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Early Riser
By
Mike Coatesworth

I awoke this morning to the sound of my feathered friends singing merrily away. It was six thirty, and I had slept in!

Rising from my bed, after bathing, I made my usual Cuppa tea and went outside on my porch. For a few seconds, all was quiet; I had disturbed my feathered friends. Soon one or two flew by, just to ensure whom it was that was disturbing their tranquil moments. They saw it was me, and relayed the message back to the other birds and once again, the orchestral music vibrated around the whole area, which brought a smile to my rugged handsome features. I could sit there all day and listen to the sweet music that emits from deep within their tiny frames. With the tiny birds flying around, singing, I knew they were happy and had eaten their fill of the seed that I had left out for them the previous night.

One of the Thrushes left the others momentarily, to land in front of me. Looking up, it flapped its wings, and then began to emit a beautiful tune. Mesmerised, I watched as the dark brown Thrush lifted up its head as if to reach the high notes. A tear began to form in the corner of my eye, as I realised that this was especially for me, probably thanking me for looking after the welfare of all the birds that visit my garden. Four more Thrush's joined the one that was singing solo and soon there were other types of birds in front of me. Robins, Starlings, Magpies and above me, the Skylarks were making their early morning music to the accompaniment of the dozen or so birds that were singing sweetly to me below.

Leaning back my head in my chair, I looked up high into the dark cloudless sky that had bright red streaks across it, the millions of stars were shining brightly, oh, what a fantastic sight. Turning my attention to the horizon, I watched the sun rise slowly; the light blue sky that accompanied it was fast approaching. The frost-covered ground soon began to sparkle. For a moment, with the birds singing tunefully, one half of the heavens dark, with the millions of stars decorating the galaxy and the other half of the heavens with the sun now rising fast in the East, I was proud to be in Yorkshire.

The birds in front of me suddenly flew off in the middle of their recital. Looking, to see what had caused them to fly away, I noticed Lesley standing just behind me, the smile on her rosy cheeks, was a wonder to behold.

'Are you ready?' She asked me. 'It looks as if it is going to be a lovely day for a trip out.' Lesley brought my coat and boots and then, she was in the barn, making sure the horse was ready for its daily early morning run. Bringing him out, she tethered him and helped me aboard. Soon, the only sound that could be heard was the noise of the metal horseshoes hitting the road surface.

The three of us were all alone in this tiny remote village as Lesley set off at a walking pace; she didn't want to disturb the other villagers that were still asleep as we passed their homes. Within minutes, we were in the open country and Lesley speeded up to a gentle canter.

I watched her, this smiling beauty with long dark hair that made her more radiant as the wind that began to blow caught it and splayed her hair behind her. No longer had I any fears, as I knew that she was more than capable of handling this buggy and I relaxed in my seat to enjoy my morning jaunt.

Lesley reached across me and ensured that I was safely strapped in, and then as we left the country lane, she put the horse into a trot.

The Icy cold wind began to build up and I pulled my coat tighter around me.

Watching me do this, Lesley, pulled the horse to a halt, then retrieved the blanket from behind the seat and spread it around me to keep me warm. Once she was satisfied that I was comfortable, she once again set off at a trot across the moors, the sky was beginning to brighten up, although it would be a while before it could be classed as daylight.

Once again we were galloping across the open grasslands, most of the frost had now disappeared to reveal the luscious green grass beneath. Once or twice we went over bumps and Lesley gave me a quick glance to ensure I was okay, upon seeing my smiling happy features, she was satisfied and carried on.

The now bare trees in the near distance were beginning to bend, as the wind got stronger, I began to wonder if we should turn back as the last place we wanted to be caught out, was on the Moors. Normally at this time of year, a human body could not survive one winter night here. Looking quickly at Lesley, I could see that she had noticed the wind had begun to pick up to almost gale force and saw how she quickly changed direction, but not to the way we had just come, she headed to what at first appeared deeper onto the open Moors.

I didn't recognise this place, the sky got darker and the rain began to fall, soon with the rain pouring heavily around our bodies and the wind threatening to overturn the buggy. The whole terrain began to get boggy. Knowing that if we stayed here much longer, we would be in trouble of at least becoming stuck in the deep mud that usually formed here after a heavy rainfall or we could lose a wheel. I watched Lesley as she handled the buggy expertly, no longer was she smiling, her hair that only a short while ago was blowing freely in the wind, was now matted around her face. I didn't know where she was going, but I had complete faith in her judgement, she too knew the dangers of being caught out in the open and I knew that she must have a reason for coming in this direction. Suddenly in the distance, through the rain that was hitting me hard, I could see a light!

Sitting up as best I could, I could see that Lesley was heading in that direction, switching my stare from the light to Lesley, I noticed her looking at me and she was laughing! This relaxed me, as I knew there was a method in her madness.

'Don't worry Daddy,' she laughed. 'We'll soon have you dried out.'

The light shone brightly just in front of us as Lesley pulled up in front of the large building. I now knew where we were; we were at the Cow and Calf Hotel.

After getting me inside and sitting me near the roaring log fire that took up most of the lounge, she went back outside to see to the horse.

We stayed there for a couple of hours, until the rain had stopped and the wind died down. As much as we would have liked to stay longer in this luxurious Hotel in the middle of the Yorkshire Moors, we knew we had to get back, as Betty would begin to worry.

Once again, we were on the road. Lesley didn't attempt to cross the grassy Moors; she stayed on the roads and tracks until we arrived back home again.

Once inside the house, I was changed and treated to a nice pint pot of hot tea and a thick slice of bread and dripping.

'Why didn't you just turn around and come home, when the gales started?' I queried Lesley when she sat down in front of the now roaring fire. 'I thought that would have been the sensible thing to do?'

'I know,' she replied, 'but it was my intentions to give you a treat this morning.' She noticed my puzzled stare and came over to me and placed her strong right arm around my shoulder. 'I was going to take you on an early morning picnic.' She sat on my knee and buried her head in my shoulder and stared into the burning fire. 'Once the wind and rain arrived, I decided to go to that Hotel for breakfast instead.' She quickly got up from my lap, gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, 'I love you daddy,' and then left the room.

I stared after her, "was she telling the truth?" I wondered if she had been as scared as I was, out there on the open grasslands.

Lesley arrived back in the room a few minutes later carrying a large basket covered with a chequered cloth. 'If you want, daddy,' she smiled. 'We can have the picnic here!'

The laughter from both Betty and myself echoed around the room.

Mike Coatesworth

If you think my stories are true, then they probably are

If you think my stories are fiction, then just relax and enjoy the tales

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