The nation

Chapter 55

Callum was sitting on a hay bale in the stables where his father kept their horses. Marx was brushing a mare as Callum watched. Callum was not the best horsemen, sure he could ride, but it often was at his own peril. His father told him that the animals were smart and intuitive, they could pick up on the emotions of their rider. Callum wasn’t afraid of the horses, per say, but they did unnerve him most of the time. Callum rarely rode because of this and that was why Marx was brushing the horse now. Both Callum, and the horses of Ondu, had an unspoken agreement; they only shared company if they had too.

Marx was brushing the flank of Callum’s father’s horse. Everyone in Ondu knew that Callum and the horses had a tenuous relationship at best. She was only there to be with Callum, the horses were only slightly annoyed. She also knew that standing out in the cold talking to Kaya through the wall of her room was something she wouldn’t do. Marx and the cold had a hate, hate, relationship. S