Fawn's Arc

Chapter 12 of 13

Fawn was still on his knees in the scattered hay when the barn door creaked open. Mrs. Hansen stepped inside. Her boots were dusty. Her jacket was buttoned against the cold. In one hand she held a small paper form. In the other, pinched between her fingers, was the topaz ring. "I found it this morning," she said. "On the kitchen counter, sitting out like it was nothing." Her voice was plain and steady. "I took it into town. Had it looked at by the jeweler under the sign with all the metalwork." She held out the appraisal slip. Numbers and neat checkmarks filled the lines. Fawn could not read most of it. He only saw the gold of the stone catching the gray light. "Honestly, Fawn, it's worth more than this farm." Mrs. Hansen's mouth softened. "But that's not why she gave it to you. You know that." She placed the ring in his hoof and closed his fingers over it. "Spot's outside. By the bench. Go." Fawn stood. The ring was warm from her hand. He did not run. He walked, because running was the old him, and the old him had already lost this once. Spot was waiting on the bench where she had left him. He opened his hoof. The topaz sat there, whole. She looked at the ring. She looked at him. She did not take it back. "Hold it," she said quietly. "Just hold it for now." And Fawn understood. The ring was found. The promise was not. That part, he still had to earn.