See a man about an alpaca ~ Cephas&Mitsy

Mitsy Howard.

”Who left ya in this state girl?” I ask the bay mare who has been left tied in her stall, saddle still cinched tight against her abdomen and a visible steam rising from her back. Every inch of her fur is left dripping in sweat, even her eyes are damp as the moisture rolls from the brow of the tanned leather bridle. A hard morning’s work for the mare and this is how her rider repays her, not even a bucket of water in sight. They expect me to juggle the entire herd and more, a little respect goes a long way. Even for these four-legged beasts.

I lug the bulky tack over the stall’s door, the mare exhales as she is finally freed from the tight leather. It is even worse on her back where the saddle sat, white foamy sweat all along her spine and even between her back legs. I haul two full silver buckets of water to the mare, one for her to drink and one for me to rinse all the day’s hard work from her back. I put all my elbow grease into rubbing away the sweat with a wet cloth. The mare pins her ears back every time I go near her abdomen and her back hoof nearly kisses my thighs. ”Eeeaassy girl!”

I am done drying off the mare with a straw wisp, her coat is shinier than the day’s sun and now she can fill her belly with the fresh pile of hay.

My denim dungarees are coated with the sweaty horse grease that I rub from my hands, there is the sweet scent of ammonia on them too. If I finish my day without a speck of straw in my hair, then I haven’t been to work. I am not the only one who is in line for a bath after a day at work, the other farmers and even the kitchen staff have a hint of flour in their hair sometimes. Real dirty work, it is how I repay all the debts that the church has against my name. None of it is hard work though, I am truly blessed to enjoy every second of it.

There is a rattle of gate at the entrance of the barn, it is Cephas Mayweather the cleric, a divine of the church. He has asked me to accompany him into the District, something about alpacas helping with everyone’s mind. I am not sure about that. If they pay the same respect to the alpacas as they do the horses, then I do not see this going the way Cephas wants it.

”I am ready!” I call out behind me as I bolt up the mare’s door. I try and rub all the grit from my hands, dunking them into a bucket that I walk by as I make my way towards Cephas. ”I got a corral ready for them out back.” I tell the cleric, not wanting to fill the valuable stalls that are claimed by the churches’ favorable steeds. Then my ammonia perfume hits me again, I am not the most presentable in front of a divine. ”Sorry ‘bout my clothes! I can get changed if ya want but I know ya running on a tight time.”

Mitsy Howard.

”Yes ‘course, Divine mister.” I say, hoping the whole title thing was the correct way to say it. I tread up the dusty wooden steps of the barn, up to the living quarters of all the stable staff. I have my own space up top, a perfect corner right by the sweet-smelling hay bales. So many other disciples have their own shacks, but I am so used to claiming a small space as my own, it is just like what I had at the orphanage. Just a bed, a few hangers in a wardrobe and all the floor space around it to store my trinkets.

I flip through all the various clothes on my bed, picking out whatever looks fresh from the laundry load. A peach-colored dress, something I have only ever worn when it is time to eat. It will look perfect out in the District. It was a gift from another church member, a hand-me-down that I had admired for a long time and now it is mine! I swap my horse piss soddened dungarees for the dress.

Then there is the matter of my feet, all my boots have some kind of dirt on them. One brown pair looks more presentable than the rest, I rub some dirt out of its toes with my spit and my thumb. Perfectly polished! But still, I stink of horse piss. There is a bowl of rose petals and other strong-smelling flowers soaking in a bowl next to one of other’s beds. It is a communal perfume bath so that we all don’t put the other church members off their meals at dinner time. I splash the scented water on my neck, wrists and armpits. A perfect quick alternative to bathing.

Cephas is still waiting for me down in the barn, he is standing next to one of the lame stallions, a grey with an infected busted leg. The poor guy has a week, or he might face the bullet if there is no hope for him. ”That one needs ya healing hands.” I say as I creep up to edge of the stall door, offering my hand out to the stallion to pet. ”Look at his hind, we have been collecting pus by the bucket loads!” Gross stuff, not many have the stomach to tend to the poor beast.

”We better go, the alpaca’s will be waiting for us!” I am ever so eager to get out of here for just a moment, to breathe that fresh District air that I have not felt in my lungs for a long time, even if I have to be chaperoned by a divine. ”I gotta follow you, I think theres a wagon waiting for us outside.” How we are gonna load up the alpacas onto it, I don’t know but today is definitely gonna be fun!

Mitsy Howard.

It is the trusty big steeds, Red and Rusty hitched up to the wagon today. Humongous beasts with feet that are bigger than my head. They are sweet though, which is lucky as handling something with so much strength that is also frisky is never a good mix, especially for someone so small like me. I don’t admit that to anyone in the barn though. Any sign of weakness while handling the horses sends their jeering into a turmoil. Anyway, they all suck at controlling the in-season mares, they just don’t get the hormones that they are trying to tame.

Cephas offers a supporting hand to help me into the wagon, I don’t take it though, it is quite simple boarding a motionless carriage like this. I step up into it so effortlessly, without any need of grabbing hold of something for balance. There is something about a woman in a dress that I have noticed sends all the boys into a frenzy, like they must lay out a carpet in front of each step that we take and even carry us over a puddle. I’d rather splash through the puddle; a little bit of dirt has never harmed anyone and it so easy to get the stains out later too. It is not just the boys in the church, it is the same outside.

The carriage driver clicks the two geldings on and finally I am heading out of the commune for the first time in a long time and this time I will be able to step out of the carriage!

”First time this year.” I reply to Cephas while peering out of the square gap in the carriage, the barn slowly growing out of view behind us. ”It was to get some more barn supplies but I was just driving the wagon, the driver was laid up with a fever, if ya can remember?” It felt good to have a little control over the journey, out front with the carriage reins between my fingers but not without the watchful eye of a divine behind my shoulder.

”What ‘bout you? I bet ya get to go on trips all the time.” My eyes do not peel from the window of the carriage that juts and wobbles as the horses trot across the uneven dirt ground.

Mitsy Howard.

The conversation between me and Cephas trails off, we just leave each other with our own thoughts and my attention is fixed on the changing scenery out of the carriage’s window. It is a small world in the commune, but I know there is so much more outside of the boundaries. A fortunate outsider that got to taste it all, even if I had to be confined to an orphanage, I was allowed out without someone there watching me. Even the curfew was relaxed, so long as we managed to sneak into the house without the nanny noticing that we were gone! I do miss that freedom sometimes but the work and the blessings from the church, they seem good enough favors to me.

Outside the terrain starts to change slightly, away from the orange coarse sand and more like nutritious farming land that produces so many healthy goods. This is the real part of District Ten, the literal workhorse that feeds so many livestock and citizens alike. Lush lush meadow grass, the horses back in the barn would really like that.

”There is a pretty looking farm up ahead.” I tell Cephas, a little giddy by the sight of it. It is so clean looking. Well maintained hand painted white fences line all the pastures, there are so many buildings ahead and massive silos dotted around them. Even the big house that is in the center of it all is the biggest I have ever seen. Then there are the animals that are out grazing in the pastures, some I have never seen before in my life ”What is that?” I point out at an animal that is just as big as the horses, it has two weird hump things on its back. ”Oh and that!” It is literally like a horse but with black and white stripes all over, maybe it is a horse. Just a fancy horse that someone has painted.

If I was an alpaca, I would not want to trade this paradise for the church they are about to call home.

The carriage finally pulls up by one of the outbuildings and I am quick to drop out of the side door, but I stop myself from dashing away from Cephas. I will definitely get scolded for straying too far. ”Where are the alpacas? Who is the person we are supposed to meet?” I drop all the questions on Cephas, all while trying my hardest to spot our new residents amongst all of the creatures, great and small.