Ages 12-16 Story 2

Never Forgotten

by K. J.

A single ray of sunlight shone through the crack in the ceiling above her. Sadie reached out and touched it, feeling its warmth against her hand. She could still hear her Papa’s snoring across the room and the steady movement of Granny’s rocker.

Sadie quietly crept past her siblings and slipped into her overalls. She sprinted into the yard and grabbed her stallion’s makeshift leading rope and harness.

She threw herself onto the horse, and patted him gently, “Good boy, Jep.” She planted her heels into his sides and lurched forward. The morning breeze tickled her cheeks, a pleasant smile settling on her lips.

Sadie pushed Jep into a gallop and rushed to the nearby creek. “Mornin’ Andi!” She bellowed.

“Good morning!” Andi responded from her place on the ground.

Sadie sprung off her horse, “Let’s fish!” 

They baited the hooks and cast them out into the bubbling stream.

“Ya decided whatcha ya gonna be when you grow up, Andi?”

“I'm gonna be a rancher; what about you?"

“I want to be one of those professional horse breeders and make enough money to have one ‘em nice houses like your folks got…and a few really fine horses for myself.”

Andi looked at her, but no words escaped her lips. Instead, she merely stared back the creek, deep in thought.

Sadie’s head shot up, “Ya hear that?”

Andi looked around, “Hear what?”

“Sounded like a cow’s bellow…” She heard it again. “I think it’s this way! Follow me, Andi!”

The two girls rushed through the nearby trees and shrubbery. The jutting stones scraped her bare feet.

She stopped suddenly. “Andi, look it’s-it’s a—”

“It’s a calf!” Andi finished for her.

They ran to the small creature, breathing heavily. Sadie knelt beside it. It was adorable.

Andi was petting its jet black fur, “I don’t see his mama anywhere.”

Sadie examined the area around her; it was all open plain. If his mother were nearby, they would see her.

“What do you think we should do with him?” Andi inquired.

“I dunno. We can’t just leave him here; he’s too young.”

“But what if his mama comes back looking for him, and he’s not here?”

“Now, what would a calf and his mama be doin’ just wandering around, much less on your kin’s land?” She shook her head, “No, I think this little feller’s lost.”

Andi thought for a moment and then snapped her fingers, “I know! We’ll take him back to the barn and ask Chad what we should do. He’ll know.”

Sadie nodded. Andi’s brother was an expert when it came to all things cattle. Sadie picked up the calf into her arms, “You grab Jep and Taffy, and I’ll carry the calf.”

Andi agreed. They walked back up to the creek and made the long walk back to her house.

It was a blazing day, but Sadie could care less. She was holding the sweetest calf she had ever seen in her arms.

By the time they made it to the Carter’s ranch, it was past lunchtime, and they were famished.

They saw a figure walking towards them, his hands on his hips.

“Hey, Chad! You’ll never believe what we found!”

Sadie placed the calf on the ground, and Chad reached down to touch it. He chuckled as the calf licked his hand, “Where’d you find a beautiful calf like this?”

“We were just at the creek fishing,” Andi began, a fire behind her icy blue eyes. “and then we heard him let out a bellow and we couldn’t see his mother, and we couldn’t just leave him there, you know? He looked so hungry, and so we decided to bring him to you and-and can we keep him, Chad? Can we?”

By the time Andi had summed it up, she was bent over, her sides heaving.

Chad smiled. He was kind enough, Sadie reasoned, but she always got a suspicious feeling that he didn’t want her there.

“Well, why don’t you go get that bottle out of the barn and give him some milk, but Andi, if anyone comes looking for him…you’ll have to give right back. Understand?”

Andi brought her massive braids up and down with vigorous bobs of her head, “Yes, sir!”

I don’t think she does, Sadie thought inwardly.

“But first, it’s time for lunch. Would you care to join us, Sadie?”

“Sure, Mr. Carter. That’d be great.”

He nodded, “I’ll see you two inside.”

“I’ll take this feller into the corral, could ya tie Jep up for me?” Sadie asked.

“Sure thing!”

The pair quickly ate their meal and hurried to find the bottle and some milk for the calf.

Andi held out the bottle to her,  “You wanna feed him, Sadie?”

"Thank you!"

They played with the calf and talked for hours. Sadie sighed happily, “I cannot remember a day I've enjoyed more. I gotta go, Andi. But I’ll be back tomorrow. Don’t forget to let me feed him.”

She threw her leg over Jep’s sides and forced him into a smooth gallop.

“Bye!” Andi called after her.

“Bye!” She screamed over her shoulder.

She hurried home; I wonder if Mama will worry. Sadie sighed, “She probably won’t notice.”

She quietly stepped inside and saw her mama lying in a chair with her eyes closed in utter exhaustion. “Guess what, mama.” She prodded, keeping her voice low as to not wake the others.

“What?”

“Andi and I…well, we found ourselves a little calf…he’s the prettiest one I’ve ever seen and—”

“That’s nice dear, real nice.”

Sadie looked at her mother and noticed not for the first time that her once dazzling features were now dulled from the work it took to care for a houseful of children and an ornery husband.

She loved her mother and knew her time would come when she would need to step up and take some of the weight Mama carried and place it upon her shoulders. Every day that moment grew closer, and she knew it wouldn’t be far into her future.

She sighed and kissed her mother on the forehead, “Good night, Mama.”

She crept into her bed and looked up at the ceiling, thinking of the little calf probably sleeping in a stall, curled up in a bundle of straw.

Sadie closed her eyes and fell asleep, will a smile on her face as she dreamt of the life she hoped she would have.

******

A routine settled into each day for the two girls. Sadie would finish her chores and hustle over to Carter’s barn where Andi would be waiting for her. Only on sweltering and pouring days did they not, or when Sadie’s Mama told her she had to stay home to help around the house.

They had never found the owner, and after a couple of weeks, the two friends had claimed the calf as their own. Andi let Sadie choose his name. It took Sadie a couple of hours, but they both decided “Ellis” fit the calf perfectly.

Sadie loved going over to Andi’s house and visiting little Ellis. She loved the peace it gave her, and how relaxed she could be when she was around them.

It was at those times that Sadie didn’t have to think about growing up. She didn’t have to think about maybe spending the rest of her life in the shack she now called her “home.” She didn’t even think about how much she had in comparison to Andi.

The calf began to grow, and he was shaping up to be one of the best bulls Andi and Chad had ever seen.

“Well, I’d better be heading back, Andi!” Sadie said.

“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow right?”

“Of course!” She wrapped her arms Ellis, “‘Night, Ellis.”

She hopped onto Jep and hurried home, excited for the day to come. But little did she know how things would change.

The next morning started like all of the others. Sadie woke up at the crack of dawn and raced the time she had taken to get to Ellis the day before.

She rolled into the yard and noticed a coach sitting in front of Andi’s house. Sadie bumped into Andi and fell on the dusty floor. Andi scowled down at her and Sadie burst out laughing.

Andi crossed her arms over her delicate green dress, “Mother said I had to wear it,” She sighed. “You wanna go see Ellis?”

Sadie nodded and stood to her feet. The two slowly walked to the corral trying hard to keep Andi’s dress clean. Sadie's knees hit the ground, and she fed a couple of oats out of her hand.

“He really does like you, Sadie.”

“Thank you.” She looked over at the house and saw a man talking with Chad. “Who’s that?”

Andi shrugged, “Some other rancher from around here. Interested in some of our horses, I think.”

“I would be too if I could afford ‘em. They’re right pretty.”

“Thanks, Sadie.”

The man and Chad came closer and watched as some of the Carter’s horses circled the corral. The man leaned against the fence and squinted against the sun at the girls petting and feeding the calf. He whispered something to Chad.

"Girls! Come here!" Chad called.

 Andi grabbed Sadie’s hand, and they walked over to them cautiously.

“Hey, Andi. Sadie. This is Mr. Leonard. Say hello.”

“Hello, Mr. Leonard,” Andi repeated obediently.

Sadie nodded at the man, “Howdy, sir.”

He smiled, “Hello, girls. Why are you two babying that calf?”

Andi shook her head, “Oh, no, Sadie and I found Ellis one day when we were riding around. He was lost you see, and well, Chad said we could take him in."

“Could you bring him over here for me please?”

Andi and Sadie exchanged wary glances, and then Sadie scampered to comply. She ushered the cow towards the two men, and Mr. Leonard bent down to look at him. “When did you say you found him?”

“We didn’t,” Sadie responded.

Andi elbowed her, “A couple of weeks ago, sir.”

“Well, I’ll be!” Mr. Leonard whispered in disbelief. “I lost a calf just around the same time, and he looked just like this one does.”

Sadie’s heart stopped, and her breathing slowed, “A-are you sure, sir?”

“Well, let’s see here…does he have a small patch behind his right ear?”

She nodded.

“Well, my daughter was very close to that calf…do you think that I could bring her here tomorrow and see if she recognizes him. Would that be okay, Chad?”

“Of course, Mr. Leonard.”

He smiled and tipped his Stetson hat towards the girls, “Good day, ladies.”

 Sadie felt like she had been punched in the gut. They couldn't take him away from her. Could they?

“Hey, Sadie…he could be wrong. It could not be theirs.”

“Of course, he is.” She knelt beside Ellis and stroked his favorite spot.

The rest of the day went by in a daze. Andi barely spoke, and neither did Sadie. They just sat there realizing that in a couple of mere hours the animal they had come to love could be stripped away from their lives almost as soon as it had been given to them.

“You’d better go, Sadie. You won’t be able to see on the way back if you don’t.”

“You’re probably right.”

She stood up slowly.

Andi looked at her with concern, “I’m sorry, Sadie. I wish we didn’t have to lose him.”

“We?” Sadie asked bitterly. She clenched her fists in anger. “You have an entire herd to choose from, Andi. Ellis was all I had!”

She took a couple of steps and then turned around, “Do you even know how lucky you are? You have a gorgeous home, brothers who care about you; you have more money than I can count!  Shoes and dresses! You have your own bed! And now I’ve lost the only thing I had of my own! But you don’t care about any of that, do you? Don’t take it for granted, Andi! I know I wouldn’t!”

She stormed off, and as soon as she could no longer see the faint lines of the fences she started to cry. Tears whipped across her face and she hugged Jep’s neck for support.

She took a deep breath and then scampered into the house. Mama was collapsed in her bed, Papa was nowhere to be seen, and Granny was snoring quietly.

She tucked in between her siblings and cried silently. Why did life have to be so unfair? Why couldn’t she have what Andi did? And why when she finally had something did it have to be taken from her? What had she done to deserve all this?

She didn’t sleep that night; she merely stared at the ceiling and dreamt of what her life becomes. She imagined herself in the same place she had always been with an emptiness in her heart.

****

Mr. Leonard showed up the next day with his daughter, and she ran to Ellis, screaming, “It’s him, Father! It’s him! I know it!”

It all went by so fast. In only a couple of minutes, Sadie was wrapping her arms around Ellis for what she knew would be the very last time. She planted a kiss against his nose, and he nuzzled against her. “I love you, boy.” She murmured against his thick coat.

The girl and her father were soon packed up and heading back towards their home. The coach turned away from her and Sadie couldn’t help herself. She sprinted after him, “Ellis! Come back!” She screamed.

She slipped and fell to the ground, tears running down her face, “Come back…please…”

She heard someone running towards her, “Sadie, are you okay?”

Sadie embraced her friend and no longer attempted to hide her tears, “Oh, Andi! I’m so sorry!”

Andi patted her back reassuringly, “It’s okay, Sadie. Really. I forgive you…and you were right by the way.”

Andi helped Sadie to her feet and together, hand in hand, they watched as the coach disappeared from their sight.

“Goodbye, Ellis.” Sadie whispered, "I'll never forget you."