As the Wind Blows

                                                                AS THE WIND BLOWS

'Tia, noticing the scent of precipitation in the air, begins closing barn doors and windows as Pinto is pacing back and forth in his bay.  The other horses follow his lead as if they knew what was coming, too.  Tia knew the horses never lied to her; and the sixth sense she shared with them allowed her to prepare for what was on its way.  The shift in the wind, blowing intensely in from the west, left her wondering who would be the inheritor of the uncompromising aftermath of destruction that was sure to follow.  The sirens begin sounding as Tia reaches the front door of her cape cod cottage reminding her there is not much time before mother nature drops her bomb.  There was little left to do but cautiously wait and see if this tornado would subject her small horse farm to the same harsh destruction that hit the Clifton Farm last spring.  Tia races from window to window as if seeing the savage beast coming would allow her to look into its eyes and plead it to move on leaving everything she has struggled to sustain unscathed.  The branches scrape against the window panes jolting her back to reality and reminding her it's time to get to the cellar and wait for this to pass.  As the cellar door closes Tia knows the only thing she can do now is pray to her high power and wait for the all clear to see if those prayers were answered.  The darkened cellar made the sounds outside seem like they were coming through a megaphone.  Then at long last there was silence.  The all clear sirens finally sound after what seemed like a lifetime prompting Tia to emerge and see what mother nature had left of her farm.  As she opens the cellar doors and removes the large maple branch in the way of the opening, she realizes GOD has answered her prayers and left her only a few downed branches and a garbage strewn yard.  She had beat the beast, this time.