Whispered Prayers

by Alex Grayson

Bandit pops his head out and twists to look at us. He snorts and stomps the ground. “What’s that horse’s name?” Daniel asks. “That’s Bandit. He’s one of the ones that isn’t very nice.” “What’s wrong with him?” “He’s just making it very difficult to train him,” I answer. “What’ll happen to him if he can’t be trained?” I walk over to the barrel of grain, then set Daniel on his feet. “All horses can be trained. Some are just more difficult than others and you have to spend extra time with them.” I hand him a small bucket of oats and scoop out another. “Each horse is different, so you have to alter your training routine to fit each one.” “Oh.” He turns and looks at Bandit, who’s tossing his head and snorting. “He’s pretty.” “He is.” Daniel and I walk over to the first stall, and I top off the oats feeder, then check to see if the water needs to be refilled or the hay replenished. We do this to the rest of the stalls. At each one, Daniel reaches out and touches the horses, a look of pure rapture on his face. When we come to Bandit’s, I tell Daniel to stand back. I’m unsure if Bandit will play nice or not, and I’m not willing to take the chance of Daniel getting hurt. “You ready to head back in?” I ask him once everything is back in its place. His shoulders droop and his face loses some of its cheerfulness. “I guess.” The look of disappointment doesn’t settle well with me, so I try to lighten his mood. “You can come with me when I check on them before bed.” At his excited fist p...