Promise This (English Version)

3. Sarah

Patrick met his wife Brianna in their sophomore year in college, she was a petite art history student and he was a big football player with a major in engineering, yet they made a perfect match. As soon as they got married, they started trying to have a baby but it just didn't happen and doctors didn't seem to have answers for them. After years of trying every treatment out there, after seeing dozens of doctors and after tons of heartbreak, they decided to stop everything and settled with being just the two of them.

But on Thanksgiving day of 1989 they got amazing news; Bri was finally pregnant. They were definitely scared, Bri was almost forty years old, but the joy they felt overshadowed their fears. Needless to say, it was the best Thanksgiving they ever had.

Eight months later they welcomed to the world a beautiful baby girl and they named her after Patrick's grandmother; Sarah. At last, the Anderson family was complete.

Sarah was only five when she and her parents moved to the UAE. Pat got a job offer that he could not refuse. So, the family of three packed their bags and left their Austin, Texas home to embark on the greatest adventure of their lives.

Pat and Bri were worried about their little girl adjusting to the changes, she seemed fine but at times she would cry and say she wanted to go back home and see grandma and grandpa. Pat's parents owned a ranch back in Texas where Sarah enjoyed horseback riding. Despite her young age, she seemed to have a natural talent for it. So, they decided to look for some riding lessons in Dubai to keep her busy and give her some of the things she missed the most.

Sarah remembered the first time they arrived at the stables like it was yesterday. She was scared and holding tight onto her dad's big hand. The horses at her grandparents' ranch never made her nervous, but there she felt different, everything was new to her. However, as soon as she got on the horse all her fears started to fade away. For the first time since they moved, she really felt like everything was going to be fine.

The Andersons loved Dubai. They saw it transform into a fabulous city and had a great life there with lots of good friends from all over the world.

Sarah was daddy's little girl and even though she loved her mother just as much as her father, Pat and Sarah had a special bond. He was the first to know about what was going on in her life, she shared everything with her dad.

Pat had been retired for two months, he had made it to the top management in the oil company he worked for and had always been very conscious about saving money for when the retirement time came. Because of that, he was able to make one of his wife's dreams come true; a year traveling around the world. At the time, they were in Brazil, sipping on caipirinhas as the last picture they sent to their daughter testified.

The sun was setting while Sarah was sitting comfortably on the rug in the living room of her apartment with her back against one of the couches. Her laptop was on the coffee table and her legs crossed under it.

The open floor apartment was small and if it was up to her she would only have rugs all over the place. She loved being barefoot and ate and worked sitting on the floor. But her mom insisted that she had to get some furniture; "At least for when we visit, doll!"

So, she got a couple of cream couches with lots of colorful cushions and a small black dinner table and chairs that she never used, unless she had friends over.

The kitchen she did use, she loved to cook and was always looking for new recipes to try. She also had a great sound system installed as she liked all sorts of music, but Adele was definitely her favorite singer. Rolling in the deep was playing at the time.

She wasn't a great decorator, but she was a fan of local art and had beautiful paintings that her mom helped her pick of course, representing traditional Emirati scenarios alongside shelves with pottery and pictures of family and friends.

Her big hazel eyes were examining the screen of the laptop, making sure everything was fine with her design before sending it to her boss at the agency. She was a graphic designer and had taken a part time job as a web designer, which allowed her to work from home so she could have time for her true passion; horses.

She had fallen in love with endurance riding since she was a teenager and she also volunteered at a charity that offered equestrian therapy for disabled, underprivileged children.

She had taken after her mother's small frame and was only 5'3" tall but it didn't bother her because that meant that she didn't have to worry a whole lot about her diet or gaining weight for endurance. Actually, she always rode with weights to meet the minimum 75 kilograms of the rider with the saddle.

"And send!" She exclaimed, clicking on her laptop and turning to her black Labrador, Rooster, who was laying on the rug next to her. Yes, she had fun naming her pets after other animals. Once she had a fish named Pork Chops.

It was a relief to finish her design assignment before the first day of training at F3 stables. She got up and stretched her arms over her head, her hair up in a messy bun, jean shorts and an old John Lennon t-shirt completed her outfit. She walked into the bathroom and let the hot water run in the shower.

Standing up in front of the mirror, she undid her bun, letting her light brown hair — with blonde highlights and soft curls — fall down on her back to almost her waist. She had a small mouth with full lips and perfect white teeth. She was beautiful, even without any makeup on and before taking a shower.

Sarah started taking off all the colorful bracelets she had on her right wrist. When she was done, she looked at herself in the mirror and couldn't help but smile with excitement about the new chapter ahead. Little did she know how much her life was going to change.