Wordless Wednesday Writing Challenge – Alphabet’s Hands

The RocNaNo Blog now offers Wordless Wednesday writing prompts. This is my response to today’s challenge, based upon this photo:

Alphabet’s Hands

Alphabet considered the gate. Usually, it didn’t look like that. Usually, the two sides were connected by that lock. He took a step closer. He turned his head from side to side. It looked so strange to him.

He snorted, leaning toward it to touch it with his snout. He lost his balance and stumbled forward, slamming his body into the gate. It shook and the lock rattled. Jumping back, he yelped, and shook his head to clear it. What just happened?

Alphabet tried again, and like before stumbled and crashed into the gate. He backed away and stomped his front leg. Only it didn’t stomp. It was wrong. And something slapped him in the back leg. He jumped further back, glaring suspiciously at the gate, before inspecting the rest of his surroundings.

Hay in the far corner of the small corral drew his attention, and he went to explore. It smelled wrong and when he tried to eat it, he couldn’t reach it. His mouth was too far away. He stuffed his face into the pile of hay and managed to get some in his mouth. It was all pointy and jaggedy, and impossible to chew. Alphabet spat, and tried to wipe his mouth on his front leg. It wasn’t a leg. It was… It was Walt’s arm. But it was attached to him.

He screamed and lurched backward, falling onto his back and throwing his feet into the air. His bare, multi-toed feet. And hands. He screamed again, rolling and then racing toward the gate. Immediately, he was sent sprawling onto the dusty corral floor.

Dust blew up in front of his eyes as he lay there, staring at the fingers of his hand that he’d never had before. He strummed them like he’d seen Walt do. The hand looked so much like Walt’s. How was it connected to him? How was he even laying like this?

Alphabet pulled himself back to his feet still staring down at his hands. Where had his hooves gone? Cautiously, he approached the gate again. Reaching out, he touched the lock that hung off the gate. It was unexpectedly cold. Alphabet gripped it with his strange new hand and pulled. The gate opened.

He paused for a moment, then Alphabet stepped out into a world where he’d never before walked alone.