Willow's Palace

The rain was coming down hard now, roaring like a stampede as it pounded against the old tin roof. There is something deeply comforting about the sound and the smell of rain - there is nothing else quite like it. Curled up in front of the crackling fire and tucked up under the covers, there is a soothing sense of security. The deafening thunderclaps and the blinding lightning flashes make for a brilliant light and sound show, adding to the serenity and the feeling that, right at this moment, all is right in the world.

It has been a really long day. In fact, it has been a really long and draining year. Every day I wake before dawn to feed the animals and then head into the kitchen to prepare the meat and vegetables for dinner. After cleaning up from the morning preparations, I head to Bobby’s room to get him sorted for the day.

Bobby is my brother, and this is his farm. This farm has been his life for the last 13 years, and every one of his animals is considered family. Early last year, Bobby's life, and my life, changed forever when he fell from his horse and broke his back. He has a fighting spirit and has worked hard to recover, but the doctors say he will be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life and never walk again. He needs regular physical therapy and assistance with all daily tasks, and he can no longer survive on his own. I am a qualified physiotherapist, and we have no other family. So, I packed up my life in the city and moved to the farm to become his full-time carer.

Once I have Bobby bathed and dressed for the day, we start on the morning session of physical therapy to maintain movement and encourage his leg and back muscles to strengthen. Once finished, I park him in his favourite spot in the old barn with a cup of tea, where he grooms his horse Willow and talks to her while I prepare lunch. After lunch, it is back to the physical therapy, focusing on upper body movement to make sure he builds the strength needed to become more independent. This therapy takes a couple of hours, and Bobby is exhausted by the end of it, so I settle him down for a nap while I muck out the barn. After getting cleaned up, I head back inside to prepare dinner and then settle Bobby in for the night. Once Bobby is settled, I pour myself a glass of wine while I go over the books to make sure we are keeping afloat. This daily routine is my life now.

Before his accident, Bobby was an award-winning horse racer. He is the reigning champion of the cross-country horse race and the only person to win a staggering eight times. His prized horse, Willow, is a beautiful speckled mare with a striking half-white and half-black mane. Spectators from across the country would comment on Willow's impressive appearance and the strong bond between Bobby and Willow that was supremely evident as they raced. Bobby loves that horse. He makes sure that her barn is so clean that it sparkles. It is quite a run-down old barn. From the outside, you would think that it is unused and derelict. But on the inside, it is Willow's private sanctuary. This big old barn is big enough to house six horses. But Bobby wanted Willow to feel relaxed and undisturbed by other horses, so he stripped out the old barn and re-modelled it to be a palace fit for his queen. Now, Willow has enough room inside the barn to roam around at her leisure, with her feeding pen and watering hole and enough hay to feed the entire farm for a year. Mucking out this barn is no small feat! I tried to convince Bobby that we should reduce Willow's area in the barn to allow extra space to store food (and reduce the time it takes to clean), but he would not hear of it. He would prefer to store the food in the main house if it meant that Willow could keep her queen treatment!

***

As the fire crackles and the rain continues its steady, thumping beat, I slowly drift off to sleep, savouring the firmness of my pillow, the softness of my bed, and the warmth of the fire.

I am startled out of my slumber by an almighty crack, followed by a bright light and the panicked whinny of Willow. I leap out of bed and look outside to find that the old barn is on fire, having been struck by lightning. I burst into Bobby's room, scream at him about what has happened, and clamber him into his wheelchair. I cover him with blankets and then hurry him outside, arming him with the hose to extinguish the fire. I join him with buckets filled from the animal troughs. Willow continues to whinny, and we realise that she is trapped. Bobby screams at me to drop the buckets and rescue her, desperate to save his horse, his soul mate.

The front of the barn is engulfed in flames and completely cut off. I search the boundary of the barn, looking for another way in, hoping that there is a loose plank that I can pry off to free her. But there is nothing. I cannot see any other way inside. I head back to the front of the barn to find that most of the fire is now under control, having burnt through the old wood leaving only embers. I search for Bobby - he is not where I left him. I start to panic. What if Bobby got caught in the fire? I begin frantically searching for him, screaming his name and praying for a response. There is no response. I realise that Willow has stopped whinnying. I start to think the worst. What if Bobby and Willow were both caught in the fire?

I scream out to Bobby again, desperate, making all sorts of deals with the universe in the hope of finding him safely. Still no response. Despairing, I hear a faintly familiar sound coming from inside the barn. I make my way in through the rubble and what I see is utterly unbelievable. In the furthest corner of the barn, tucked away from all of the destruction at the entrance, is Willow. And standing next to her is Bobby. STANDING! He is not very steady, but he is standing nonetheless. To be standing at all is a feat that we thought was impossible. And he seems utterly oblivious to it. His sole focus is on Willow. On soothing her, talking to her, brushing her, making sure that she is ok. I race over to him to make sure that he is not hurt. He is ecstatic that Willow is ok. He is crying, tears of joy and relief. I point to his wheelchair, and it seems that this is the first time Bobby realises what is happening. A new wave of tears erupts out of him, and he gets very unsteady. I race to catch him and place him back in his chair. I wheel him back to the house and get him settled in front of the fire. We are both now exhausted, drenched, and utterly spent. I race back to the barn to collect Willow and bring her into the house. Tying her up in front of the fire with Bobby, I cover her in a warm blanket and dress Bobby in dry clothes. Willow changed Bobby's life that night. The least I could do was let her sleep in the house.

Bobby's future is now looking much brighter. We have hired someone to complete the enormous job of rebuilding the old barn to restore it to the palace that Bobby wants for Willow. I can now focus on providing Bobby with full-time rehabilitation to work on his chances of walking again.