Wonder Light by R. R. Russell Read Free Book Online Page A

her.
    She went outside, around the end of the stable. Under the shadows of its eaves, she dialed Keely’s number.
    â€œHi.”
    â€œTwig?”
    â€œYeah. You don’t need to come, okay?”
    â€œBut, Twig, I should—”
    â€œIt’s okay. It doesn’t matter. I need to stay here and I know it, and so you don’t need to come.”
    â€œWell, I’ll just come and see how you’re doing and say good-bye.”
    â€œThere’s nothing to see, and we already said good-bye.”
    â€œYou like it there?”
    â€œI want to stay.” Liking it here didn’t have anything to do with anything. She wasn’t going to ask Keely to take her back, and she wasn’t going to leave before she found out who the wild boy was and what he was doing on this island. And she wasn’t going to leave the mystery mare. Not yet.

Chapter 12
    Twig made her eyes open. Someone was calling her name, someone much nicer than the people in her dream. She wanted to come out of it, but it was one of those heavy dreams that hung on her. The voice was just as insistent as the dream in its own way. It was a woman’s voice, excited and soothing at the same time, saying, “Twig, Twig.”
    Mrs. Murley.
    Twig opened her eyes again. This time they stayed open and they focused.
    â€œTwig, do you want to see a miracle?”
    Twig pushed herself up on her elbow and blinked into the night-lighted room. Was Mrs. Murley crazy? There were no such things as miracles.
    â€œOur Mystery is foaling any minute. Hurry, or we’ll miss it.”
    Twig pushed back her covers.
    Mrs. Murley glanced at Casey, still curled up tight in a sleeping ball. “Let’s be careful not to wake the other girls. Too many of us will make her nervous.”
    In the entryway, Mrs. Murley handed Twig her jacket and her ragged shoes. Then she opened the door and flipped on a flashlight. Still half asleep, Twig dragged her feet in the grass. Her ripped-open shoe caught on the ground and she stumbled. Mrs. Murley caught her by the hand. She didn’t let it go and Twig didn’t pull it away.
    â€œI woke up, and I just had this feeling. Does that ever happen to you, Twig?”
    Twig nodded, though Mrs. Murley’s eyes were dancing with a joyful sort of nervousness Twig wasn’t sure she’d ever felt.
    â€œI just knew I needed to check on her, and sure enough, she was ready. Now, she might not like us watching. If she stops foaling, we’ll have to give her some space. But we’ll give it a try. What do you think we’ll have, a colt or a filly?” Twig frowned her confusion. Mrs. Murley squeezed her hand and laughed softly. “Boy or girl?”
    Twig couldn’t help smiling back. “Girl,” she guessed.
    â€œWell, we’ll find out soon enough.”
    Mrs. Murley quietly opened the door to Caper’s old stall. They settled cross-legged, side by side, in the open stall door. Mystery, a curl of white in the bed of cedar shavings, lifted her head and turned her ears in their direction. But the acknowledgment lasted only long enough for Twig to see and admire the liquid determination swimming in her eyes. Then the mare turned her attention back to her task.
    Mystery’s nostrils flared and she twisted and thrashed and cried out, and the ponies cried back at her. Mystery stilled. Twig held her breath. The ponies quieted as though they too were holding their breath.
    Mrs. Murley slipped into the stall with Mystery and whispered to the mare as she looked her over.
    â€œWhat’s wrong?” Twig scrambled to her feet.
    â€œI don’t know. Everything looks fine, but Mystery seems distressed.”
    Mystery thrashed again, less energetically, and Twig caught the darkness of fear in her eyes. She pinned her ears back and made a low sound in her throat, like a dog giving a warning growl. Mrs. Murley pulled Twig back a step.
    Mystery’s head drooped back