The next day, Dahlia woke up momentarily confused by where she was, before she remembered that they'd moved. When she recalled Sabrina, she immediately brightened, and practically jumped out of bed, got dressed, brushed her teeth and hair, and sprinted downstairs.
Her dad was making pancakes. When Dahlia rushed into the kitchen, he looked startled.
"What's the rush, Dahlia?" He asked.
"Just a new friend I met at Grandma and Grandpa's."
He gave her an amused look. "Human or otherwise?"
"Equine." She grinned.
"You know, I don't know why I never told you this before..." He flipped a pancake.
"What?" Dahlia asked.
"Our last name, Hevonen, is actually the Finnish word for horse."
Dahlia didn't know what to say to that. "Oh... that's cool."
He put three or four pancakes on her plate, and Dahlia proceeded to inhale them. She then hurriedly said goodbye and set off for her grandparents' house.
••••••••••Time skip••••••••••
This time, Grandma opened the door wide. "Hello, Dahlia!"
"Hi, Grandma. Could I see the horses, please?"
"Oh - absolutely! In fact, we were just about to go feed and groom them. Would you like to help?"
"That would be amazing! Thank you."
Dahlia, Grandma, and Grandpa walked around the house and to the barn together.
Dahlia was so excited to see Sabrina, she began to run to her stall, but was called back by Grandpa because she was supposed to be careful around horses, and not make sudden movements.
When she finally arrived at Sabrina's stall, Sabrina greeted her with a soft puff of air.
"Hey, girl," Dahlia said quietly.
"Do you want to groom Sabrina?" Grandma asked.
Dahlia stared at her. "Really?" She'd thought all she would be allowed to do was hand them the brushes or something.
Grandma nodded. "First, could you go get her grooming bucket? It's the pink one, on the bottom shelf in the tack room, around the corner."
Dahlia nodded and went to the tack room, retrieved the bucket, and brought it back to Grandma, who was now in Sabrina's stall. Dahlia slid open the door, stepped inside, and set the bucket on the ground.
Grandma began to teach her the different grooming tools and how to use them (Grandpa was grooming another horse), and Dahlia felt something she'd never really felt before. It was some sort of devotion, and she realized that this was something she enjoyed doing, despite the horse hair and dust; she wanted to do this every day. Dahlia had never really committed herself to any one job or activity - except school projects (only the ones she enjoyed), but those were temporary. This, being with horses, was something she wanted to do for the rest of her life.
Sorry for the short and uneventful chapter; with Christmas around the corner, I've been a bit busy
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Guardian Angel
General FictionLife happens. Dahlia Hevonen knows that. But a sudden change shakes her view of the world as she knows it - for better or for worse, she can't tell yet. All she does know is that she's met someone who will change her life forever. --Hi! This is my f...
