Crossing Paths

Chapter 3

Lina's POVI put the last box in the moving truck, and watched as it drove away. Now it's just me and my parents, alone in our empty house. I'm sad because Ria leaves on Saturday, which is tomorrow. All of her tack and brushes and equipment is all in the moving truck-on their way to Nevada. I sigh. I was really going to miss New York. "Mom, will you give me a ride to the barn?" I ask Mom. "Sure, when do you want me to pick you up?" she asks. "I'll probably help feed horses dinner, so pick me up around 7:15," I say, then run upstairs and change into barn clothes.Usually, I would put on my usual breeches and polo shirt, but all of that is in the moving truck, so I go through my clothes that I have for the next week, and pull out a light purpley-pinkish shirt that says, "Live like someone left the gate open," and a pair of soft, boot cut jeans. I put the clothes on, and grab my paddock boots-the only horsey item I have with me, and run back downstairs, and slip the brown leather boots on. Mom and I hop into the car, and she drives me off to the barn. Only a couple of minutes later, she pulls into the parking area, and drops me off. "Love you," I say as I get out of our car, and close the door. "Love you too!" Mom calls, then drives away. I walk into the barn, and straight to Ria's stall. "Hi Princess!" I say and rub her face. She snorts when I call her that. She hates it when I call her Princess. "Ready for our last ride in New York before you move to Nevada?" I say sadly, then enter her stall, and halter her. I lead her out of her stall, and instead of bringing her to a pair of cross ties, I lead her out of the farm, and into one of the fields. She grazes as I use my fingers to detangle her mane and tail, and then I braid her mane and tail, using long blades of grass to tie the ends. Then, I look around for flowers, and I come up with a handful of dandelions, little white flowers, and purple clover. I stick them in her mane and tail braids, and then finally, I put the biggest dandelion in her forelock. She is so beautiful. "You really do look like a princess," I whisper, then give Ria a big hug. Then I do something that I've never done before. I tie her lead rope into reins. I take my hair out of its complicated braid. I grab a hunk of mane, and hop, then swing myself up on top of Ria's back. She lifts her head, and starts to prance in place, excited about being ridden in the field. I'm a bit nervous about not wearing a helmet, but I just shake it off, and focus on what I'm about to do next.I cluck to her, and she goes into an energetic walk around the field. Then I get her into a trot, and finally, a rolling canter. We canter around the field, Ria's flowery braid trailing behind her, and my redish hair flowing free behind me. The wind felt great on my face, and then I squeeze her into a gallop. She eagerly dashes on, and it seemed like the field could go on forever! When the fence line came into view, I slowed her into a canter, then a trot, and then a walk. I patted her. "Good girl Ria," I said, and hugged her neck. We walked back to the field's gate, and I hopped off of her. I led her inside the barn, and borrowed a curry comb so I could brush the sweaty spots on her. When there was no evidence of me riding her, I led her back out to the same field, and set her free. She went to the same place she was grazing earlier, and she looked so pretty with the flowers in her mane and tail. The flowers sorta matched her brand. Her brand looks like a swirly flower type thing, and it has lines in it. Her brand is a one of a kind!I took a quick picture, then headed inside to help with a few chores. ***After a few hours of stall cleaning, grain mixing, water bucket filling, and bucket cleaning, it was 6:00, and time to bring in the horses. I went outside to Ria's field, and noticed that Macy, a bay welsh pony, and Ria's boyfriend, Toby, a flea bitten gray thoroughbred/Percheron mix were in there too, so first I brought Ria and Toby in, and as I was on my way to get Macy, her owner was here and bringing her in. There were still a few other horses out in other fields, so I helped bring them in. Once all of the horses were in, I helped feed all of them. That took a while, since there are so many horses here! But at 7:00, all of the horses were had been fed, and I was spending a little bit of quality time with Ria before she leaves tomorrow morning. At 7:15, I could see my mom pulling into the driveway, so I gave Ria a final hug, then went outside and met my mom. ***"And remember to give her her pills in her grain!" I said to the trailer driver who was taking Ria to Nevada. "And don't put her by any horses that bite," I called to the driver as he ignored me and got into his truck. I watched as he drove out of the driveway and onto the main road with my Ria. "Bye girl," I said quietly as they disappeared from sight. I sighed."Don't worry Lina! You'll see her in a week," Mom said with a smile, trying to cheer me up. I just nodded. This is going to be the longest week in New York ever!For the rest of the day, I hung out with some of my barn friends and helped do chores. I got to exercise some of the lesson horses that don't get used very much, which was fun. But it wasn't as fun as riding Ria.When I got home, my parents were making dinner. I sat on our couch, and then they came over to me, both wearing huge grins. "What?" I snapped, then immediately felt bad. "Well, we feel bad about this whole move, and you having to be away from Ria for a short while, so we have a surprise for you that we hope will make things better," Mom said. I was getting suspicious. "What's the surprise?" I asked with a grin on my face. My dad went into my parents room, and when he came out, he was holding a big cardboard box. "Open it," he said, and handed it to me. I took the box, and set it on the floor. I kneeled beside it, and when I opened it, I saw what was inside of it. A tiny black kitten!"Oh my gosh!" I gushed as I picked the tiny black kitten up. "It's ADORABLE!!!!""We thought you'd like him," Mom grinned. "Well, since it's a him, I will name him Charlie," I said immediately. The name suits him well. Me and my parents set up a small litter box and a bed made out of a blanket in our laundry room, and we put some canned kitten food in a dish for him. He gobbled it up quickly, then flopped down on the makeshift bed. The rest of the day was fine. We ordered pizza for dinner, I played with Charlie, and then we all sat down and watched a movie; Charlie on my lap. When I went to bed that night, I allowed Charlie to sleep on my bed. I drifted off to sleep with Charlie stretched out beside me.