Little Girls Lost and Found

 by Marenn H. age 11

     

Twenty-three-year-old Andrea Rose Carter Prescott was awakened by the soft chatter of voices. She turned to her side and gently shook Riley.

“Five more minutes,” he mumbled.

She rolled her eyes.       “He can sleep through anything,” she thought to herself. A sneaky thought tickled her mind. A cold bucket of water would get him moving for sure.

It got him moving, alright. He shot out of bed, dripping wet. “Really, Andi! Now what’s so urgent?”

      “Someone’s here.”

      “At this hour?”

      Andi nodded. “I have no idea who it could be but we’d better get dressed and find out.”

They sped through the process and hurried to the porch. To their surprise, it was no one they knew,  but two little girls, one about Jared’s age with brown hair and the other seven or eight with blonde hair.

      “Howdy! Can we help you?” Riley called out.

      The older girl nodded and walked up. “I’m Eralyn and this is my sister, Ariana . Our horse is stuck in some brambles a mile or two that way.” She pointed in the direction of the foothills.

      “Do you mind me asking why you’re out here alone, in the middle of nowhere?” Andi asked.

     The girl's face turned sober. “Our mother deserted us under a tree a week ago. You’re the only people we’ve seen since.”      

       Andi gasped. “Why would your mother be so cruel?” Andi inquired.

      “Our father died and she had the influenza when she abandoned us. I think she left us under that tree so we wouldn’t catch it.”

        “Come here, you two. I think I have the perfect playmates for you and as soon as Matt, Carlos and Joey wake up, I'll go get your horse. Until then, I’ll wake up our kids , Jared, Lilly and Lottie. Jared’s four and Lilly and Lottie are one.”

       Eralyn’s eyes widened and she squealed, “Twiins!”

Riley smiled and nodded.

      While Jared, the girls and the twins played, Andi and Riley had a conference. “Okay, we have two options: find them a home or put them in an orphanage.” Riley stated.

      “I think we should try to find them a home but if we can’t, we’ll have to put them in an orphanage,” Andi put in.

      Riley nodded, “I agree. It’d be best to find them a home ourselves.” 

     Andi smiled, “I  think I know exactly where.”

      Riley looked at the clock “The hands should be up now. I’ll saddle Shasta for you so you can go get their horse. You should take a halter. It might not have one.”

      When Andi saw their horse, she gasped. It was a beautiful, rare breed of horse, a Gypsy Cobb. The one flaw with the horse was it was scratched and bruised. Andi pulled out the briars and led the majestic horse out of the bush. When she pulled up in front of the house, she tied the horses to the hitching post. She rushed inside and yelled, “Riley you’ll never guess what breed that horse is!”

      “You’re right. I can’t,” he replied.

      “Follow me! I’ll show you!”

      Riley followed her to the hitching post and gasped, “A Gypsy Cob!” he exclaimed.

      “A beat up Gypsy Cob,” she corrected. “Could you please get some bandages and ointment to fix her up?”

      “Yes, ma’am.” He gave her a two finger salute and was off. A few minutes later, the horse was fixed up and had two very happy little girls climbing all over her.

      “Eralyn, what’s  the horse’s name?”

      “Her name’s Cynthia.”

      “Would you like to go buy a saddle for Cynthia?”

      “Yeeess!”

        “Okay then. Riley, could you watch Ariana while we head to town?”

        “Of course, my princess.”

       In town, they went to the tack shop and let Eralyn pick out a saddle and bridle for Cynthia.

      On the way back to Memory Creek, they stopped at the Circle C to talk to Mitch. He was sitting in the parlor chatting with Peter. Mitch turned to Andi and said, “Hey Little sister! And who might this young lady be?”

      She told him the whole story and then asked, “Riley and I were wondering if you’d like to adopt the girls? I know you’d be a good father to them. Please, Mitch, they need a home.”

      “Let me think about it. Say I let you know at Sunday dinner.”

 

              Sunday Dinner

      At Sunday dinner, Andi started chatting with Mitch. She hugged him. She led the girls over to him. “Eralyn, Ariana, meet your new  father, my brother, Mitch!” she declared. Then the girls ran up and hugged him.

A Month Later

      “Eralyn, Would you like to go riding to see Uncle Riley, Aunt Andi, Jared, Lilly and Lottie? Aunt Andi’s got a surprise for you.”

      “Yes, please!”

      “Alright, then go ask Diego or Sid to saddle Cynthia.”

      When they arrived, Andi was standing at the hitching post grooming Shasta. “Mitch, could you please unsaddle Cynthia and Eralyn, could you please lead her into that paddock?” They both nodded and got to work.

       A minute later Andi led Shasta into the paddock. “Why’s Shasta in there, Aunt Andi ?” Eralyn asked.

      “Well, we thought maybe you and Ariana would like a foal.”

      “Yeeess! We’d love a foal!”

      “And by the time Ariana is old enough to ride alone, the foal will be grown.” 

Eleven Months Later

      “Papa! Cynthia’s foaling!”

      “Don’t worry, honey. Go get Uncle Chad.”

A minute later, Chad and Mitch raced out to the barn with Eralyn on their heels. Chad sent Eralyn for water. After she returned with the water, Mitch noticed Chad's worried expression. “What’s wrong?” he inquired.

      “The foal’s breech,” he replied in a shaky voice. “I need you to help me turn it.”

      A few minutes later, the most adorable filly entered the world.

“She’s beautiful,” Eralyn  said with a smile coloring her voice. She ran up, hugged Mitch and whispered, “I love you, Papa.”

      “I love you too, honey,” he whispered back.