Sylvia sprinted through the woods, wondering if her parents were going to find out what she did. Squirrels chattered their gossip and birds chirped the melodious songs, but Syliva took no notice. She only wanted to get away from everything and find her horse.

She tried not to step on branches in her haste since they would make loud cracking sounds that would only echo in the forest and ruin her hiding. But maybe someone would think it was an animal that did it Sylvia thought. Maybe I won’t get caug- But a punch of pain hit her upper foot, and she realised her face was about to crash into a rock.

Her face made direct contact to the rock,  which just made the situation even worse. “Ouch!” she cried out loud once she got enough strength to get up. “My foot!”

Sylvia had just slipped on a patch of moss and sprained her ankle. Her fall caused her face to smash into the sharp rock, and her face now looked like someone had an accident with a knife…multiple times before the cuts had time to heal.

《BEFORE ALL THIS》

“Sylvia! Make sure to wash the horses today! Horses need to be cleaned after riding them, and we just rode them through a dust trail!” Sylvia’s mom called from the kitchen.

That was Sylvia’s least favorite chore. “But mooooooom!” Sylvia called back. “Why does it have to be me, though? Dad and brother are home today!”

Her mom had already climbed up the stairs to her room by then. Both had their hands on their hips and a determined look to get their way. “We want you to be a responsible, honey, and cleaning the horses is one of the responsibilities.” her mother sternly said.

Sylvia groaned and gave up. There would be no fighting mom when she talked in that voice. She got up from her laptop and grudgingly slithered down the stairs.

She grabbed a large sponge from the sink as she went out the back door. The sponge was still wet and dripped water onto the ground, mudding the dirt that Sylvia was stepping on.

As Sylvia stepped into stable, Rocky the horse whinnied in delight of seeing her again in such a short time. Sylvia grabbed a large bucket and filled it with water, making it so heavy that it weighed Sylvia’s arm down. Then she added the shampoo that she had grabbed earlier and poured some of it in the water.

Sylvia dipped the sponge in the soapy water and started rubbing Rocky’s red coat with it. She dipped the sponge in the water again when Rocky suddenly kicked at the air, nearly missing Sylvia’s ducked head.

Rocky, who wasn’t tied, took a quick leave through the stable door and sped full throttle into the forest close to the house. Sylvia gasped in shock. She had never seen Rocky get spooked…however he got spooked. She came back to her senses and sprinted out the stable door.

《BACK TO PRESENT TIME》

Sylvia was sitting with her back up against a tree. She tried to stop the bleeding from the cuts in her face, but it wasn’t working. She shifted a bit to find a more comfortable position. Sylvia knew nothing about tending for a wound.

Then, she thought of something…she had to pray. Sylvia prayed earnestly. Sylvia was raised in an Adventist house, but she only joined family worship because she was forced to. It was rare for her to listen to her father reading the Bible and she mostly had her eyes open during prayer.

But this time, Sylvia’s eyes were shut tight was she asked for someone to find her and bring her back home. She was really scared, and she didn’t know the forest well.

Suddenly, she heard large branches snapping. What was that? But she had no time to think…because a dark figure was right in front of her.

☆AUTHOR’S NOTE!☆

I had so much fun writing this!

No, I do not own a horse. I’m trying to get as much information about horses as I can, though.

Oh, I also drew the cover! Do you like it? I made it on ibis paint x.