Today had been a bad day for him. He was tired of the sounds of hatred. That seemed to be the only way he could describe it. Tears rolled down the cheeks of his sad and worried little face as he stood outside in the front yard of his home in Argentina. There were no neighbors near enough to hear the ugly words and he didn't want to hear them either.
He ran his fingers through his sweaty blond hair, and scratched the back of his ear. He wondered where he could go to make things better as he wiped his nose with his shirt sleeve. He looked around him for options to soothe his frazzled little nerves. In the back field was a large, rickety barn.
It had not been used much since the new barn had been constructed and he decided it would be a wonderful place to call his own. He ran as fast as his legs would go, through the tall green and golden weeds that slowed him and scratched against his bare legs below his shorts. He didn't care and didn't stop as his stinging legs felt better than his stinging heart.
He slowed to a walk as he came to the dilapidated barn's door and stepped inside. The barn had long been emptied of all the animal debris. Vague scents of the animals lingered and but were by no means overpowering. His eyes adjusted to the darkness as he stood and listened to the sounds around him. No voices could be heard as the summer bugs chirped and buzzed, singing a natural and soothing lullaby in unison to him, calming his nerves.
He stepped further into the barn that had been familiar to him for so long.
He used to come here to feed and pet the horses, brushing and caring tenderly for them as he poured his heart out to their ever listening and friendly ears. They always kept his secrets guarded well, never repeating them or judging him badly for saying what he thought and felt, even when he was wrong. They had always forgiven him for the wrongs and greeted him with their beautiful, big eyes when he came to see them. Now they were in the new barn, closer to the house and the voices that he didn't want to hear right now. He sighed at their misfortune and hoped they wouldn't mind if he postponed his visit to them for a little while longer today.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead as he ran his hand through his hair again, not realizing or caring that his soaked hair stood straight up. He wiped his cheeks with his forearm, smearing dirt into mud streaks down them. Dead worms on the floor caught his eye as his tears were now dried. They were all over the dark dirt floor and he stooped to investigate.
The worms were stiff and hard, dried of all moisture and covered with a light green mold. Each worm had its own distinctive shape of mostly curves and coils. Some were partially straight, but none were completely. He imagined their forms of death might have contributed to their shapes, but couldn't be sure. He arranged the carcasses in a pattern and sat back to look at his creation. There on the soil in front of him, his name now sat in a lifeless configuration of swirls and curls. It was beautiful to him as he wished he could only write letters so lovely with his own hand.
He stood up, careful not to crunch his name, as he stepped past it. He took a deep breath to smell the air again. He noticed the musty, moldy smell of the worms were mixed with the robust smell of the earth, and combined with the rotten wood from the walls. It mingled with the remnants of his beloved horses' scents to create a scent all its own. It was a wonderful smell to him as it filled his nostrils and lungs, chasing the sadness from his heart and mind, and filling his senses with pleasured memories.
Exhaling with a smile and a relieved heart, he looked up at the rafters. They looked so inviting that he could not resist their call to him. He walked with crunching sounds beneath his feet to the shaky, wooden railing of a stall wall near the center of the barn. He gleefully and skillfully climbed up the timbers to reach for the wobbly main beam of the rafter above him. With all the arm strength he could muster, he pulled his body up to swing his foot onto the top of it. Using his leg and arms, he hoisted himself up to the top of the narrow board, hoping it would not fall with his weight as he straddled it cautiously. He used his hands to help scoot him towards another sturdier looking rafter, careful not to catch a painful splinter.
The sturdy rafter was a treat as his fear of a hard and sudden landing withdrew from his mind. He eased himself backwards over the side, hanging on with his hands until his knees hooked correctly. He released his hands and hung upside down with a swinging motion. Feeling the blood racing to his head was making him feel alive and at peace. His troubles were gone as the birds outside sang him a sweet tune. The gentle wind came through the door to cool his warm body as his loose fitting shirt fell up to his neck. He left it alone to savor the breeze on his tummy as he closed his eyes and was happy.
"Viggo?" a small voice from the door called and made him open his eyes. "Mommy wants you," a soft voice from his little brother said. He had never noticed just how sweet that voice sounded before. He smiled at the little one who looked up to him. He then smiled at the sky past him where the ground should be.
Energy and peace were restored in him, knowing that his parents' harsh words for each other would now be over. He held the board that he swung from with his hands again as he pulled his legs towards his chest to unhook them and lower them. He dangled his body for a moment as he measured the distance between him and the ground. He smiled with bravery as he let go to fall to the ground below him.
He stood back up safely on the ground and looked around him with a pleased smile. He knew he would come here again when times got too tough for him and the voices got to loud for him. With a smile and a nod at the walls to thank them for their kindness, he walked to his little brother and put his arm around him. His brother looked up at him with a dirty faced grin from his own smeared tears and put his arm around his waist to imitate his big brother. They walked back to the now silent house with smiles and shared love. Today was a good day for him.