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Mae shot up in bed, sweating as her eyes flew open. She looked around frantically before seeing her wife, Haley, sleeping peacefully next to her. She let out a sigh of relief. That was one weird dream… The sound of running hooves and sinister mooing was somehow still playing loudly in her head.
Haley started to wake up, disrupted by all the stirring around. “What’s up?” she said as she sat up in bed.
“Just a really bad dream.” Mae reached over and touched her wife's arm.
“Tell me about it. Emily sent me this article that says dreams can have meaning sometimes. Maybe even predict the future.” Looking wide awake, Haley was now fully sitting up in the mattress.
“I sure hope it’s not predicting the future! In it, the cows like went rogue, their eyes were all red, and you were running from a stampede. I was trying to run after you on a horse.”
For some reason, there was genuine concern on Haley’s face. “So, maybe there’s something wrong with the cows. They could be, I don’t know, scheming.”
Mae laughed. “They’re cows, they’re not scheming anything. They just munch on hay and enjoy some head pats. You don’t really think my dream means something, do you?”
“I don’t know, there are a lot of weird things that go on in this town. There has to be a reason for someone to dream about demonic cows. And let’s not act like it’s impossible, remember that time one of the chickens attacked me?” Her reaction was funny, but still confusing. For a moment, Mae wondered if Haley was right to be concerned. Maybe it was an omen. But she quickly shook that thought away.
“Why don’t you get up tomorrow morning and come with me to the barn…then you’ll see there’s nothing wrong with the cows.” Mae leaned over and kissed her wife on the cheek.
After thinking for a minute, Haley said, “Alright, we’ll do that.”
Soon, the two of them were back under the covers, cuddled against each other. Though Mae ended up having the dream yet again. She was on horseback, and several cows were rushing forward as she chased after them. It looked like they were somewhere near the Calico Desert. As she ran further, she could see Haley in front of the cows running for her life and screaming. Mae had never seen her go so fast.
“Haley!” she yelled, her voice sounding long and drawn out. The horse’s pace increased as she was getting closer and closer to Haley. It was unclear if she actually heard her name being called.
“Come on, come on,” Mae encouraged the horse. When she came closer, she stretched out her hand. “Haley, grab my hand.” Her blond hair looked wild, blowing in the wind as her fearful blue eyes glanced over at Mae.
When she desperately reached out, the sound of the cows grew louder and angrier. Their eyes started to grow red. “Come on, you almost got it!” Mae cried. But just as Haley’s fingertips brushed hers, she fell right over, her face falling into the sand. “No!”
Before she could see the herd stomping over her wife, Mae woke up in their bed yet again. Of course, Haley was safe and sleeping next to her. Dammit, not again…she thought. She didn’t wake her up, instead, she lay back down and shut her eyes. There were only a couple of hours left for her to sleep, then she would have to get up and start the farm chores.
Then Haley and I need to check up on the cows…While struggling to sleep, Mae hoped she wouldn’t have another dream.
**
When morning came, Haley and Mae headed out to the barn hand-in-hand. The cows were already outside behind the large fenced-in area, acting completely normal. Unlike in the dream, their moos seemed friendly and calm.
“See? They’re not doing any scheming,” Mae said.
But Haley was still nervous. She took a deep breath and squeezed Mae’s hand. “Well, maybe they want us to let our guard down, so they can lure us in.”
“Oh gosh, whatever article Emily sent you must have been really convincing. They’re not doing anything, they’re just cows.”
“What if they come running towards us? They could probably break through that fence,” said Haley, worry still in her voice.
Mae looked at the stone fence that she had built herself. It was still going strong with no signs of wear. “Nah, that thing’s sturdy.” Then she added with a laugh, “If they do chase us here on the farm, there’s plenty of trees to hide behind or climb.”
“No way I’m hiding in a tree—”
“Joking, joking.” Mae waved her hand. “But I’ll show you that it’s safe. I’m going in.” Before her wife could protest, she ran over to the closest gate and went behind the fence with the cows. Since Haley seemed genuinely worried, even though it was silly, it was best to reassure her.
So, she petted one of the nearby brown cows and said, “See? They’re not mowing me down or anything.”
Cautiously, Haley walked up to the gate. “I mean, your dream was about me getting run over. Not you.” But she did seem to be more relaxed.
“I don’t think they’re angry at you at all. Come on in and pet one.”
Sighing, Haley opened the gate and closed it behind her. And almost instantly, a cow approached her and sniffed her hand. “Please don’t kill me, cow, is this one’s name Lucy or something?”
“Yup…and look, she likes you,” Mae said.
“I guess you’re right,” Haley said as the cow rubbed its head against her hand. Soon, two more cows approached, and she started to pet each one. Her fear seemed to completely disappear.
Mae smiled. “See? I told you.”
“Then I wonder what your dream could have meant? It just seems so weird.”
After taking a few moments to think, something sparked in Mae’s mind. “I know, it’s a sign the cows want to spend more time with you.”
“Maybe, I’ll try doing that.” Haley giggled as she continued to pet every cow.
Seeing her with them was a nice sight, and Mae had a feeling she wouldn’t be having the dream again.