It was a dark and dreary night …But not for Judy Passmore, the winner of the final round of our fiction writing contest.We’ve repeated the beginning of the story by Cayci Luiten here, continuing with the following entries.It was a dark and dreary night in the sleepy town of Falcon, Colorado, a town known for its beautiful horse ranches and western scenery. There was a young girl peacefully sleeping safe and sound in one of those ranches known as the Sidney Horse Ranch.This young girl’s name was Judy, Judy Domage. Judy was a 10-year-old girl whose big sister was the world famous explorer, Sidney Domage. Judy did not like big crowds and did not like anything besides dogs, horses, French Toast and going on new adventures like her sister. Judy got her name after her sister explored the treacherous abandoned mine called Judy’s mine.It was about midnight at the Sidney Horse Ranch when Judy was awakened by the sound of twigs being trampled on out in the breezy night. Judy was sure it was some sort of animal. As she kicked off her horse covered sheets, she quickly strolled across the old ranch bedroom floor to the window, making sure that she didn’t wake anybody. The hallway was as dark as night, except for the plugged in nightlight at the end of the hallway.When Judy opened the frost covered window, she couldn’t see what kind of hideous creature awaited her eyes as soon as they focused. Soon as her eyes focused, she collapsed in terror of what creature stood outside her window, ready to attack.Continued by Alexis Harrison …A monster in the dark light looked pale green. Its teeth were so yellow it looked like it ate 400 yellow crayons. He looked so slimy and she could see the slimy dark green trail behind it.But its eyes were the scariest, they were blood red. They weren’t like regular eyes, they didn’t have pupils, just red balls in the eye sockets. As soon as she saw it, she froze. She didn’t shut the window, she didn’t move, she didn’t even run. She just stood there in terror. Her eyes met with the monster’s, and it attacked.Luckily, Judy had time to get to the front door, but she knew it wouldn’t hold for very long. Its claws were already in the door. Judy ran to her bedroom, got under her bed and hoped the monster wouldn’t find her. Then she heard a bam and footsteps. She knew the monster was on its way up. She thought maybe she could get the scissors from her desk and attack the monster with it. Hopefully, kill it too. When she got up the monster was right there. She screamed and then she realized that’s not a monster …Continued by Josie Fuller …“Chewy!” she exclaimed falling back against her pillows. The overgrown Saint Bernard’s bloodshot eyes looked at her eagerly in anticipation of its breakfast. Judy tensed as his claws dug into her leg and a long drip of slobber fell on her shoulder. Judy sighed. She knew her recent nightmares and restless sleep were caused by stress. It had been two months since she had heard from Sidney, and Judy was at a loss as to what to do about the ranch.The last correspondence she received from Sidney detailed her journey through Peru. Their contact was sporadic, and it was not unusual to have long periods of time escape before they reconnected. But there was a growing anxiety Judy couldn’t shake.Judy struggled to peel away the sheets from under Chewy’s grasp. She awkwardly twisted out of bed. As Judy pulled back the blue calico curtains a rush of sunlight attacked her eyes. The sunlight reminded her of the wasted morning. There was so much to do. Judy absently got dressed and began down the wooden stairs with Chewy trailing behind.The ranch. Its future depended on her. Judy knew she needed help, but who could she turn to? Sidney, it had to be Sidney.Continued by Diego Sylvester …Judy started to make breakfast, but not even French toast could curb her discontent over the state of the ranch. She stared at her plate as the butter slipped off the top of her triple stack, as if it held the answer to all of her questions. She decided she would write a letter to Sidney after breakfast. As much as it pained her to ask Sidney to walk away from her dreams to help with the ranch, she was desperate and didn’t know where else to turn.As she was washing her plate in the sink, she looked out the window and saw Lucas, one of the ranch hands … Lucas was 13 years old and in middle school. Her father let Lucas help out around the ranch because he was the son of one of his friends from high school. Lucas was saving up money to buy his own dirt bike so he could race with his friends.Judy walked outside to greet Lucas. They didn’t know each other very well, but Judy always made a point to be cordial to anyone who was willing to help with the ranch. “Howdy!” said Lucas. As she looked at him, Sidney, her monster ordeal and the ranch suddenly disappeared from her mind.Continued by Renee Misner …Judy felt shy and awkward. “Howdy Lucas,” she replied, her eyes downcast, a smile forming on the corner of her mouth. “Would you like some breakfast? I could make you some French toast. It’s no bother, really.”Lucas had been working with Hank that morning, a large thoroughbred with a willful spirit. Right at that moment Hank threw his head back and let out a very loud neigh, as if to say he was done for the day. Lucas grasped Hank’s reins harder, whispered something in the horse’s ear, then turned to Judy with a smile and said, “I’d like that. But let me put Hank back in his stall first.”Judy nodded her head and returned to the kitchen. She pulled out two plates from the china hutch. They had a pale pink flower pattern on them. Judy’s mom had used these plates many times before when her family would entertain special guests. Judy felt a twinge of sadness. It had been two years since her mom had passed away. She missed her very much. Judy wondered if her mom would mind her using these special plates for an informal breakfast with a young boy that she barely knew. Continued by Judy Passmore …As Lucas ate his French toast, Judy asked him about his work with Hank. She knew that Lucas’ father trained thoroughbreds, and she hoped Lucas had learned a lot about the training process. “Hank settled down and seemed to listen when you whispered in his ear,” Judy said. “Is he getting easier to handle?” Before Lucas could answer, the sound of Mr. Domage’s wheelchair caught the youngster’s attention. Mr. Domage had been critically injured in the automobile accident that had taken his wife’s life. The healing process was slow and physical therapy was exhausting. He worried about the ranch. When Judy saw her father, she quickly cooked the rest of the French toast and placed it on the second plate from her mother’s china hutch. Judy knew their ranch workers were dependable and hard-working. She also knew that most of the stored hay had been destroyed when lightning sparked a fire in the barn. Judy wanted to come up with an idea to help her father pay off the loan for repairs and for purchasing hay for the horses. An idea had been forming, with Hank starring in the upcoming race at the Calhan County Fair in the summer. Continued by Judy Passmore …Winter had passed. The last six months had been busy and satisfying.Mr. Domage had worked hard on his physical therapy through the winter and now walks with the help of crutches. He felt sure that he would soon be walking unaided. In the meantime, he was able to go to the stables to check on the horses and his foreman drove him to the paddock where Lucas worked with Hank. Mr. Domage was excited to see that Hank was a natural at racing!What a blessing the neighbors were! They held a mini barn-raising to rebuild what the lightning-induced fire had destroyed, moved what remained of the hay from the old carriage house back into the barn; and some of them added a few bales of hay from their own supply. Mr. Domage didn’t have to take out a big loan and he was feeling better about the ranch.Judy had written a letter to Sidney, but didn’t know where in Peru to send it. Anxiety and disappointment were forgotten when Sidney phoned from Peru. Although she enjoyed her adventures, she missed her family and was planning a trip home in the summer. Family and ranch hands were excited and wondered if Sidney would be home in time for the Calhan County Fair.Continued by Judy Passmore …When Mr. Domage and Judy met Sidney at the airport, weeks of anticipation were rewarded with hugs all around. Sidney had a surprise for them and made a special request all at once.Sidney’s adventure group had come upon wild Peruvian Paso horses along the mountainous Inca Trail, near Cuzco, Peru. The Peruvian Paso was magnificent to look at, had a gentle nature, was stunning under saddle; and its gait was considered the smoothest in the world. A well-known trainer of wild horses had been working with some of the horses for several months. Sidney had received permission from the Peruvian government to buy three of these wild horses and take them back to the United States. They would arrive by train in two days. Sidney’s request to her family: Would they practice and ride the Pasos in the parade that preceded the Calhan County Fair?The ranch hands knew something was up when the Domage family returned and excitedly went to the horse barn. Stalls were readied for the new horses. Tack was prepared. Groomers admired the trunks of special saddles and decorative parade attire Sidney had brought from Peru. The Peruvian horses would have a grand introduction at the fair.The Sidney Horse Ranch was well-represented at the fair, with the Pasos in the parade and Hank in one of the races. Sidney and Judy were delighted their father was riding horses again. Recently, his recovery had been steady and bordered on remarkable. The Pasos proved to be stunning show horses. Hank did well in his first race, placing second against more experienced horses.Imagine everyone’s delight when Sidney announced that she would be remaining at home indefinitely. The ranch held so many possibilities for adventure that she didn’t want to leave. She would continue to support and encourage her father in his recovery. Hank would be trained for other races. And Judy had her eye on riding a Paso in competitions.Sidney thought the next year would be the best one in a long time.– The EndThank you to all our writers who added to our story over the months!
