Days Gone By

Riley sat on her front porch, impending heat surrounding the girl. She looked out at the end of the drive, where the iron gates enclose the perimeter. To be honest, She missed the country. She missed wide open spaces, Getting up at the crack of dawn everyday, Even the worn, faded, hand-me-down clothes she wore.

She sighed, taking a sip of her lemonade, and tipped her cowgirl hat down. Riley skimmed her fingertips briskly along the felt, smirking.

She set her glass down, scuffing her boots along the porch as she walked out to the barn, opening the door and stepping onto the concrete, eyes racing along the stall doors.

"Alright, Which one of you is the chosen one?" She asked, reading each of the names on the stalls, glancing up at each horse as she walked by.

She stopped at the last stall, where a Morgan horse stood at the back of the stall, nosing through the bedding.



She looked at the name, "Meridian.." With a smirk Riley slid the door open and closed it behind her, approaching him quietly. She ran her hand along his back and flank as she walked behind him to the other side, staring into his dark eyes.

"Come on boy." She said gently, walking out of the stall, hand on his shoulder. With a curious whinny he followed her, nudging her in the back.

With that, she pulled herself up onto the horse bareback, clicking her tongue and nudging her boots gently into his sides.
She grabbed hold of a tuft of his mane, and he sped off out of the stable, into the pasture where a couple grazing mares looked up and whinnied.

"Yeah!" Riley hollered, holding her hat up in the air, shaking her hair in the slight breeze as Meridian reared up, clearing his nostrils with a snort.

I've got all the country I need.. Right here... she thought, smiling.

Lucinda on the other hand, born in the country and raised in the city. Yep, I guess she's a city girl. She walked up to the front porch and sat down. "Where is Riley?"

Riley rode up to the porch, "Whoa.." she said quietly, and Meridian slowed, bending his neck down to pull up a mouthfull of clover.

Riley slid off of his back patting his shoulderblade and smiling at Lucinda. "Hey."

She walked up the steps onto the porch, picking her Lemonade back up and sitting down on the porch swing, turning on some music.

"Like Linkin Park?" She asked, smirking as the song began to play. "It's from their new album, Living Things." She said happily.



She kept her eyes on Meridian, even though the gelding wasn't really going anywhere, but just in case...

"I LOVE!" She said.

Riley grinned, picking up her purse and pulling out 4 CDs and a Linkin Park pen and journal. "I'm obsessed."

"Well, not obsessed!" She said.

Riley smiled getting up and wlaking over to Meridian, greeting the gelding with a friendly rub behind the ears.

She turned to her sister as she pulled herself up onto him, grabbing a handful of his mane.

"Wanna learn how to ride a horse?"

"Already know," She said walking over to Meridian.

"Perfect!" Riley said, "I'll get you a horse." She tied Meridian to the post outside the stable and pulled open Saraka's stall, a plump white mare with one blue and one brown eye.

She put a western saddle on her and tightened the girth strap.

"Lucinda, meet Saraka." Riley said, taking her by the bridle and handing her lead to Luci.

She untied Meridian and got onto him, smirking.

"Hi Saraka," She said petting the horse.

She climbed up on Saraka.

"We're going to get along great." She said.

"Yeah!" She said and she started to troth.

"Looks like that old gal likes you." She said, "She's 28."

"Walk on." She said, lightly clicking her heels into Meridian's side.

"Saraka was my old pony from when I was young."

"Really," She said.

"Walk on." She said clicking her heel into Saraka's side and catching up with Riley.

"I've been wondering somthing." She said.

Riley turned her head to her, trustfully letting Meridian guide the way.

"What's that?"

"Mom used to talk to ghosts, to keep me entertained." She said.

"What, if. I try to talk to." She said.

"Xander, and Dad?" She muttered.

Riley's eyes teared up at the thought, "I uh-- I don't think it's a good idea. I don't trust it."

She brushed her tears away, brushing her hand on Meridian thoughtfully.

"I see," She said tearing a little bit.

But then all of a sudden she saw a little figure.

"Um," she said "I think, you don't want to talk to him, but, he wants to talk, with us."

She guided Saraka over to the figure.

"Xander?" She asked.

Riley's eyes widened. "Don't go near that!!"

"Who are you?" The figure asked, morphing into an elderly man with a hat tipped over his face.

"Why I bet you're Agatha's daughter... Best night of my life was the day I met her..." He rasped, disappearing.

Riley gasped and Meridian bucked, galloping off in the other direction, throwing Riley.

She landed face-down in a creek near the woods, where Meridian stoped and nibbled on some grass.

Riley on the other hand, lay unconcious in the running water, blood running down her fqce from a cut on her forehead.

"Riley!" She screamed.

She got of Saraka, and ran over to Riley and rubbed the gash on her forehead.

"WHAT WAS THAT??!!" She said

Riley moaned, sitting up in the trickling stream, "That, was the guy that mom left dad for, a dark man... Someone we should hope to never see again."

She rubbed her forehead, grunting and woozily standing, but fell on the grass.

Meridian bent down and she grabbed onto his halter, and with a raise of his head he puled her up.

"I'm really going to do that, in the courtyard, try to talk to them." She said.

"I feel so bad, I didn't know them." She said climbing onto Saraka.

"Theres no use, knowing them they've already moved on..." She muttered pulling herself up onto Meridian and clicking her tongue. "Up-up." She said, heels at his sides.

He trotted over to Saraka and nuzzled her with a snort, inhaling the mare's scent.

"Wanna see our foal?" Riley asked Lucinda.

Still here guys She heard a voice say, like a little boy.

"Sure," She said.

Riley smiled, and clicked her tongue, resulring in Merisian cantering to the stable.

She set him free in the paddock, walking inside the stable to a large stall where a chestnut mare stood, drinking water from a bucket.

A light colored foal poked out from behind her on wobbly legs, whinnying and trotting up to Riley as she opened the door.

"Hi Cloud." She said quietly, And his mother protectively nosed his flank.

"Easy, Willow, she's family." Riley said, smiling at Luci.

The mare blinked, turning away and picking up a mouthfull of hay.

Do it! She heard that voice say again.

She was about to fall out, you know, the usual.

"Hi Cloud!" She said. But she was walking funny though.

What are you doing! Go now! It said again. Same high pitched little boy voice.

Cloud whinnied and flipped his fuzzy little tail, trotting under his mothers belly and suckling.

"Aww.." Riley swooned.

"Hey remember the tigers?" She asked, "They got picked up by the zoo so they can be properly cared for..."