Maple Stream Riding Academy

Chapter Thirty-One: The End

I only remember a few things from that morning. I had no drive to wake up, Maggie had to wake me. I was tired and Raquel wasn't listening. I don't know exactly what happened, but people tell me about it all the time. This is the story about what happened that Saturday morning:

Maggie woke me up at seven so I could be with the team at eight for the elite lesson. Mason had walked me to the barn and kissed me good-bye when I had to leave.

Little did either of us know, that was the last time in five years I would see him. I mounted Raquel and she instantly felt different. Her trot, usually energetic and bouncy, was weak and slow. I was too tired to think much about it, but looking back, I feel so stupid and ignorant.

Anyways, Lynn wanted me to run first to get a feel for things. When Raquel and I started out, my form was all wrong and my eyes blurring. The first few jumps, we somehow made over. But on a bank with a bounce at the top, Raquel underjumped it, tossing me from the saddle. I remember she attemped to come and help me, so she jumped the bounce, but had no idea I was lying on the gound, directly where she would land, crushing my lungs, chest, and ribs. I blacked out when her hooves made contact with my body.

I was put into intensive care, and doctors worked hard to fix my ruined body. My lungs were filled wih blood, my collarbone crushed, nose broken and ribs shattered. How I survived, no one knows. It took me years to fully recover, and when I was eighteen, I started riding again.

Why Raquel and I were acting so strange, no one knows. They think Raquel caught a bug and was sick, unknown to us. My parents pleaded with the state to prevent Raquel from being euthanized, and they won the case. They're the only reason Raquel is still with me today.

I vaugely remember what it was like in the hospital. Screams of horror from Callie, my parents sobbing, and a few close friends sitting by my bed. I also don't know how I got back into cross country. When I was well enough to ride her, at age eighteen, I would take Raquel on short trail rides. Now I'm twenty-three. I have to say, many things have changed. I live on a farm in North Carolina. We have a few horses, Raquel, Flame, Gatsby, Apollo, and Wimpy. Well, you know Raquel, Flame, and Apollo. Gatsby is my new competative cross country horse, 'The Great Gatsby'. He's a Thoroughbred buckskin, my everything. Wimpy is young, a dapple Quarter horse. Mason rescued her when he was nineteen, and she is his dressage horse.

That's right, Mason and I got back in touch when I was nineteen. I told him about my riding, and apparently we lived in adjacent towns. When we were twenty-one, we got married. Now, at age twenty-three, we're both olympic metalists. Mason's the graceful one who competes in dressage, while I like to get down and dirty in cross country.

"Cam," Mason says, poking his head into Gatsby's stall, where I'm writing in my journal. "Hey, you're competing in, like, twenty minutes."

"I know, that's why G's tacked," I reply, standing up and brushing my breeches off. Mason opens the stall door and I step out, leading Gatsby with me. As soon as I step out of the stables, I hear cheers and screams of my name.

"Cami! Cami! Cami!" they yell. I check the time of the big, tall, green clock in the center of the farm, the familar words of ROLEX jumping out at me. Rolex. I love it here in Kentucky, I love competing here and meeting new people. I accidently bump into a girl leading a tall, black thoroughbred.

"I'm so sorry," I stutter, concerning Gatsby. "Wait, Reagan?"

"Cami?" the girl asks. "Oh my gosh, Cami! I thought I'd never see you again!"

I pull Reagan into a hug, dropping G's reins. We both start crying, and we sit there in an embrace, tears streaming down our faces, neither of us wanting to let go.

(A/N Hey guys! That was the end of Maple Stream Riding Academy, I had to end it quickly because of school problems. So, I hope you guys enjoyed it! I kind of wanted to end it in a different way, as everyone ends their stories the same way. Thanks doods, have a great day!)