TONY PAIL: A Short Story

Tony Pail is about a young girl who must deal with a death threatening disease. She meets a mysterious horse that fills her need for some one to talk to. Her meeting comes at a time when she is ready for a friend. A friend - that doesn't ask too many questions or is overly concerned with her illness and limitations. Tony Pail is welcomed to come into her life, as he does. At first meeting she thinks she hears Tony talk. Although she knows Tony Pail cannot really talk, she is open the idea. The story develops as Rebecca begins to understand Tony's uncomplicated world. Tony is not confused with human emotions or abstract thinking. He has great love for her and only asks for his love to be returned. Once he enters her life she is able to much better deal with her illness. The cancer like disease in Rebecca's body cannot be controlled and she must be subjected to treatments. The treatments slow down the disease but in doing so, drain Rebecca's energy and may be affecting her ability to tell the difference between her dreams and real events.

Her dependence on Tony Pail has a profound healing affect. The relationship with Tony develops and soon she feels obligated to reveal Tony's existence to her mother. The doctors suggest that Rebecca may be imagining Tony's existence as an aid to cope with her illness. "She may be using his image as an escape from her pain as well as to try answer her deepest questions". Rebecca tries to understand her contemporary world as well as her mother's traditional view, in light of Tony's uncomplicated (common) horse sense. She begins to consider the meaning of life and death within Tony's boundaries. Eventually Tony is able to convey to Rebecca the comfort that if and when that time comes for her to go to another world, he will be with her. She will not be alone. The story leaves the reader to decide whether Tony really existed or was he Rebecca's manifestation of a guardian angel.