Blank Canvas

●Chapter 14●

"Hey, Will, how you doin', man?" Atlas greeted Will who seemed to be in his late 20s. 

When Atlas and I reached our destination, we both walked towards a cabin kind of office. The way they greeted each other, it seemed like they're both close friends. Will was donning a cowboy attire which kind of looked quirky to me. Cool quirky to be more precise.

The entire office was furnished in wood. There were a few shelves behind the reception desk while a woman manned it. 

The rustic office was located a few hours away from our town so I'd never been here before today. It took us almost three exhausting hours of a car ride to finally reach this place. Atlas was generous enough to take us to a fast food restaurant or else I'd have been famished by now. There was a door at the back of the office where Will had come in from earlier.

"I am doing fine, Atlas boy. What about you? You coping well?" Will asked with concern etched in his voice before doing a one-sided bro hug. My ears perked up, listening to his last question and I furrowed my brows in confusion. 'What did he mean by that?'

"Yeah," Atlas answered with a forced smile but Will didn't seem to notice that.

"Oh, and who's this lovely lady over here?" Will's eyes widened and his grin stretched even further as if noticing my presence just now. I gave him a shy smile because I was not quite accustomed to compliments. 

"Hey," I greeted him meekly. I glanced at Atlas who was watching us with amusement. "I am Aria," I introduced myself.

Will wiggled his eyebrows teasingly at Atlas and I could feel my cheeks burning hot. 'Oh, God!'

"Hello, Aria. I am William but you can call me Will," Will said stretching out his hand and I shook it. "Anyway, guys, let's get going."

Atlas took my hand in his and I felt the tingles shooting all over my arm. This was the first time we're holding hands and boy did it feel good. My eyes widened at the contact but I kept my cool. My stomach did a weird somersault, making me pat it softly.

We both followed Will through the back door. I was getting curious to find out what's behind those doors. When he opened the doors, I saw an open field. Then my amazed eyes fell onto the stable. The horses were all in their stalls, munching on their grass. 'That explains Will's quirky dressing style.'

I smiled in excitement and looked at Atlas who was watching the horses with the same effulgence. Horses have always been my favorite animal because of how vigilant they are but I never had the opportunity to ride one.

"By that look on your face, I'll assume that you like horse riding as much as I do," Atlas spoke from beside me and I gave him a wide smile to prove my happiness.

Someone cleared their throat and I turned my head to see Will giving us a conspiratorial smile. "Sorry to break your little bubble, love birds but I think that Knuckles is waiting for you, Atlas. And as for you, Aria, I think you should choose a horse or a mare for yourself."

"Knuckles?" I sniggered and looked at Will to see him giving me a noncommittal shrug. He handed us all the safety equipment. I quickly put on my helmet along with the other safety pads.

Atlas made his way towards the third stall. I saw him patting a brown horse, which I assumed was Knuckles, with admiration. I looked at every horse in the stable carefully that could possibly catch my attention when my eyes fell on a white horse. It was so beautiful just like an angel. I have got this infatuation for white horses because I like to believe that they are unicorns with invisible wings.

"She is beautiful, isn't she?" Will spoke and went ahead to untie the flawless mare. I nodded my head in agreement.

"She indeed is."