By Jason Abbaly
Everyone has a dream, every dream has a message, and that message gives hope. Now that’s the good part. But then, some people have good dreams, while others have nightmares. Believe me, there is nothing good about nightmares. We live in a time where everyone hopes for something. Some get it, while others just don’t. For Billy, life was a good dream.
Billy was a young, cute and good looking male goat. He was so energetic and fun to be with. Had a lovely “bleat” sound he made every time which drove the female goats all crazy. He also had a well-trimmed goatee that gave him this sexy look. There was no doubt that Billy was well taken care of. But, the big question was, for what? Hold unto that thought.
Billy had an owner Mr. Badmus AKA the bad man. People called him that because, when it comes to butchering of animals, he was the perfect man for the job. He was also into rearing and selling of goats. He had a little daughter Cecilia. She loved her father but hated his job.
Billy was Mr. Badmus’ favorite because of all the goats he’d been rearing, Billy was looking double the size of other goats. So Mr. Badmus kept Billy aside from other goats and fed Billy with more food. He knew when it was time for Billy to be killed, or sold he would make very big profit for him.
It was Christmas period and it meant more sales and more money for Mr. Badmus. He planned to sell all his mature goats and leave their kids behind, except for Billy. He had another thing in mind for him. He invited his relatives over for the Christmas holiday and planned to give them a treat. He was going to kill Billy on the eve of Christmas, as a compensation for the year’s hard work, and since Billy was quite big, he would serve the purpose.
Billy thought life couldn’t get any better. He had everything at his disposal. He was treated like a goat king, he had a whole room to himself and plenty of foods at his reach. Nothing in this world could be better than this and nothing would make him want to leave.
Cecilia knew of her father’s plan. She also loved Billy because she was the one her father always sent to feed him. She would play with before giving him his food, and would watch him eat because he ate in a funny way that always made her laugh whenever she tried to mimic it. All these thoughts ran through her mind while she was feeding Billy. She wouldn’t let it happen. She planned to release Billy and lie to her father that he ran away while she tried to untangle the rope used in tying Billy.
It was very early that Christmas morning and Cecilia was up and was ready to proceed with her plans. When she got to Billy’s quarters, he was still asleep. She untied him and tried to wake him. He woke but refused to run, she tried pulling him but he kept pulling back. She tried carrying him but he was too heavy for her to carry. Billy didn’t know what she was trying to do but he didn’t like it, so he started to bleat endlessly. She tried to hush him but he wouldn’t adhere. Then she left him alone feeling sad and wishing she could speak goat language but sadly, she couldn’t.
By evening, Billy tasted great.
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