Adventures in an Old Barn - An Early Memory

I was young, maybe 5-6 when I first ventured to the barn. This old barn had definitely seen better days. The peeling red paint and boarded up windows made this place as mysterious as the creature in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. The place called to me  "Come play, come climb, explore...."  Walking up I imagined the barn was guarded  by a fire-breathing dragon protecting its treasures inside.  l looked for a way in, then I spotted a place where the door and ground would meet but the ground had been worned away and created a slight dip in the earth.  It created a space just big enough for a slender little body to squeeze under.  I took the challenge. Taking a deep breath, I dove under the fire-breathing dragon and crawled under the double doors.

The space inside the barn was huge - at least two football fields side by side.  I stood in awe and wide-eyed trying to see everything at once. It was one massive playground. The ceiling seemed to reach heaven.  There were lofts and two huge doors where hay was once stored.  There were two windows in the loft area where sunlight was streaming and the rays showed the dust floating trough the air like miniature kites in a soft sea breeze.  There was an intense smell of stirred up dust  and  motor oil from the tractors. I could see the black thick goo under one of the tractors.

My eyes grew large and my heart pounded with the thought of getting caught.  Over in the far corner there were shelves of oil cans, a stuffed burlap bags, a rope, a large, metal hook, rakes, shovels, and  a ladder  and other stuff I didn't know. There were three big tractors and one small tractor in the barn and oddly a table with chairs around it. I went over to take a closer look and found cigaret butts. I sniffed one and choked on the terrible smell. I quickly put it back.

Suddenly, with a little help from my imagination, I climbed the nearest tractor but it wasn't  just a tractor . It was my get away car from The Evil Mother who grounds little children for not taking a bath.  A rope hanging from the center beam of the ceiling became my airplane crossing a river filled with hungry crocodiles and pirañas. When the engine of the plane began to sputter and stall,  I fought to land safely on the other side. Whew!  Something caught my eye and I  looked up to see a tiny bird had found its way into the barn. Suddenly, it's no longer a sweet little bird but a giant terradactile in search of food. It spots me and I run for cover under the table. I take the chairs to beat him off. He finally gives up and flies off in search of another little girl. I come out from under the table slowly  and  cautiously. As I point to the rafters , I shout, " GO eat some other little girl but you're not  having this one,not today!"

In the distance, I could hear the lone cry of the mother wolf calling me to dinner. With the Terridactile nowhere to be seen, I felt  safe to start my journey across the desert floor, the baring sun became too much.   Hot and thirst, I barely made it alive to the other side where a little(and I mean little) oasis of a town was. Holding a cup I found, I went to the bathroom pub to get fresh water.  As I approached the pub, I could hear cries of help. I turn to see my little brother being chased  by a man- eating lawn mower which had escaped from its chains.  But that rescue will have to wait for another day.  I heard a second call from the mother wolf and I knew I must hurry. I went to the escape doors fearing what I might see and there he was, just waiting for me.   How was I going to get passed that fire-breathing dragon that guarded the doors to my freedom and return to my homeland. No dragon would stand between me and my mother. I remembered my water bottle from the bathroom pub and quickly filled my container. I threw the water at the dragon and quickly dove under its wings. Safe!  I turned quickly toward the barn. With a sparkle in my eye, I knew I would return someday to save the prince from his demise. Then, with a skip and a hop, I ran down the lane where loving arms, a warm meal and a hot bath awaited me.