Skye finished her pancakes and ran outside. She needed some air. Her mind was screaming for a taste of hope.

She needed her dad. She wanted him back.

Skye shook the thought of him out of her mind. She ran to the barn. As she unlocked the gate blocking the horses from getting out of the pasture, she called River, her horse, over to her. Skye took a moment to admire him. He was a sleek, muscular horse with a black coat that shone. River’s eyes were bluer than sapphires. And his mane blew in the wind, and looked as almost as it was flowing, just like a river. “Hey, River,” Skye said. “Wanna go for a ride?” Skye tacked River up and jumped on her horse. “Come on, boy. Let’s go.” Skye could feel all the thoughts of her dad slipping away as they pranced through a meadow of daisies and sunflowers. She steered him left, leading to the birch forest. “Giddy-up! Giddy-up!” Skye said, clicking her tongue. Just a little further, Skye thought. Just a little further. River neighed, galloping through the forest at lightning speed. Suddenly she saw the river. “Whoa, boy! Slow down. Whoa.” River skidded to a stop. They’d reached the river.

                                                                                ~  *** ~

Skye and River trotted back to the barn. Her mom had called her, and it turns out they were moving. Again. They had to pack up their things and put the horses in the trailer. To Skye, moving was a lot of work. But her dad always made moving fun. He could pack up the horses in record speed and… No. Skye wouldn’t think about him. She’d focus on the move. ” Mom, why are we moving this time?” Skye whined. She loved living away from everything. How could she ride River in a city?

“Honey, I’ve just gotten a letter from Uncle Fred, and he says bills are rising this year. Skye, horse show winnings are barely enough to pay the bills now, and I don’t think they’ll be enough when we get to the city. Plus other expenses, like daycare, and diapers, baby bottles…”

“Mom? You know Davey’s five now, right? He’s going to be in kindergarten, Davey’s potty-trained, and Davey hasn’t used a baby bottle since he was 18 months old!”

“Oh… no, that’s not what I mean, Skye, not for Davey… Anyway, you get the idea, right? Too much money, and I think it’s time I got a job.” Skye needed to calm herself down. The words “her mom” and “job” did not go well together. Also, why else would they need diapers and stuff if it wasn’t for Davey? Maybe her mom was going to sell them? No, that didn’t make sense… “Mom, what’s your job going to be?” Skye asked. Her mom looked really tired, with very promising bags under her eyes. Dark circles were there, too. Maybe her mom was staying up all night working on job résumés?

“I was thinking of starting out with fast food while I work on my job résumé.” So that option was crossed out. But why was her mom tired, and why did her mom look -Skye searched for a nice word- plumper than usual? Plumper? Is that a word? Skye thought. “Mom, are you okay? You look kind of pale, and your eyes are red. Is something wrong? Are you sick?”

“Hmm? Oh, no. Not at all. Skye, do we have any anchovies?”

“Mom. You HATE anchovies! Of course not!”

“Okay. Do we have any sardines?”
“Is this a joke?”

“It is? Ha ha ha!” her mom said. Skye wasn’t sure what it was, but there was something off about her mom. Skye’s mom was like a well oiled machine, and the thing that wasn’t right was like a fork thrown into the machine. It stopped the machine, and when the machine started up again, it grinded the fork and didn’t work right. That was it! That’s what happened to her mom! But what caused the fork to come? Who threw the fork? Skye didn’t know. There was one more question in her brain.

“Where are we moving?”

“New Jersey.”

“When?”

“Tomorrow.”

“WHAT?”

Author’s Note

Okay guys. If you think this isn’t good than I will discontinue it. BUT FIRST:

What do you think is the fork?

What do you want to see in the next chapter?

And: do you like doggies?

I feel like my teacher. Anyway, I will begin working on the new chapter ASAP! This time I will try to finish a wee bit faster.

 Have a nice day!