Child finds horse chained in the desert, but it was not a common horse. Diego Ramirez was walking in the morning in search of dry branches when he heard a faint sound coming from distant stones. The 12-year-old stopped by drying his sweat from his forehead with the back of the dirty ground hand. His family needed the firewood to cook lunch, but that groan under it left it curious. As he approached the rocks scattered across the arid terrain, Diego felt his heart squeeze in the chest. A horse too skinny was lying between the stones with a heavy chain attached to the neck. The animal had its eyes open, one blue like the sky and another coffee like dry earth and a strange mark on the forehead that looked like a drawing made with hot iron. “My God,” Diego whispered slowly, slowly squeezing the animal. The horse turned his head toward the boy and made a low sound, as if he were asking for help. Diego saw that the ribs of the animal were noticeable under the dark fur and that his legs had red marks where the chain had hurt him. Who did this to you? asked Diego extending his small hand to the horse’s snout. The animal smelled his fingers and leaned the snout on the palm of the child’s hand. Diego felt that those different eyes were begging for help and his childly heart could not ignore that silent request. Diego tried to pull the chain, but it was too heavy for his small hands. The link holding the animal was welded to an iron ring nailed to a large stone.

The neighbor who had some tools. Don Manuel, can I borrow a tool? What tool, boy? Something that cuts iron, like a lime or a gag. Don Manuel, a 60-year-old man with white hair and callous hands, looked at Diego curiously. Why do you want to cut iron? Diego thought quickly of a lie, but decided to tell part of the truth. I found an animal trapped in a chain and I want to let go. Animal. What animal? A dog is abandoned and hungry.

Don Manuel scratched his beard and took an old file and a small gag. Here, but bring them back before noon and be careful not to hurt yourself. Thank you, Don Manuel. Diego ran to the stones with the tools in his hand. When he arrived, the horse raised his head and made that sound of joy that was already becoming familiar. “Today I’m going to release you,” Diego said, kneeling near the network. But when he started filing the iron, Diego realized it would take much longer than he thought.

The chain was thick and the old file cut very slowly. After an hour of trying, he had only managed to make a few small marks on the metal. “This is going to take days,” Diego muttered, wiping his sweat off his forehead. The horse seemed to understand the difficulty and supported his snout in the child’s hand, as if to say he was not in a hurry. Diego spent the whole morning working in the chain, stopping just to give water and affection to the horse. When the sun went very strong, it had to stop and come home to return the tools.

How did it go with the dog? asked Don Manuel when Diego returned the file and the gag. I still haven’t been able to let him go, but I’ll keep trying. If you need help, just let me know. Diego thanked and ran home, where he found his mother preparing lunch with a worried face. Where were you, Diego? Playing with the boys. What game is it that takes so long? We were exploring the stones. Doña Rosa looked deeply into her son’s eyes, as if she knew she was hiding something, but she said nothing.