All That's Left

The World Turns Upside-Down

Remember that client I was supposed to meet? Well, I'm glad I never did, because he was a real jerk. If I ever see him in the future, he won't survive that encounter with his sanity intact, because he doesn't deserve to have his sanity. I know, it sounds harsh, but he was the one who flipped my world like he was an official flipping a coin at the start of a football game.

The client, Mr. Tarava, bought a good-looking filly of ours by Noble Mission. Not knowing anything about her pedigree, he ran her on dirt and was extremely mad when she didn't meet his expectations. Needless to say, he was a first-time owner, but he was also loaded. And when someone is as loaded as Mr. Tarava, they can get payback, even when it's not needed, in ugly ways.
~
My parents were fighting over something stupid like they did frequently. Recently, a day didn't go by without a major blowup. I really didn't want to put up with that, so I had moved all my things, mattress, desk, and closet, to barn 1, where the foals were kept. All the horses, stallions, teasers, mares, foals, and active runners alike, were out out to pasture on this day because of some issues with the drains in some of the barns. I was in the barn doing my homework when a shadow moved across the entrance. I looked up and saw a ninja-like figure running toward the house. Seconds later there was a boom followed by a hiss, and before I knew what had happened, my house was on fire.
~
The stablehands couldn't find a hose long enough to actually spray water on the house, and the flames were so bright you couldn't even look toward the house, much less go inside. By the time the fire department got there, it was nearly all ashes. Luckily, all our valuables were kept in the barn, because all of our trophies and photos were kept on the walls of the barm offices.

I paced nervously, wondering where my parents were. They were on their way back from a sale and should have been home, as I had opened the gates 10 minutes ago. I told the cops that, and they began searching, but confined me to Barn 2 until a cop came to get me. A cop came 10 minutes later and announced that they found my parents dead in their car, their throats slit...he also said that my family's property was either to be given to me or liquidated depending on my parents' will.

I felt like I had been struck with a hammer. I had no parents, no house, and possibly, no farm, horses, or life.

~~~~~~~~~6 months later~~~~~~~~~

The court had sentenced Mr. Tarava to life in prison, and I was able to keep my family's barn at Pimlico Racetrack, along with one mare and a foal. WinStar Farm kindly took in the retired broodmare and reserved two stalls for my horses. I had one foal, a soon-to-be two-year-old. He was an unnamed, indistinctive looking colt, and he was the last legacy of my darling Look Sun.