Holy Cow

8 OFF THE BEATEN PATH

I don’t know what made me head toward the house. I guess it was destiny. Something pulled me toward that house and I followed. I had never been up to the house before in my life. The lights were glowing. It was a dark night, but it was spring and mild. The family had their windows open. I could hear voices coming from within, human voices, but somehow not human voices, very strange. And a flickering light, like a campfire, but not a campfire. I was drawn by the strange voices and the strange, uneven light. I knew it was cray cray, but I had to see what the story was. Curiosity killed the cat, not the cow, so I figured I was safe. I looked back up the hill and I could see the silhouettes of Mallory and the bulls and I could hear them a little, they were laughing and snorting, having a good time, it sounded like. Feeling Mallory was okay up there alone, I crept along the side of the house right up to an open window and looked in.

I didn’t know what to make of what I saw. The whole family was in there quietly staring at a lighted box. The people were hushed like the light box was their god and this Box God was talking, or saying words anyway, and the people seemed both transfixed and bored at the same time. The people were eating things out of a bag, crunchy things, and drinking bubbly colored water out of huge cups the size of my snout. These must be part of the Box God’s ritual demands, I thought, but I really didn’t know what to think. As I said, people are weird. And just as I was about to turn around and leave before I got into trouble, the Box God said something I’ll never forget…

Cliffhanger!!!