Free at Last

 Lizzy T. (ages 14-17)

 

            Rain beat upon the earth as a small silhouette dashed across the yard, trying to stay within the shadows. She could not get caught; not again. The sliver of moon that hung in the night sky above her barely offered any light, but she didn’t need it anyway. She could see the shadow of the large barn in front of her, looming closer with every step.

            Letting her imagination run wild, she could see the barn as a giant monster, waiting to snatch her up and gobble her to pieces, leaving no remains behind. Nobody would miss me anyway… she thought.

            Sneaking up to the double doors that lead inside the beast, she carefully opened them up. Walking softly, she padded into the barn, rows of horses on each side of her. Just one… I only need one… She wasn’t a thief. She wouldn’t have to steal a horse if people would believe her in the first place. “Besides,” she mumbled quietly. “These people are rich. They won’t miss just one horse.”

            Working her way down the aisle, she looked at the horses, trying to find the right one. They snorted and paced their stalls, unease circulating the air around them. Whether it was because of the storm raging outside the barn, or her unfamiliar presence among them, she did not know. In the stall to her right, one of the mares beat against her stall door, letting out a whinny.

            “Shhh…” she whispered. “You mustn't wake the owners.” Looking down the Palomino's flank, she could see that the mare seemed to be very fit. Slipping inside the stall, she ran her hands over the large “C” branded onto its hindquarters. She then grabbed the bridle hanging off a hook and slipped it over the mare’s face. “Yes, you will do excellently,” she paused, glancing at the name engraved on the bridle, “Taffy.” 

 ***

 

            Alora yawned as she plodded along, completely bored out of her mind. The sun had started to peak over the Sierra Mountains, which was beautiful, she supposed, if you were into that sort of thing. But she didn’t care. She was tired from riding all night and sick of the wet squishy clothes she was wearing because of all the rain. Fortunately, it had let up sometime during the night, but without the sun to dry her off, she remained soaked.

            The palomino she “borrowed” from the night before stumbled over a stone in the road, and Alora struggled to remain on the mare. “Woah, girl…” she mumbled. “Are you tired too?” The mare, Taffy, she corrected herself, hung her head low as they slowly dragged along. “Don’t worry,” she murmured. “We are almost to my safe house.” And by safe house, she meant the old abandoned hunting cabin she had heard about while in town. We are almost there, right…?

            As the sun began to climb higher in the sky, Alora felt her head begin to pound. “I need sleep…” she grumbled. “My head is killing me…” And now you’re talking to a stupid horse, she thought. 

            The horse seemed to pick up on her distress though because she sped up just a little. “Once we get into the trees, girl, everything will be okay.” But the trees seemed so far away… And she felt like Indians had made camp in her brain and had started banging on their drums. Boom… boom… boom… her head pounded. 

            It felt like ages of plodding before they finally reached the large oak trees. “Soon,” she mumbled, “we can rest. The cabin is just within the tree line… You’ll find it for me, right girl?”

Taffy nickered as she began to weave through trees. Alora let out a rattling cough as she patted the horse's side. Stupid rain, she thought as her vision started to blur. 

            After what felt like an unexplained amount of time, she felt the mare stop. Groggily lifting her head, she saw in front of her the small, one-room shack she had been seeking. “Good girl,” she murmured, words slurring together. Lifting her leg over the palomino’s side, she let herself drop, falling to the earth with a thud. 

            Taffy snorted and nosed her side while she rolled over and crawled to her knees. Using the mare to pull herself up, she stumbled to her feet with a grunt. “C’mon, girl.” Leading her over to the tying post next to the shack, she sloppily tied the reins and then went inside. She immediately spotted a bed in the corner and groaned with delight, then collapsed in a heap on it. Almost immediately, everything went dark. 

 

***

 

            Nothing made sense to her. Everything was swirling around and as she looked, things were showing up where they shouldn’t be, sounds where they shouldn’t be heard, and people around her that shouldn’t exist anymore. 

            She heard a bright and cheerful laugh behind her, and she turned to see, “Mother?” But that wasn’t right… Her mother was dead.

            To her right, someone tugged at her hair and said, “Hey, little sis! Getting into trouble, are you?” Uncertainly, she swung her head around and saw her brother. But he was supposed to be dead too. What was he doing here? 

            “W-whats going on?” They either didn’t hear her, or they chose to ignore her because they just laughed and slowly faded away. “No! Wait, come back!” Her chest tightened as tears started to drip down her face. “Don’t leave me again!”

            “Didn’t I tell you that I never wanted to see you cry again?” Dread and horror replaced the sorrow she was feeling as her father stepped out of the shadows around her. “You weak little pebble!” Reaching out he struck her across the face, sending her sprawling.

            “P-please!” she stammered. “I’m sorry!!” His laughter filled the area around her, echoing and never ceasing. Even as he slowly disappeared, his laughter remained. Haunting. Terrifying. “Please…” she sobbed. 

            Everything turned to darkness around her, and she felt like she was drowning in the inky blackness. There was no concept of space around her. Up was down, and down was up. It felt as if she was flying and falling at the same time, and the feeling was terrible. “Make it stop,” she cried. “Make it stop!” 

            This went on for what felt like an eternity until she started to hear more sounds. People, horses, shouting. None of it made sense to her, but they slowly began to get louder. A shout. “Andi!” A name, perhaps? “Over here! I see Taffy!”

            “Where!?” Scuffling and a thump could be heard, then more talking, by a young girl this time. “Taffy!! Oh, my poor darling! You are covered in mud, and soaked to the bone! My poor Taffy!” The girl growled as she said, “I’m going to murder whoever did this to you!” 

            More voices broke into conversation, but Alora couldn’t make heads or tails of it. Soon, she heard the sound of a door opening, then another voice, closer this time. “Chad… You might want to come see this…”

            “What is it?” a voice barked from outside.

            “There’s a young girl in here, and she’s burning up with fever!”

            More footsteps and voices, all louder. She couldn’t understand anything that they were saying, but her head pounded in protest, informing her that it was too loud. She groaned and managed to mumble, “Just kill me now…”

            The talking briefly stopped. “What did she say?”

            “Just kill the cow?” one of the men said.

            “What cow?” the girl protested, causing another round of pain. “Why would we want to kill a cow?”

            The darkness weighed heavily on her, and she didn’t hear the rest of what they were saying because she was slowly dragged into the inkiness, losing consciousness completely. 

 

***

 

            The sound of creaking brought Alora back to consciousness. Eyes still shut, she turned over in the large bed she was lying in and wrapped the comforter tighter around her shoulders. She froze. Wait… What bed? Bolting upright, her eyes flew open to see a dark, fairly messy room around her. Pain shot through her head as the pounding continued. She groaned and clutched her head as a gentle hand slowly pushed her back into the bed.

            “Easy there,” a voice said. Turning, Alora saw a middle-aged woman with long, brown hair sitting in a rocking chair next to her. “You have been out for three days with one of the highest fevers I have ever seen.”

            “Wh-where am I?” she asked, voice hoarse from not being used in a while.

            The woman chucked, “I’m sorry! I never gave you my name.” Smiling, she said, “my name is Elizabeth Carter, and you are at the Circle C ranch right now.”

             Oh no! Somehow she ended up back at the place she had started. So this lady must have been who I stole from… Dread filled her as she began to realize what this meant. They know I stole from them… 

            “My boys and daughter found you in the old hunting cabin in the forest when they went looking for a mare that went missing a few days ago.” Alora felt her insides turning around as she looked down at her clasped hands. “The horse you stole, I presume?” 

            She nodded. Not knowing what to say, she chose to stay silent.

            “That’s what I thought,” Mrs. Carter said.

Alora wanted to know what would happen to her, but she couldn’t bring herself to say anything.

“You are probably wondering what is going to happen next, aren’t you?”

            She gasped and looked up with shock. Can she read my mind!? “Y-yes ma’am…” 

            Mrs. Carter laughed. “You look exactly like my daughter Andrea when I happen to guess what she is thinking! You two are about the same age, too.” Mrs. Carter quieted down and looked at her. “Did you know that it was her horse you stole?” 

             Alora mumbled, “No ma’am… I didn’t…” 

            “I figured you wouldn’t. Well, because it was her horse, I have decided to leave the punishment up to her. She wanted to immediately contact the sheriff to have you arrested, but I managed to convince her to wait until you were better so we could get an explanation.” She looked at her with questioning eyes. “Well?”

            She sighed. “It’s kind of a long story,” she murmured.

            “I have time.”

            “Okay…” Taking a deep breath, Alora began. “It started back when I was young. My father was never really around much, and the times he was,” she shuddered. “Bad times. He was abusive to us all, and there was nothing we could do about it. When I was 10, my father happened to be visiting when our house caught fire and my mother and brother didn’t make it out. I was in the yard at the time, so I was safe, but I had to watch it happen.”

She paused, trying to keep back tears. “For the past four years, I have lived with my father. He was always moving around, spending time at the bars and coming home drunk, very late at night. Then just recently, he went too far.”

She paused, trying to get the words out. “He robbed a stage coach. I didn’t want to get caught in any of it, so I decided to leave. I couldn’t leave on foot though, because he could find me. So I needed a horse.” 

            “So you came here,” Mrs. Carter finished.

            “I wasn’t going to keep Taffy, I promise!” she begged. “I was going to return her once my father left town, and it was safe to come out of hiding!”

            “I believe you.”

            “So do I!” The door burst open, and a girl about the same age as Alora burst in. 

            “Andrea!” Mrs. Carter scolded. “What have I told you about eavesdropping!”

            “Sorry Mother,” the girl apologized. “But I believe you too. You sound like you have had a rough life, and you weren’t trying to be a thief when you took Taffy.”

            “But-” she didn’t know what to think. “Aren’t you mad?”

              “Well,” Andi admitted, “I was angry at first, but then I remembered a verse from church about forgiving others when they wrong you. I think it goes like, ‘For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.’ Because of that verse, God helped me to forgive you and let go of my vengeance!”

            Alora couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. She curled into a ball and sobbed, but she wasn’t alone for long. Mrs. Carter sat down next to her and soothingly began to rub her back. “B-but I don’t deserve it!” she managed to get out.

            “None of us do,” Mrs. Carter murmured, “and yet Jesus forgives us every day for the sins we commit. Shouldn't we forgive also?” 

            She nodded as the last of her tears fell. It had been so long since she had felt loved like that.

            A knock at the door caused everybody to turn and look. A young man stood there, looking grim. 

            “What is it, Chad?” Andi asked.

            “I hate to break this up, but there is someone here to see our young guest.”

            Terror coursed through Alora. There was only one person in the world who would want to see her, and he brought no good.

 

***

 

            He looked terrible. Not in an I-have-been-so-worried-about-you kind of way, but in a you-are-going-to-regret-running-away look. He was drunk, and it showed. His breath tainted the air with the stench of alcohol, and his eyes were bloodshot with anger. She had never seen her father this upset before, and it terrified her. 

            She shrunk in the large parlor chair she was sitting in, trying to hide as much as possible. Andi sat on her left, Mrs. Carter on her right, and Chad stood directly behind her. 

            “Well?” her father slurred. “What have you got to say for yourself, you little wretch?” He changed his tone of voice and said, “I have been so worried!” It was a lie, and everybody knew it. 

            “Worried!?” Andi spat, jumping to her feet. “It was you who-”

            “Andrea!” Mrs. Carter cut in. “This is between Alora and her father. Sit. Down.” Andi growled but begrudgingly obeyed her mother. 

             Alora looked down at her feet and said quietly, “How did you know I was here…?”

            “It wasn’t hard! Everybody in town was talking about how a Carter horse went missing, the same day as you, I might add!” he sneers, looking smug as he continues, “Then I hear they find the horse, and I came here suspecting you would be here.” He looked around the room as if expecting applause for his “amazing deduction.” He was met with silence and cold stares, and his smug look slowly melted to a frown.

            “What do you want from me…?” She asked.

            “I want my daughter back, of course!” Squinting his eyes, he gave a smile that was everything but genuine. Turning to Mrs. Carter he said, “I apologize for Alora’s behavior. Believe me, she will be punished.” 

            “I do not think that is necessary,” Mrs. Carter said in a firm, authoritative voice. “Your daughter has already been forgiven, so there is nothing to be punished for.” 

            He squinted his eyes, mouth curling in a snarl. “I will punish her if I want to!” Reaching out, he grabbed Alora thy the hair and pulled her to the ground by her hair, and her headache that had slowly dulled to a throb now came back full throttle. She screamed and braced herself, expecting to be kicked, but it wasn’t her that got the beating. In the blink of an eye, Chad jumped in front of her and sent her father toppling over with a punch to the jaw.

            “There will be none of that on my ranch,” he snarled, “not while I am still alive.” Reaching down, he gently pulled Alora to her feet and pushed her behind him. “If I were you, I would leave this ranch immediately, and never come back. Child abuse is a serious offense on this side of the state, and my brother is one heck of a lawyer. Let me tell you this: You will lose.” He stood over her father and said, “So get your horse and get out of town, and don’t even think about coming back.” 

            There was a brief moment where she thought her father was going to jump up and fight Chad, but after a moment, he glanced at Alora and spat, “You aren’t worth it.” Then he got up and left.

            After he left the room, her knees gave out and she collapsed to the floor in disbelief. “Is… Is he really gone?” 

            Andi squealed with joy and threw her arms around Alora. “Yes! He is!” 

            She gave a shaky laugh, disbelief slowly turning to happiness. “Wow…” she sighed. “But, what am I going to do now that he is gone?”

            Mrs. Carter looked down at her and said, “You can stay with us for as long as you need to-”

            “Yay!” Andi interrupted.

            “But!” Mrs. Carter interjected, “You will have to find a life in town eventually.”

            “Of course!” she said. There was no way she could live off of their hospitality forever. “Thank you so much!” 

            Mrs. Carter smiled. “No need to thank us, dear! Now, I bet you are hungry after being in bed for three days.” Alora’s stomach growled in reply, and everybody burst out laughing. “Let’s get you some food!” 

            As she climbed to her feet, she couldn’t help but be in awe about how willing they were to forgive her and welcome her into their home. Looking around at the faces of her new friends, she couldn’t help but think, maybe this Jesus person is somebody great after all...