’’ pensou, ‘’Nada de novo sob sol’’ foi seu segundo pensamento.
Saiu do bar logo em seguida respirando fundo, sua melancolia habitual ameaçava voltar, porém se distraiu vendo crianças brincando embaixo de um grande pinheiro enfeitado. Lembrou do seu sobrinho que não via há 5 anos, segurou uma lágrima. ‘’Tá na hora de voltar pra casa.’’
No caminho de volta, próximo a trilha que passava perto de sua casa, encontrou um cavalo. Tomou um susto, pois já estava escuro, e o cavalo era preto como carvão. Ficou olhando pra ele por alguns minutos, depois seguiu para casa. Ao chegar na porta, percebeu que o cavalo o seguiu. Primeiro ele decidiu ignorar, depois fez um café e se sentou na varanda, o cavalo ainda estava lá, na neve.
Image created on Bing AI.
‘’Vá para casa!’’ gritou num certo momento, como se o bicho pudesse entender ou obedecer. Porém, o cavalo apenas se aproximou mais. Ele decidiu encará-lo mais de perto. Era um cavalo realmente bonito. Seus olhos eram castanhos bem claros, e mal piscavam. A impressão que tinha sobre cavalos, é de que era um animal mais inteligente do que demonstrava. Sentia como se pudesse enxergar a alma dele enquanto o olhava nos olhos. Decidiu acariciá-lo. Ele era dócil.
Antes de dormir, pegou um velho tapete que tinha e colocou na área para que o cavalo tivesse onde dormir também. Quando deitou em sua cama ainda pensava na mulher que tinha visto no bar, em seu sobrinho, e naquele animal que tinha encontrado. Foi um dia estranho.
Na manhã seguinte, ele acordou se sentindo bem já pensando em ir na loja de animais comprar alimentos para seu novo amigo. Desceu as escadas, colocou sua jaqueta e abriu a porta, mas o animal não estava mais lá. Pensou no seu sobrinho, pensou na mulher do bar, quis chorar. ‘’Que falta de sorte.’’
Your story is interesting, but short! We are left wondering about his past, what led him to be alone for three years, and why the mysterious horse followed him and disappeared. You have a nice gift for writing! We just wish for enough details to understand the main character's plight.
Thank you for sharing your story in The Ink Well. Please remember that we ask everyone who posts in our community to read and comment on the work of at least two other community members for each story published. Thank you!
The plot is ...He stinks ...moral of the story : dont stink
Thank you for the valuable feedback. I admit that the mystery captivated me in the story, and I ended up following that path.
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An interesting tale of a man who is alone but wishes it wasn't so. It's an introspective piece, and it is right that he did not really communicate. He could've flirted with the woman, but he wasn't prepared for it. I do feel that the horse provided him with a bit of company, so even though he left, it was a special meeting. Great tale with very insightful prose, @aiuna!
Thank you very much. And yes, your perspective is similar to mine... A lonely man who for some reason life wanted him to stay that way, maybe he still had something to learn from that.
That is a very nice story with a deep meaning! Your writing skills are outstanding!
Thank you 🙏
Loved it 😊
O brigado
Je te remercie 😊
Ahahahah😘🌺
Happy holidays to you amazing writer ✨
Thank you, I wish you the same!
A poor lonely man, every time he finds company, destiny acts and leaves the man alone again, perhaps being alone is the path he should take. Very interesting to read.
Thanks for sharing.
Good day.
Perfect, that's it. Thank you very much for your comment.
He is truly a lonely man. Everything he had found turned out to leave him.
Yes.. It's a sad Christmas story I must admit.
I hope he went home to see his nephew. He obviously still needs healing...
Excellent writing, I look forward to watching you refine your stories over time, you have a real talent :)
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