The derelict barn was just that—an abandoned dry stone building. The roof was intact though and old straw lined the floor, some of it black and mouldy, other parts ok if a little dry and dusty. An old wooden ladder perched against the back wall, leading to an upper floor. I really wanted to see what was up there, but my gut told me to stay firmly planted on the ground. The last thing I needed right now was to fall through a rotten floor and break my leg.

Deciding this would be a better place to stay than the woods, I sorted through the straw, chucking the mouldy bits outside and piling the better parts up into the back corner as a sort of soft chair/sleeping area.

By the time I finished, my stomach had started grumbling at me again, so I indulged in another biscuit. I settled down for an afternoon nap, hoping that by the time I woke, the moor would be empty of walkers and explorers so I could do some exploring myself.

***

Twilight. A beautiful time of day. The mix of pastel colours glowing above the earth were extraordinary, every single day. Purples, blues, and yellows painted the evening sky and I could do little more than stand and stare at it. This was the exact medicine I needed to piece my soul back together.

From where I stood, at the side of the old oak tree outside the barn, I had a perfect view of the river to the south. Just as I wondered if I'd ever see the Connemara stallion again, he reappeared, peeking out from the left of the small woods I'd stayed in last night. He must have circled around and come back to the same spot. Had he been there all day?

I watched him, his ears moving back and forth constantly, listening to the evening insects coming alive and looking for any danger that may be lurking. He limped over to the river and started drinking, his rear end facing me once more. I went back to my bag and dug out my tube of Savlon. It was the best antiseptic stuff ever and I swore by it. If I managed to get close enough to him, he definitely needed something to stop his wounds becoming infected. If I could even clean them.

Watching him carefully, I started making my way towards him. I kept myself in the open so he could see I posed no threat. Only predators would use the cover of trees to creep up on an animal. I was surprised his owner hadn't caught him and taken him back home but whatever the circumstances regarding his mysterious appearance up here, I wasn't going to complain.

He finished drinking before I had even gotten anywhere near him. Looking out over the horizon in front of him, he was either ignoring my presence or hadn't yet realised I was here. Considering horses have almost three hundred and sixty degrees of vision, I opted for the earlier option. Roughly sixty metres or so out, I decided to not startle him.

"Hey, boy," I said, calling out to him softly.

He turned his head, looking back at me, his ears pricked.

I took a couple of steps towards him which made him turn around, so he now faced me head on. His head up high and his whiskey brown eyes pinned on me, I knew whatever move I made had to be the right one. If he ran again, I'd likely never see him again.

A scene from The Horse Whisperer sprang to mind and I decided to try it. I had nothing but time out here. I sat down and watched him. My eyes never faltered from him once. After what felt like an age, he took a step towards me, bobbing his head up and down.

Resisting the urge to jump for joy, I bit my lip and waited him out some more. It took him twice as long to take a second step, but the second step became four steps, with him dropping his head to snatch at some grass.

I contained an excited squeal. He was curious. This was actually working. I thought about laying down but then realised that's what predators do—hide in the long grass, peering out over the top, so I stayed put.

Hours ticked by at a definitive stalemate. He stayed the same distance from me, slowly grazing his way back towards the trees, but always with an eye on me. His skin twitched around his wound, telling me that bugs were trying to get at it. It needed tending to asap.

With my legs going numb and my bum already having lost feeling, I knew I needed to move. I'd made such progress with him though I really didn't want to.

"Hey, boy," I said. "I'm just going to walk around a little bit. You're making me lose the feeling in my legs."

He snorted but carried on munching, still keeping a close eye on me.

As carefully and as slowly as I could, I rose to my feet, stretching out my muscles as I did. It felt so good, I couldn't help but groan with pleasure. The stallion though, he didn't move an inch. I breathed a sigh of relief.

I walked around in a big circle, flexing my legs and ankles and decided to be a little bit sneaky, just to satisfy my own curiosity about his curiosity. As much as I wanted to move towards him, I understood the moves needed to be his and on his terms. I knew from personal experience that the more someone tried to force themselves on you, the more you resisted, even if it was perfectly innocent and friendship based.

In light of that train of thought, I turned my back on him and walked back towards the barn. I wanted to look behind me so badly to see if he was following but I knew if I did, that would be it, ruined. He needed to want to follow me without realising it was exactly what I wanted him to do.

When I reached the oak tree, I took advantage of the shadows and finally turned around. I ran my finger up and down the tube of Savlon, hoping and praying he'd come close enough so I could treat him.

To my utter surprise, he had followed me, although he had allowed more distance to come between us. That didn't matter though, the main thing was he'd taken steps in my direction. That was huge and I really wanted to do some sort of celebratory dance or at least jump up and down to release some of the pent-up excitement inside me.

I sat down again, leaning back against the tree, and watched him. He snatched a mouthful of grass then ambled closer, stopping about fifty metres away. He carried on grazing, still careful to keep me in his line of sight.

Wondering if talking to him might help relax him, I started rambling on about me and my life, airing out all my dirty laundry for all animals within earshot to hear. He didn't seem to mind in the slightest. I studied how he reacted to certain tones of voice. Whenever I spoke soft and quiet, he took a step closer. If I spoke normally, his ears twitched back and forth, and he stayed put. I didn't dare raise my voice to test his reaction to that.

"You like peace and quiet, hey, boy?" I said, borderline whispering. "Me, too. Not had much of it in my circus of a life. Kinda makes me appreciate moments like this."

I sighed and rubbed my eyes. Another cloudless night gave the moon full access to shine down on us, highlighting my way back to the barn for some sleep.

"You've worn me out for the night, boy," I said, as softly as I could. "I'm going to hit my straw bed for some sleep. I hope you don't stray too far."

I stood up, carefully, and headed back to the barn. My straw bed fell perfectly in a strip of moonlight, almost like it was being highlighted for me by the heavens above. If anyone was up there watching me, I hoped like anything that they'd give me a break and let me do some good, even if it was just tending to an injured horse.

I fell asleep, watching the stallion graze. He'd stayed put and not followed me further which disappointed me a little but he was still watching me. For the second time in three days, I fell asleep with a smile on my face.