This story took 1st in the AjPHA short story contest. It is written by me. If anyone copies it or anything without my permission I will take it off and put a picture of an ugly dog (I will... :-} ) on here. Please treat it and me with respect.
Home
I took a deep breath of the dry Utah desert air, and closed my eyes to let my brain register the scent. Goose bumps trickled down my arms. I rode up the trail on my little sorrel and white paint mare, Sammy. All weekend I had used her to goat tie on at the High School Rodeo. It felt great to finally get out of the arena and onto a trail.
I could feel the sun beat down upon my back, head, and legs, but I didn’t care. The heat was relaxing.
“Better hot than stormy.” I told Sam.
I reached down and patted her neck.
Her little red ears flickered back and forth, looking at different things. Off in the distance, a deer stood looking at us with two fawns at her side. They sneaked off, but as we got closer, they bounded off up the mountain, and disappeared.
Over to the left a rabbit sat up; his ears propped up, detecting any possible danger. He sat and cleaned himself for a while, but then got scared of Sammy and scampered off into a hole under a patch of sage brush.
Above us a Red-Tailed Hawk screamed, swooped, and soared in the wind looking for an appetizing meal. He was beautiful. On the mountain opposite of me he landed on a large rock to rest.
I heard a rustle in the brush to the right of me that caught my attention. I looked over to see a large yellow coyote. He probably thought he was safe hiding under the sage brush, but then decided it wasn’t worth the risk and pounced off up the hill. He ran about half-way up the mountain and sat down to observe me.
All these animals were my friends. That rock, that bush, this trail – this is my home. This is where I belong. I smiled and chuckled slightly to myself at the thought.
“Want to run?” I asked Sammy.
She flicked her ears back slightly and pranced a little, as she felt the change in my energy.
“Okay, but don’t get yourself too tired. We’ve got a long way to go.” I warned.
I touched her with my spurs and kissed. She took off at a fast lope. She wanted to go faster, but I held her back. Her head bobbed and shook as she chomped impatiently at the bit.
She reminded me of a lion – strong, wild, free, but loyal - never tamed, just befriended. We were both equal. I’m no better than her, she’s no better than me. Without her I was nothing. What would I be without her? What would she be without a rider? Nothing.
We approached the top of the mountain right as the sun was setting. The clouds were bright red with a tint of orange to them. The hill had lots of grass surrounding a large tree. I got off by the tree and pulled my hobbles off the saddle. I hobbled Sammy and let her graze. I stood by the tree on top of the hill, and looked across the wild country.
I knew I was home.
