“Fear is a question: What are you afraid of and why?”

– Marilyn Ferguson, American author, editor and public speaker

Though warm, the autumn night was strangely starless. Despite the darkness, Lloyd and I walked the quarter mile driveway with ease. The stroll had become a nightly ritual and we knew every hill and hollow. Max was not walking it with ease. Max was terrified. Unfamiliar with farm life, Max seemed frightened of everything: cows, pigs, farm equipment and especially the darkness. He kept bumping into Lloyd and me as we shuffled along the dirt road.

“Hey, guys,” he said. “We should head back to the house.”

“No way,” replied Lloyd. “We’re walking to the mailbox.”

The mailbox was just over a mile f...

Please subscribe to keep reading.