Allie J tossed and turned.

She couldn't sleep. She counted the missing patches of the textured ceiling. She ran her tongue over the space in her smile where her front teeth once sat. She thought about school and hot lunches. But Allie J still couldn't sleep, so she stirred.

Her bed squeaked and she froze. Loud enough to wake him? Loud enough to send him yelling and carrying on down the hall? She waited in the dark for the door at the end of the hall to fly open, bouncing off the wall with a pop, adding more cracks to the drywall.

She did hear a sound though, but from downstairs.

Was he awake? No, there were two empty bottles in the bathroom trashcan. He could be sleeping until lunch tomorrow. She hoped there was still enough bread and bologna so she could have lunch.

The sound again. A slight creak, a whisper of dry hinges in the dark. She sat up and slid off the bed, her bare feet slapping the floor. Light illuminated the edges of the door. Good, it wasn't closed. The doorknob was busted, he'd broken something the last time he was upset, when he hurt her wrist and made her ears ring, so when it closed, she was essentially locked in.

The floor felt cold and smooth to her feet. Her nightgown, her favorite despite being little more than a pink and faded collection of pill balls and lint, kept the chill at bay. She stopped at her bedroom door and pushed it open. Glancing to the right, she saw the bathroom. To the left at the very end of the hall stood her father's bedroom door, still shut, his snoring reminding her of the growling belly of something large and mean.

Stepping into the hall, the light flickered and she gasped, jumping back into the room. She reminded herself she was being silly. She needed to investigate the sound, or at least close the front door. Mrs. Howell told her whole class that being in kindergarten meant they were bigger, and that more would be expected from them. She found that being one of the taller ones in the class meant that more would be expected from her above them all.

Approaching the stairs in front of her father's bedroom door, she looked down into the living room. The sight confused her. A pipe? Long, thin, and pale, it seemed to float, suspended across the living room a few feet from the floor. She looked to the bedroom door and ranked the dangers, then she proceeded down the stairs.

At the bottom, she walked under the pipe. It moved, gingerly. She could see long, thin black strands hanging down. She reached up and touched the pipe. Cold and soft, the flesh rippled. She heard a sound in the kitchen and followed the pipe. Occasionally, she reached up again to run her fingers along its impossibly smooth surface. The hair felt wet. She stopped and looked behind her. The pipe, or whatever it was, stretched out the front door and into the front yard.

A nudge. Allie J jumped. She turned and wanted to scream, but the sight seized her and she stood perfectly still, arms down at her side.

A face, a long face, like a horse. No, a horse skull. But the same thin skin pulled tight over the face. The eyes were dark, a deep socket that was simultaneously void and filled with expression. The skull raised up, the neck bent with a tinny crack, like the joints of a finger. The hair waved like hanging moss as the creature swayed.

"Hello," Allie said.

The creature leaned down, the joints vanishing with cracks and pops. The nose of the skull nudged her. She touched the top of its nose and ran her fingers over the scattered teeth. No lower jaw, just the top of the head connected to a long neck that she realized snaked throughout her house.

"Long Horse," Allie giggled.

Long Horse shook. She giggled again.

Upstairs, the snoring stopped. She could hear him yell. She woke him.

"He's gonna be so mad," Allie said. Her voice trembled. She looked up at Long Horse. "You better go."

The creature lowered its head again, this time turning it sideways toward her. A mass of hair tumbled off the top of the head.

HOLD

She didn't hear the voice, she simply felt it someone deep in the recesses of her mind, gentle, free of malice. She reached out and wrapped tiny fingers around the strands of hair.

"Now what?" She whispered.

HOLD ON

Her feet lifted, the neck quickly disentangled from the house, pulling her through her home and winding back toward the front door. She flew through the air as it did, clearing every ceiling and doorway, soaring over the furniture and trash strewn floors.

She squealed. She laughed. She laughed so loud, and laughed louder still when she discovered just how loud she could be.

She grabbed on with her other hand. They were leaving the house and the cool air kissed her face and the flapping strands of hair tickled her nose.

"Where are we going?" She cried out. Her heart lifted. She was so high in the air now. She could see stars, but these were new.

FAR

"Far?" She smiled.

FAR