Shadow

Chapter One

It would rock and buck, rock and buck, rock and buck, until the man sitting upon it would fly straight up into the air; just to land on his rear end. He would sit there, only for a minute, to watch it circle him, intimidating the man to try again. Dust flew whenever it's hooves scuffed the dirt beneath it. Speckles of sweat covered the man's neck as the boiling sun stood above him. Then he would stand up, brush off his pants, and jump back on it again. I'd watch this for about, thirty minutes until the man would eventually give up and a different one would take his place.

But it was stubborn. It was probably the most stubborn thing I've ever seen, but it was stunning as well. It, was a beautiful chestnut quarter horse.

"By golly gosh, that's one heck of a horse..." Papa would mumble behind me. I wouldn't reply. "But," he continued, "nothing like a stubborn horse to start the day." He combed my hair in between his fingers and left it a muddier blonde than it was before. He then strode away, towards the horse.

The other man flew upwards like the other one and made a large grunt as he hit the ground. He rubbed his back for a second and bent forwards in the shape of a "C". He would curse under his breath and kick the dirt in front of him, just to get himself into a coughing fit. My papa would say, "step aside, my friend," as he would mount the horse.

I'd cringe as I would hold tightly to the wooden railings. I held on so hard that splinters would get stuck in my palms and blood would drip onto my lap. Just the smell of blood made me dizzy, and just the thought of my papa jumping on that horse was nerve racking. But I knew that he'd be okay, even though I was scared.

That's when he fell off.

He hit the ground with a large moan and held tightly to his forearm as the horse sped to the edge of the fence. My papa had fell.

I hadn't went speeding to his side as I would have. Instead I put my head down. I felt too strangely to react. I honestly didn't know how to react. What was I supposed to feel at that moment? Sadness? Fear? No, I knew how I felt, and I shouldn't have denied it.

I felt mad.

There wasn't a particular reason. Maybe it was the horse. Maybe it was my papa. It didn't matter now. I crouched down, and crawled underneath the wooden poled fence. I passed Papa, who was cradling his arm to his stomach, and walked towards the horse.

Once it's black eyes met mine I hesitated to move forward. But I did. And I regret it to this day.

"Cassidy! Get away from that horse!" The horse backed up on its hind legs and brought both front hooves down.

On my head.