FGC #16- Rondeau- Too Good to be true

Too Good To Be True To good to be true, that's what I thought, You'd think in my life that lesson would have been taught. But I tempted fate and brought on strife, And wondered where have u been all my life? For someone like you I really could have faught. What a catch I thought I had caught, And how much happiness this could have brought. Chances and risks will alway be rife. Too good to be true. Should have been careful I knew I ought, But this was something that couldn't be bought, Then you said the words that cut like a knife, You simply don't want me in your life, So I say goodbye to all I've sought. Too good to be true.

FGC #15- Hard Sci Fi- Sagittarius

SAGITTARIUS

"What are you doing?" Greyson Walker asked as he put his head far too close to my own for my liking.

"Nothing," I lied as I slammed my laptop shut.

"I saw exactly what you were doing," he sneered.

"Well then what did you bloody ask for?" I snapped.

"To check if you would lie. How am I expected to work with you when I can't even trust you?" he started. I kept my mouth shut and refrained myself from throwing him through the window of our twelfth storey office.

"I know you were looking at naughty sights on company property," he announced. Fellow workers at surrounding cubicles stopped what they were doing to try and have a peek at what I could possibly be looking at. I groaned inwardly when one of them winked at me.

"For every ones information it wasn't one of those sites. I was simply looking at videos of solar flares and their potential effect on a theoretical wormhole," I explained. Our acne prone work experience guy had turned beet red and was trying to hide his face behind the research he was doing into the next lunar eclipse.

Suddenly the room hushed and the excited chatter about me being a closet porn addict died down. Which only meant one thing. The boss was here.

"Walker, Benson my office," he barked. A trip to the office usually only meant one thing: re-assignment. "Now," the boss added as he continued down the hall. I jumped to my feet and followed.

"You are in so much trouble," Greyson taunted.

"You must be as well since you are coming too," I sniped. He didn't utter another word for the rest of the walk down the hallway.

"I've got a new assignment," the boss started before I even shut the door behind me. Luc Dempsey had been in the industry a long time and was not a man to be messed with.

"Yes sir," Greyson and I replied in unison.

"You will be relocated to our facility in the middle of the desert," he started. I could already feel my enthusiasm for a reassignment starting to fade.

"In these dire times it is becoming more necessary to find other inhabitable planets and your focus will be the constellation Sagittarius." I couldn't contain it any longer.

"But sir, they have looked and found nothing remotely inhabitable in that constellation, it's situated in the densest part of the universe it is just so unlikely...."

He held up a finger to shush me.

"I thought you would appreciate this one with your link," he snapped as his gaze drifted to my ankle. Although hidden beneath slacks and never visible in the workplace there was no hiding anything from the boss.

"It's not..." I started.

"Don't make me say it," he warned as he glanced at Greyson who was leeching on every word of the conversation.

“What about Gliese 581g?” I asked.

“What about it?” he asked.

“Isn’t there a team investigating its in-habitability? I’m sure they will find that it is inhabitable and we won't have to worry about finding other planets,” I added.

“Do you honestly think that the powers that be want to stop at one planet? Think how boring life would be with only one flavour of ice cream,” he explained.

“Oh good, use ice cream as a reference to the lactose intolerant one,” I groaned.

"You leave Monday," he said. "I have organised for another colleague to take care of Astro in your absence," he informed me. I shuddered at the thought of my baby in the care of someone he didn't know. There was a knock on the door and without waiting for a response a knock-out blonde entered the room. Her legs seemed to go forever, unlike the mini skirt she had on.

"You wanted to see me sir?" she asked.

"Yes this is Agent Benson, Astros owner. Get acquainted," he ordered.

"Thank you sir," with a wave of his hand we were all dismissed. Numbly I walked back to my desk. I had always known there was the potential to be sent out to the middle of nowhere but it had never actually come up and to have it happen so quickly was a little startling.

"Better get all that porn off your computer before you leave," Greyson laughed.

"Better get that smirk off your face before I throw the computer at your head," I grumbled. The worst part about the situation was that I was being posted to a remote location with Greyson Walker. I would have preferred one of the work experience boys that would hardly use my name without wetting their pants. But for some reason the boss had decided that the one colleague I most hated would accompany me.

"What did the boss mean by your link to it?" he asked.

"I haven't the slightest clue what you are talking about," I lied.

"I was thinking I would come over tonight and get to know Astro before you leave," the leggy blonde said as she approached my desk. I discovered her name was Felicity Blythe.

"Maybe you should bring pyjamas as well so I can get you used to his morning routine," I announced. My words were followed by the clatter of pens, a spilt coffee and even one colleague ending up on the floor.

"Oh that would be wonderful," she cried twirling her hair around her fingers.

When I arrived home that afternoon Astro was practically beside himself with excitement. After a momentary leg hump I sat on the dining room chair and he practically climbed into my lap and started to lick my face. I was both flattered and disgusted by his expression of love for me. I was even less impressed when I found one of my throw cushions had been torn to shreds. How was the poor dear going to cope when I was gone for what could be months. I didn't make it much further than the chair, I just sat there and patted Astro. I didn't realise how much time passed and suddenly there was a knock at the door. I opened it to find Felicity standing there. She had a small overnight bag. I’d been unsure if she would take the offer of the overnight stay seriously because of the way our colleagues had reacted.

“I only have the one bed…” I started.

“That’s fine by me,” she replied as she dropped her bag and took my hands in hers. Before I knew it her lips had found mine. I was glad she had picked up on my subtle hints.

“Imagine if the guys found out…”

“I know,” she laughed as she pushed me against the wall. I led her to the bedroom and what followed was one of the most amazing nights of my life. We were lying there afterwards and she sat at my feet and started massaging them.

“Nice tattoo,” she said. I groaned. I’d been meaning to get it removed for a long time. I tried to pull my foot away but she hung onto it.

“It was my mother’s idea,” I explained.

“You don’t get along?” she asked. I shook my head. She crawled up the bed and wrapped her arms around me.

“She wanted me to get into Astrology when all I wanted to do was Astronomy and she was very nasty about letting me know that my life choices were wrong,” I explained.

The following morning I introduced her to Astro and showed her everything that she would need to know while I was gone. She stayed the next two nights and then on Monday morning I had to say goodbye. I’d had the most fantastic couple of days of my life and now I was off into the middle of nowhere for who knows how long to look for something that more than likely didn’t exist. We agreed it would be easier for her to stay in my house since she had been sharing with a friend recently. It would be easier on Astro as well. My suitcase was packed and sitting in the doorway. Felicity looking from me to the suitcase.

“Life’s pretty shit sometimes,” she announced,

“Tell me about it,” I groaned as I headed for the door. Before I got there she caught up for one final kiss. I couldn’t bring myself to it and rested my head on her shoulder. She pulled back and looked at me quizzically. I tried to smile but my throat closed up and tears threatened to spill over. I turned my head but held her hand until I was out the door and our fingers could no longer reach. I could feel her standing in the doorway but didn’t have the strength to look back. I went downstairs to the front of my apartment block and got in the company vehicle that was waiting to take me to the airport. I fell into the back seat and the tears spilled over. I could see the driver looking in the rear view mirror but I didn’t know him and he didn’t need an explanation. I managed to pull myself together as I arrived at our second destination to pick up Greyson. If my chest had once been a star it was threatening to collapse to form a black hole. Part of me wished it could so that the event horizon could suck the rest of me out of this place. I’d never felt so emotional in my whole life and couldn’t understand how someone I had only known such a short time could cause such heartache. I finally found someone who was just right and had to leave her behind.

I could feel Greysons eyes boring into the side of my head like a space probe. I kept my eyes glued to the road ahead. We were seated together on the plane and I still hadn’t even acknowledged his presence. Then we were transferred onto a light aircraft to take us to our final remote destination.

“You know if you can’t even speak to me on the plane things will be very difficult at the new facility,” he announced.

I swallowed hard and tried to think of something witty to say to him but I just found I had to swallow again to get rid of the lump in my throat.

“I..” was all I managed to croak out my dry throat. He tilted his head in concern when he realised that I wasn’t just being a bitch and that something was genuinely up. He reached out he let it hover for a little while above my arm and then let it rest. I placed my hand over his and squeezed it in thanks. Then we hit some turbulence.

“This isn’t on my radar at all,” the pilot yelled. We buckled ourselves in and held tight, the small aircraft felt like it was being thrown around the sky.

“This is a bad sign,” I whined as I clung onto Greysons arm. Finally the craft landed miraculously in one piece but with enough of a jolt that it caused Greysons skull to crack heavily onto mine.

I awoke the next morning; at least I thought it was until they told me it had been days. Greyson popped in to visit raving about all the equipment the facility had and how much it was going to change the world when we discovered what we needed. I was restricted to light duty for a few weeks and then finally allowed to check out the equipment. Greyson was so excited about taking me to the lab.

“You are going to love this,” he exclaimed like a kid that had just found a candy factory. The elevator binged and the doors slid open. In front of me were miles and miles of lab. The walls were silver but made of no material I had ever seen before.

“It’s Nebulargentum,” he said reading my mind. I could feel my mouth dropping involuntarily. “You know what that means?” He led me through the maze of the lab and introduced me to our new boss. I kept scanning the room wondering what wonderful piece of equipment I would be able to work on first. I was shown to a desk with a computer. Great. All these wonderful toys around and all I get to play with is one that has been around for decades. I was introduced to a team of guys all with thick rimmed glasses, acne, plaid shirts and calloused hands from hours of video games or computer programming. One of them nearly choked on his doughnut when he was told I would be joining the team. I stood around the computer that they were all looking intently at. Thankfully it was one of those new age computers that were a glass plane that could be seen from either side. The guy who seemed to be the head of the group was touching the screen and sliding through a number of images of stars and planets I didn’t recognise.

“What is this?” I asked. They laughed at me like I should have known.

“That’s Epsilon Sagittarius,” one of them finally told me.

“No way,” I huffed like someone who had just been introduced to Jesus.

“And these…” the leader said as he flicked through. “Are her planets.”

“But she’s too far away for any of our technology to get this good of pictures,” I protested.

“You haven’t shown her the hanger yet?,” he stated to Greyson.

“What hanger?” I asked.

Greyson rolled his eyes and led me away from the group. He took me up the elevator and we climbed into an extra-terrestrial looking buggy. He took me across the grounds and once we cleared security we were allowed down the elevator. There stood the most magnificent looking spacecraft I had ever seen in my life.

“Are you saying…” I started.

“Yes hyperspace capabilities,” he confirmed.

“Am I in a coma?” I asked touching my throbbing head. He laughed and showed me around the craft. When we came back round the front one of the men who had been looking at the computer screen before was blocking our path to leave. I noticed his name tag said Sankeys.

“You don’t belong here,” Sankeys said.

“Security said it was ok,” I explained.

“No I meant at this facility,” Sankeys growled.

“We have worked just as hard as anyone else that is here…” Greyson started.

“Not you, her,” he pointed at me like I was some sort of diseased creature.

“You would think in all the years of feminist progression…”

“It’s not because you are a woman,” he growled pointing at my ankle. I looked down to see a blue glow through my trousers.

“What is that?” Greyson asked. When we looked again Sankeys had disappeared and the glow died down. I had been too shocked to lift my trousers to see what was actually happening to my tattoo.

We headed back to the office and watched the others work. I noticed as one of them swiped his finger across the screen that he had an arrow tattooed on his finger, the same design as my own Sagittarius Arrow. I looked closely at the other five members of the team and saw one who had it behind his ear, another I could see the faint outline on his bicep, through his white shirt. I figured the rest had it somewhere hidden like me.

“We have thus far found 5 planets around the star,” explained a man with the name tag Masters.

“To my knowledge most of them are gaseous planets,” I piped in.

“Your knowledge would be correct except we have discovered an earth like planet,” Masters added.

“What exactly are we looking for?” I asked.

“Inhabitable planets,” he groaned rolling his eyes like he had already explained it numerous times.

“I know that,” I sighed like a sixteen year old cheerleader. “For who?” He responded with a raised eyebrow. “Are we looking for a planet inhabitable for human beings or are we looking for it to be inhabitable for other life forms.”

“We have yet to see evidence of any other life,” Masters scolded me like I had suggested that we should look for heaven.

“So for us then?” I asked. They didn’t respond to me. “So why are we looking at a sun that is 145 light years away when we could easily make Mars inhabitable with our current technology.”

Still no response.

“Just let it go,” Greyson warned.

“No. I’ve been dragged away from my life for a project that isn’t feasible,” I replied.

“You know we have developed hyperspace travel right?” Masters snapped.

“But why start with somewhere so far?” I asked.

“There are a number of facilities on Earth and each one is focusing on a different constellation,” Greyson explained.

“And what if somebody is already home?” I asked.

“There are no signs…”

“In your eyes. How do you know those gas planets aren’t inhabited by something that we can’t get near enough to see,” I snapped.

“And what sort of being would inhabit a gas planet?” Masters laughed.

“One that you would never want to meet,” I replied. “Besides our technology is likely so vastly inferior to those inhabiting the gas planets that they could be invisible to us until it’s too late.”

“Do you remember what happened to the indigenous people when Cook landed in Australia?” Masters asked.

“I do but you’re no Cook. I’m pretty sure any mission to inhabit would fail,” I grumbled.

“You are not aware of the mission are you?” Masters smiled. I felt my heart sink. What wasn’t I aware of?

“We already know it’s inhabited,” Greyson told me. I felt my eyes open wide and my jaw followed suite.

“Wh-wh-wh..” was all I managed to stutter out. They laughed at me and showed me pictures of a race not too unlike our own. Mixed in were photos of a few centaurs. Then I laughed.

“Now I know you are pulling my leg,” I smiled. Greyson shook his head and pulled me aside. He started to lift his shirt.

“For the last time I’m not interested,” I announced.

“Will you just look,” he ordered. I looked to see the Sagittarius arrow tattooed on his hip.

“I don’t understand,” I whispered.

“Maybe I can help,” came a familiar voice behind me.

“Mum?” I cried as I turned to face the woman that I had so readily cut out of my life. Instead I came face to face with another being. Her features had been re-arranged, but she was one of the most exquisite creatures I had ever seen.

“Mum?” I asked again.

“We’ve been working on a way to get home,” she explained.

“Home?” I whispered. Greyson swiped at the computer screen and it zoomed in on what appeared to be a live feed of the planet that we had been looking at. It was beautiful. Untouched by man. Such natural beauty but still so much more advanced than Earth.

“Why isn’t she freaking out like I did?” Greyson asked. I felt a drip on my hand and looked down to see blood. I brought my hand to my nose to find it flowing like a river. Then I remembered my head injury. This had to be a dream. Mum started humming and it rose in pitch until it was a very high sound. I felt my skin start to constrict around my bones as some of my muscles moved and my body changed shape. This was most definitely the weirdest dream I had ever had.

“Gosh Lorena you are beautiful,” Greyson sighed. I turned to see that his form had also changed, along with that of everyone in the complex. I shut my eyes and opened them trying to wake myself up.

“Come Sagara it’s time for you to take your rightful place as ruler of Saggattarii 3X52Y,” Mum said.

“Sagara?” I asked. She nodded. Then clicked her fingers and the guys grabbed my arms and dragged me to the ship in the hanger. I struggled with all my might, but to no avail. So here I am in a holding cell on a ship travelling through hyperspace to rule a planet I never knew existed. I wonder what awaits me when I arrive.

CHALLENGE- To write a 3500 word Hard Sci- Fi

ACTUAL WORD COUNT- 3481

FGC 2012 #14- 1st Person POV- EVERY BREATH

“Daddy come throw the ball for Boris,” Paige cried bounding up the path. Her chocolate coloured ringlets had been pulled up in high pigtails and bounced along like slinkys. I kept my head low and continued with the weeding hoping that she would leave me alone.

“Daddy,” she cried. She stopped by my side and handed me a filthy ball with a long string of drool hanging from it.

“Paige, Daddy is busy right now. Go see what mummy is doing,” I told her.

“Mummy is busy. Can you play with her,” my wife yelled through the kitchen window.

“That’s why we got the dog,” I snapped. I felt Paige stand next to me for what felt like an age as I continued weeding hoping that she would give up. Eventually she skipped off to play with the dog. The microwave inside started beeping and I couldn’t figure out why Randi wasn’t getting it.

“Beep, beep,” the noise continued insistently. I groaned and put down my weed hook. I opened my eyes and realised I was no longer kneeling in the garden weeding but was instead sitting in an arm chair. Randi was standing next to me with her arms folded.

“I leave you for a moment and you fall asleep. How am I supposed to trust you if I can’t even leave you for ten minutes,” she yells at me.

“Keep it down Randi, people will hear you,” I whispered realising that we were in a hospital and people were starting to look.

“So they should. They deserve to know what a terrible husband you are,” she growls at me. Her emerald green eyes are ablaze.

“Randi please stop. I’m sorry,” I pleaded as I got out of the chair and reached out for her hand but she pulled it away.

“Sorry just doesn’t cut it anymore Haymen. I don’t know how many times I can forgive you,” she was furious. I could see the vein on the side of her forehead start to throb and her hands were balling into fists.

“So you don’t even have anything to say. How typical,” her voice is going up an octave with every word and I can tell what is going to come next. “Get out,” she yelled pointing to the door. I opened my mouth to protest but before I could she was in front of me pushing me out the door. She slammed it in my face and I stood in the hallway staring at it. I wandered outside. I found an empty park bench and sat down with my head in my hands sighing. Someone sat next to me and I smelt the old familiar scent of a freshly lit cigarette. I looked to see a nurse sitting next to me.

“I’m sorry I can move,” she said. I realised then that I must have been staring at her.

“No I’m sorry,” I replied. I continued to stare at her hands because she offered me the packet. A part of me wanted to say no but there was something so inviting about the idea of having a cigarette. I hesitated but I took one and lit it up.

“I quit a long time ago. But…” I started.

“How old?” she asked. I stared blankly.

 “Your kid?” she sighed. Embarrassingly started coughing as soon as I took a drag.

“How do you know?”

“We are out front the children's hospital,” she reasoned. I took another drag and coughed again.

“How sick?” she asked.

“She’s ok,” I lied as I took another drag, then scowled at the filthy cancer causing stick and flicked it away.

I was startled by a tap on my shoulder and stood up to face Randi.

 “Did you just have a cigarette?” Randi screamed as she started pounding her fists into my chest.

“Honey I….” I muttered biting my tongue it didn’t matter what I said.

“So our little girl is lying in there and all you can think of is hitting on nurses and smoking,” she pounded my chest with each word.

“Ma’am he wasn’t hitting on me,” the nurse started.

“I didn’t ask your opinion you little tramp,” she screamed. Enough was enough. All she had done was yell at me over the last six months.

“What the hell is your problem Randi? You have no right to speak to her like that she didn’t even do anything wrong. For that matter neither have I. Do you not think it is hard enough for me to deal with what is going on and on top of that every time I see you all you do is scream at me. Maybe we should take alternative visiting hours.” She stood there with her mouth open as I headed back inside. I carefully opened the door to Paige's room hoping not to disturb her.

“Daddy,” she whispered when she saw me.

“Hey precious,” I replied with a fake smile. I couldn’t let her see how torn up I was.

“Boris,” she whispered.

“I’m sorry honey I can’t bring the dog for a visit,” I explained.

“Boris,” she whispered again as she pointed to the floor. Her blue stuffed animal was lying there. I picked up the well loved and tattered creature remembering that she had named the dog after the character from her favourite show. Boris the Blue Bunyip. She pulled the creature in close to her and closed her eyes. I’d spent the last few months trying to block it all out but for some reason today everything sank in. It felt like a hand had reached into my chest and was squeezing the life out of my heart.

I stared at my little girl. Her skin was the same colour as the white sheets and she looked so frail. I put my hand on the side of her head careful not to move the tubes that were feeding her oxygen. There were monitors and drips coming out of her all over the place, these same machines filled the room with a disheartening constant beep that seemed to echo on forever. I closed my eyes and imagined that I could twine my fingers through her chocolate ringlets. I opened my eyes and ran my fingers across the skin where her hair had once been. Weeding the garden seemed less important than ever. I yearned for more time with her and the chance to go back and live that afternoon over and throw the ball with Paige and Boris. For the first time since her diagnosis I allowed the tears to spill over. I’d been strong for Randi and for Paige but I guess there just comes a point when being the man isn’t enough of a reason not to cry. I stroked her head while she slept while I let the tears fall quietly. Randi came in behind me.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. I just nodded; knowing if I spoke, I would choke up.  “Did you hear me?” she demanded as she pulled me around to face her. When she saw me crying she lost it. The sound that escaped her mouth will stay with me forever. She collapsed into my arms and I got her out of the room as quickly as I could hoping not to wake Paige. One of the doctors escorted us to a parents room. Randi sobbed, screamed and wailed as I held her close, while I cried in silence. Parents walking past looked in, knowing to well what we were going through.

A doctor came to the door with a pained look on his face. He saw us on the couch and came over. I didn’t need to ask. I helped Randi to her feet and we went back to Paige’s room. She looked worse than she did when I left her only moments ago. I took hold of her hand and Randi went to the other side of her bed and took the other one.

She didn’t open her eyes and the hand I held in my hand was limp and non-responsive. Her breathing grew shallower and the insistent beeping of her heart rate monitor grew slower. It didn’t matter how long we had been preparing for this day, it was still the most painful thing in my life. The long beep that indicated her heart would beat no more ripped through my soul. I looked to Randi who had collapsed on the floor. The doctors surrounded Paige did all they could, even though we knew there was nothing. Paiges cancer ravaged body was beyond help. We’d known all along that her diagnosis was a death sentence. I sat on the floor next to my wife and held her.

“The last thing she saw was us fighting,” Randi wailed. I felt numb this wasn’t the way life was supposed to go. I held her tighter and rocked her gently. My heart ached, my biggest fear had come true. I had outlived my daughter.

FGC #14- Challenge to write a First Person POV story in 1,500 words

Actual word count- 1,497

fgc2012 #13- western challenge- DELILAH

DELILAH

I stared out across the plains that ran for miles in front of me. Not a soul could be seen or sound could be heard. There was a time I wasn’t so alone. Not so long ago and not so far away I remember how it used to be…

On a warm summer afternoon my brother and I were up to our usual games. He’d tapped me so it was my turn to catch him. He was so much faster than I was. One day I would run faster but at present I was still getting used to my awkwardly long legs. Scout was very good at hiding. I’d completed a few paces the other direction before being allowed to give chase. When I spun it was like he had vanished. I tried to figure out where he had gone. I glimpsed a wisp of his black hair poking out from behind I tree. I took off at full speed. Running was one of my favourite things to do. The wind was in my hair and I felt like I was leaving the world behind. It didn’t take long for me to cover the ground between us. Just as I’d reached the tree Ma beckoned from the other side of the fence. It was dinner time. Scout’s stomach always took over his desire to win and he was out from behind the tree before Ma had even finished her call. I tapped him and raced off towards dinner.

Farmer Zeke and his eldest son Gabe had come down with the food for us.

“Pa I still don’t see why you won’t let me head into the saloon tonight?” Gabe whined.

“Because I says so and that’s all yer need to know,” Zeke growled at him. Zeke’s skin was brown and worn by many long days in the sun.

“Pa…” Gabe started.

“Sides yer got this ‘ere colt for breaking tomorrow,” Zeke interrupted. He gave Scout a swift hit on the rump. Scout kicked out but kept his head down eating. Ma watched them sceptically. There was something about the word breaking that she didn’t like. I had heard the word a few times before and every time one of the herd went they came back different, if at all.I looked from Ma to Scout and back again but the only response I got was a sigh from Ma as she started to eat again.

 “Did yer hear Jessamine wants to be the one to break that filly?” Gabe laughed. Both sets of eyes turned to me. I twitched my ear forward at the sound of Jessamine’s name. Humans sure did speak a lot and there wasn’t an awful lot of words that I knew but Jessamine was one of them. She was the sweet little human filly that came to visit me every morning before she left for school. The two of them laughed and talked all the way back up to the homestead. I finished my meal and dozed off.

“Delilah!!” I heard my name being called out. Startled I lifted my head ready to run from danger. Relief took over when I realised that it was Jessamine coming down for her morning talk.

“Gabe was telling me that he is going to break Scout today.I want to stay home to see what they do. I really hope they give me the chance when it is your turn,” she told me. Even if I could understand humans I’m not entirely sure I would understand her excited ramblings.

“Jessamine, school,” Zeke barked from the veranda.

“Yes Pa,” she called out. She wrapped her arms around my neck, her golden hair was the same colour as my coat.Then trotted off down the path to school. Zeke and Gabe came down and threw a rope around Scout he snorted in displeasure. They dragged him away and it was days before I saw him again. Jessamine visited as usual but it wasn’t the same without my brother around. Finally they returned him to the field. When he was lead through the gate and released I ran over and nudged him and ran off. I was almost at the trees before I turned and realised that he wasn’t behind me. He was still standing by the fence with his head low to the ground. I raced back over thinking there was some food available but as I got closer I realised his head was just hanging there and he was in fact not eating.

Scout was often taken out by Gabe on rides. He often came back exhausted and wounded. Each time I tried to get him to play like old times he just sighed and turned his head into the corner. I turned to Ma for comfort and she kept pushing me away. It wasn’t until I awoke one morning to find a new addition to our paddock that I understood my mother’s mood.

“We got ourselves another buckskin colt,” Zeke yelled out when he came down. They let Jessamine name the new colt and she called him Trigger. As the time passed I worried less about Scout and started playing with Trigger a lot more. My new brother had a lot of energy and wore me out, now I understood why Scout had got so annoyed with me.

One morning they took Scout out and I never saw him again. When they returned without him Jessamine came running down to the paddock and threw her arms around my neck. I rested my chin on her back and felt my shoulder become wet. She was leaking and I couldn’t understand why.

“Jessamine please come inside,” her Ma, Esther, called out. I was ready to doze off when I felt a little muzzle tap my hip. The thunder of tiny hooves in the opposite direction told me that Trigger was keen for a game. I stood my ground. He came back and tapped me again. When he came back for a third tap I pinned my ears and barred my teeth at him. He knew then to leave me alone.

Each day as the sun set I watched the path hoping to see Scout. Although Trigger was always happy to play he could never quite fill the void. Jessamine spent more time with me. She would come down to the field after school as well. After a few weeks of this I started looking at the path for her to come home instead of Scout. I saw other yearlings in the herd get taken away for a few days to be “broken” and when they came back they were changed.

Jessamine started bringing things to the paddock with her. She started with a rope, then a blanket and then what she called a bridle. She started getting me used to them bit by bit.  

“Tomorrow we will show Pa how well we are doing,” she told me as she kissed my muzzle and went inside for the night. As the sun rose the next morning I was waiting by the gate for her to return. She didn’t come down that morning nor the morning after.

“Gabe I know that Jessamine had her heart set on breaking this filly but we need her broken,” Zeke grumbled as he slapped me on the shoulder.

“Let’s give her a few more days,” Gabe protested.

“Look son, I know this is hard but she has the measles. We can’t put the farm on hold for her,” Zeke said gently but firmly. He handed his son the rope and Gabe threw it over my neck. The rope was pulled tighter than Jessamine had ever pulled it and it pinched my skin. I snorted as I tried to back away but Gabe pulled it tighter. It was very uncomfortable. He dragged me out the gate and around the other side of the house. There was a small fenced off yard that he put me in. He went away for a minute and came back with the thing that Jessamine had called the bridle. But it was very different when he put it on. The cold hard bit was jammed in my mouth and the straps pulled so tight that it was painful. I pulled away and was met by the sharp hit of a stick. Startled I tried to flee. I’d never been hit before. The bit in my mouth was attached to leather straps that Gabe was holding onto. He pulled at them and the bit put painful pressure on my mouth. He pulled at the bit and hit me and chased me for hours on end.

Eventually as the sun started to set he gave up, hobbled my legs tightly and left me in the yard. I hung my head as I had seen so many other horses do when they had returned from their breaking. I closed my eyes and sighed and then I felt a small hand between my ears.

“Oh Delilah what has he done to you?” she cried. Weeping, she untied the hobbles from my feet. She then took the bridle off the fence and placed it on my head. I pulled back but she whispered to me and I felt calmed.

“Now we are going to try something that you have never done before and I need you to be good,” she continued. She disappeared for a minute and returned with what she told me was a saddle. She put it gently on my back and tied it up underneath. She put it on the fence and led me over to it. She climbed the fence so that she could reach my back. I stayed still for her. I felt she was ailed by an illness and it was making the task more difficult for her than it should have been. She finally got the saddle on and climbed down from the fence. She struggled with the buckles and then stood back and smiled at me.

“Why Delilah you are broken,” she whispered. I didn’t feel broken. Jessamine was so happy. “Now one last step.”

She went round to my and she gently tried to pull herself up. She slipped and fell to the ground. I turned to look at her and noticed she was pale besides the spots that covered her. She looked like a frail human appaloosa.

“Oh Delilah if only I could show Pa so that Gabe doesn’t keep hurting you,” she wept. I knew that I had to help her up so I bent my knees so I was closer to her level. She struggled up onto my back and then she tugged gently on the leather straps that led out the gate and towards the front of the house.

“Papa. Papa,” she called out. It wasn’t long before Zeke and Esther were on the front porch.

“Oh Jessamine what are you doing?” Esther cried as she ran down the stairs she pulled Jessamine off my back and carried her inside. Zeke came and took the saddle off me. Then he let me free in my old field. I raced up to Trigger and gave him and nudge on the rump. He squealed with delight as he took off after me. As I quickened my speed I felt the cool night breeze in my mane and I kicked up my heels in delight. Trigger caught up to me and nudged back he raced across the field back to where our mother was. She looked proud of us and that made it the best night of my life.

It felt like a long time before I saw Jessamine again. I worried that she had gone wherever Scout was. One night I was resting and was awoken by Jessamine. She lowered herself to the ground and curled up between my feet. She was paler and thinner than when I had last seen her. I could feel the heat radiating from her but at the same time she was shaking like a leaf in the fall breeze. I looked to see that Ma was keeping her eyes out for danger and I knew that I was safe enough to lie down. I curled myself gently around her. She snuggled up into me and twined her fingers into my mane. Her breath was raspy. I nuzzled her as she started to get quieter and colder but there was no response. When the sun rose there was nothing to my favourite human but a lifeless shell. I could hear the other humans searching for her but had no way of telling them where she was. I whinnied to them so they could find her.

When Zeke came to the gate and saw her he ran over and picked her up. He made it only a few steps before his knees gave way beneath him and he screamed to the sky. Esther heard his cries and came to see what had caused them. Her screams were higher pitched and longer. It was the first time I wished I could scream and weep like the humans to let them know that I too was going to miss Jessamine.  They took her away and didn’t look back.

That afternoon Zeke came back to the field smelling of a substance I didn’t reckognize and swinging a large plank of wood.

“It’s all your fault,” he screamed as the wood thwacked loudly on my side. I tried to run but he had a rope around my neck before I could get anywhere. He continued bringing the wood down roughly again and again. He repeated this process every day for some time. My sides and legs were gaping and bleeding. My head hung lower than it ever had in my life. Ma whuffled at me gently as she tried to lick me clean. She confirmed the smell was whisky and that Zeke had not touched it in years. She was disappointed that he had turned back to it to cope with the death of his daughter. I turned from her trying to get away. There was nothing left for me. Without Scout and Jessamine I didn’t want to go on.

Later that night I heard the gate creak open. A rope slipped over my neck and I winced ready for another beating but it didn’t come. The rope was tugged gently as Esther led me out the gate.

 “Delilah I am so sorry. I know Jessamine would be so disappointed that I let this happen to you,” she told me. She had the same golden hair and kind blue eyes that her daughter had possessed. She mounted a horse I didn’t know and she led me as far away from the homestead as she could in a few hours. She took the rope off me and when I looked out there were no fences as far as the eyes could see. Before I had the chance to look back Esther was gone. I really was alone.

CHALLENGE- To write a western in 2500 words


ACTUAL WORD COUNT- 2498 words