After a horse broke through the glass door of the grocery shop and bolted away, the owner pursued her and found something terrible 
The day was like any other summer day. The heat surrounded the street, and the air shimmered over the burning asphalt. The proprietor of a small home goods store was collecting the day’s profits behind the counter. A strange smashing sound suddenly pierced the silence.
“What the hell…?” he muttered as he turned toward the sound.
With a dull thump, a horse jumped onto the sidewalk in front of the establishment. It seemed to come as a surprise. Its mane flew in all directions as its eyes shone with rage and panic. It sprang up instantly and began a frantic neigh, hammering its front hooves at the glass window.
BANG!
The glass developed a huge crack.
BANG!
Thousands of shimmering pieces of glass broke off. The horse neighed harder and louder, her nostrils flaring and her eyes looking mad.
“What are you doing?” the business owner shouted as he rushed to the door.
But as if realizing the glass barrier had been broken, the mare suddenly turned and fled, leaving just hoofprints on the sidewalk and chaos inside the shop.
The owner was enraged and rushed out after her without thinking twice.
— Wait! Stop it, you damned animal! As he ran between automobiles and pedestrians, he screamed. I’ll find your owner, and you’ll pay for everything!
As she galloped down the street, the horse let out a long, apprehensive neigh. Then she abruptly stopped. The store owner caught up to her, gasping, and was astounded by what he witnessed.
By the side of the road, a small foal was resting under a tree’s shade. Its breathing was laborious, its eyes were full of sadness and terror, and its tiny body barely moved.
Blood and slashes were on its sides. Evidently, the poor animal was struck by a car, which fled, leaving it to die.
The man’s heart became constricted. With a soft snort that sounded like a supplication, the mother, or horse, turned to face him.
He managed to utter, “I’m sorry,” despite having a lump in his throat. — You just requested help.
Without waiting another second, he hurried over, carefully lifted the foal like a child, and hurried to his car. The mare, possibly afraid of losing sight of her baby, rushed beside him, breathing wildly.
The flashing lights, the stressed-out faces of the doctors, and the smell of the medications were all a haze in the veterinary office.
Hours passed before the veterinarian came out of the operation room.
“He was lucky,” he said. A bit later, we would have lost him. But he will be alive.
The business owner looked to the window and sighed with relief. Eventually, the mare had fallen to the grass outside the clinic, exhausted and shaky, her eyes never leaving the doorway.
Later, the owner had a new pane of glass installed and hung a picture of the foal and its mother beside it. Everyone who entered the store might see the following words:
“Love can sometimes drive even the most desperate actions.”
