Beautifully Broken

10

It's been three hours since we brought Mina to the hospital. Clarissa is worried sick, her eye bags even bigger and her skin paler.

Annika and her parents reported the situation as well and stay with us in the room. As pastors of our church, they lead the prayer again for Mina's recovery. It's no longer a secret.

Our three families all know about the incidents and our hearts break for Mina and Clarissa.

"Let's sing a song." Charity suggests from her place on the couch. "We need to worship this."

We all agree and Clarissa just listens. It's been so long since they've been to church together, though Mina's recently tried going.

Annika and Charity lead the worship.

I raise a hallelujah, in the presence of my enemies.
I raise a hallelujah, louder than the unbelief.
I raise a hallelujah, my weapon is a melody.
I raise a hallelujah, heaven comes to fight for me

I'm gonna sing, in the middle of the storm
Louder and louder, you're gonna hear my praises roar
Up from the ashes, hope will arise
Death is defeated, the King is alive

We sing the whole song over again, declaring His goodness and raising our hallelujahs til the whole room is full of His presence. I just know a miracle will happen.

"And I believe," Annika sings, her eyes closed. "That You're our Healer. I believe, that You are all we need. I believe that You're our portion, I believe You're more than enough for us. Jesus, You're all we need."

The monitor starts beeping and we keep singing.

Nothing is impossible for You, nothing is impossible.
Nothing is impossible for You. You hold my world in Your hands.

We sing the chorus again and the monitor attracts the attention of the nurses. They rush in and check on Mina.

"She's waking up." One says, making us all look at Mina's face as we hum.

Her eyes flutter and her breathing goes back to normal. It takes a while for her to adjust and look around. At first, her eyes show panic, looking at us as if we're all ghosts.

I hold her hand and give it a little squeeze. She looks up at me and smiles. "Cole."

I nod and smile back. "Hey, hon."

Mina

It takes two weeks before the doctor allows me to go home. She arranges for weekly checkups, kind of upset how I didn't report this any sooner. I could be seriously injured both inside and out. We're still going to have to do more tests to be sure I'm okay.

Mom's been doing better, trying to tighten our bond. After being released, we spend the next month at home, with her homeschooling me for a while. She explained the case to our principal who apologized for never reaching out to me.

Of course, this only ignited Jennifer and made her head even bigger. I can't deny the rumors she spreads. They're true after all. All I can do is be confident in myself and know the people that love me. Such a hard challenge.

"Ready for another field trip?" Mom asks, stepping into my room. I decided to move back. Too many bad memories up in the attic.

We're working on buying a new, smaller house that's cozier anyway. But for now, we're working with what we have.

"I don't think seniors go on this many field trips mom." I say with a smile as I shoulder my bag.

She shrugs. "You're a special kid. Besides, there's more to learn about the world than what they teach in those classrooms."

I follow her out to the car. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see." She says with a secretive smile.

We drive along the less familiar highway that takes us to the country.

An old but familiar sign comes to view and I gasp. "The ranch?"

Mom chuckles. "I hope you like it."

I nod and clap my hands excitedly. "Oh, I do! It's been so long."

When I was younger and things were better, we'd visit the ranch often.

I run out and meet with Uncle Miguel.

"Hey, Mina. You're so grown up!" He gives me a big hug. "It's been a while since I last saw you. I think it was your last competition."

I nod. "Feels like ages ago. Can I go see the horses?"

He nods and says hi to mom. "Finally."

She gives him a shy smile. She finally told her big brother about her family problems and he almost went beast mode. It's a good thing Aunt Helen was there to calm him down. He sort of feels better knowing that Ron is in jail. For now.

I run to the stables where the horses are. It's been so long and I love being around them.

"Well, look at all of you newbies." I say, saying hi to each horse. "I wonder..."

I reach the last stalls and smile. "Hey, Pumpkin. I'm glad to see you're still alive."

I let the horse sniff my hand and she huffs. I smile. "Do you still remember me?"

She tries to nibble at my hair. "Maybe you do."

"Well, if isn't our little Mina. Who's not so little anymore."

I turn around to see Aunt Helen smiling as she walks into the stables.

I give her a big hug. "Hey."

"I see you remember Pumpkin. How about the other horses?" She asks, feeding Pumpkin a carrot.

"The others look new. Where are the old horses? Are they-"

She nods sadly. "Either put down or passed on. Those horses were already in their mid years when you were a kid. Their lives were done." She looks around. "We got some good new ones though."

I nod, looking around.

"Maybe you can find a horse and come by more often. I think your mom and your uncle plan on more frequent visits and riding lessons for you." Aunt Helen says with a wink. "If they tell you it's a surprise, act like it is and don't say I told you."

I laugh. "You got it."

She helps me befriend the horses and I feel oddly connected to one.

We're outside, looking at the horses in the different paddocks but one in particular took a liking to me. And I guess you could say it's mutual.

He's a beautiful paint. His main color is a dark brown, kind of like chocolate. His hind is white with brown spots and his mane is a beautiful and rich black.

He walks towards me slowly, eyes curious.

Once he reaches me, I hold out my hand again like I did earlier. "Hey there, Canter. Mina here. Can I get a ride?"

He neighs softly and I look at Aunt Helen. She nods happily and helps me bring him to the stables.

In a few minutes, I'm learning to ride in the first paddock. Aunt Helen sits on the fence and guides me.

Our so called "field trip" ended up to be a mini family reunion. My cousins arrived from school at three and we did some more riding and our whole family went to the lake for a picnic and a ride in their boat.

I close my eyes as the wind plays around my hair and the sun's heat warms my skin. I breathe in the fresh air and open my eyes to the majestic view of green hills and clear water.

"If only every day was as beautiful and amazing as this." I whisper to no one.

I feel my mom move beside me and soon an arm is draped around my shoulders. "Somehow, they will be. Slowly." She says softly.

I keep eyes to the hills praying that she's right. If anything else happens, I don't know how I can handle it. I'm just not strong enough.