An irish Lovestory - the summer of Life

Back on the horseback

The cook serves them the cabbage and sausages and wishes them a good appetite. Just as the food looks and smells, unfortunately it also tastes and so they eat more of the dessert (pudding) than of the main course. No sooner is the meal finished than Carlotta jumps up and runs out of the room, straight into the outbuilding. She pauses briefly, taking in the familiar smell. Then she turns the corner and looks into Arriba's faithful dark eyes. Immediately she snuggles up to the stallion and feels better. What is it they say? The happiness of the earth lies on the back of horses. Not even twenty minutes later she is lying on a bale of hay in the box, sleeping peacefully. Even the chirping of the crickets does not disturb her this time. Normally she lies awake for hours and before she has found sleep it is morning again. But this night she sleeps very well and only wakes up in the morning when Arriba has already been taken out of the box and put out to pasture.
She stretches and yawns heartily. A clearing of the throat sounds from the other side of the stall door. Suddenly she turns on her heel and looks into her father's green eyes. "Ride, in half an hour! Please get changed," is the only thing he says. Groaning, Carlotta walks past him and rolls her eyes. She had imagined her father to be less bad than Heinrich, but she really didn't think he would be the same.
But to avoid trouble, she quickly runs to her room and puts on something else. When she returns to the courtyard barely ten minutes later to clean Arriba, Benedikt is standing behind her, shaking his head and slapping his hand over his head. "By
I actually meant something else! You can't go around in jeans and a T-shirt. But never mind now, no one listens to me here anyway." Carlotta dives behind Arriba so he can't see her grin. Luckily, Pippa appears just then in her dressing gown and looks at her in amazement. "Good morning Carlotta. Up so early? It's the weekend!" Benedict raises an eyebrow. "Surely that won't stop her from going for a ride with me." Carlotta gives her aunt a look of help, which she understands immediately. "How about Carlotta exploring the grounds on her own or with her friends first? I still have a bone to pick with you! In twenty minutes in the fireside room!" She gives Carlotta a friendly nod and goes inside. Benedikt glares at Carlotta and reluctantly follows the landlady. As soon as he has left, Carlotta swings herself onto the black stallion and rides through the large iron gate from the farm.
On the way she passes a few small villages. She rides through one of the villages to look around and buy an ice cream. All the townspeople stop in their tracks and look around for her. When she goes into the small ice cream parlour, many of the visitors stare at her (which is not only because of the big, black horse) and start whispering. Only those with thick cameras and backpacks continue to spoon their ice cream. A few of the starers pull out their mobile phones and take photos of the red-haired and the black stallion.

Ignoring them, Carlotta goes to the ice cream parlour and buys a mango ice cream. As she pays, the woman behind the counter says, "Welcome back. It's nice to have you back." Carlotta still doesn't quite understand. Actually, she was born in a forest in Germany, wasn't she? Smiling amiably, she walks out of the ice cream parlour and gets back on Arriba.
She makes her way back to her family's estate and rides through the other villages on the way back, just to see the reaction of the citizens. As she rides through one village, she sees two little girls with dark hair who look very run down. Immediately Carlotta parries the stallion and jumps down. The two girls stop in surprise when they see Carlotta coming towards them. As she approaches them, however, they back away a little. But Carlotta kneels down and calls them to her. They approach her cautiously. "Are you afraid of me?" Carlotta asks them in a friendly way and when one of them nods fearfully, she says: "Don't be afraid, I'm not like my parents. I'm still almost a child myself." The other girl looks at her with wide eyes. "Are you some kind of princess?" she asks cautiously. Carlotta shakes her head. "Someone in my family has been messing around a bit and that's why no one in my family gets to decide anything. So from that point of view we're not really important, but everyone still has titles of nobility." The two girls stare at her with wide eyes, but no longer fearful, but curious. Carlotta looks at them both with equal interest and asks simply out, "What did my family do to you?" The smaller of the two says, "The taxes are way too high, our parents each have two jobs and still the money is never enough. We had only eaten three times this week and the water supply for our house has also been stopped. And..." The taller one stops her by covering her mouth.
Without elaborating further, Carlotta stands up and says, "Will you show me your house?" They both nod and walk into a side alley where Carlotta follows them. Arriba follows her on foot. When they stop and disappear into a small hut, she follows them without hesitation. Inside, there are some buckets standing around, filled with water dripping from the ceiling. In one corner there are three beds next to a fireplace. Just the thought of having to live like this gives Carlotta a lump in her throat and she has to be careful not to let on. "Mum, can we introduce you to someone?" one of the girls calls outside. Shortly afterwards, a completely filthy woman comes in leaning on a stick and stops immediately when she catches sight of Carlotta. "If you want to take any more money from us, you're in the wrong place. We have nothing left!" The smaller of the two tugs at her skirt and whispers something in her ear. Immediately the mother looks up and apologises to Carlotta. "I must apologise on behalf of my family! It's not their fault that they live here. As compensation, I would like to make you a proposal, but I don't know how you feel about it." She pauses briefly and waits for the woman's reaction. When she nods she says, "I will call my house briefly to clarify something, then I will tell you. Give me five minutes, please."
Carlotta goes out and calls her aunt. Immediately she agrees to her suggestion and says she will take care of it personally. After the phone call is over, Carlotta goes back inside in a good mood and says, "I have made a suggestion to my aunt that you come to our estate for the time being and rest, eat enough and take a shower while some of our servants build them a new house. Likewise, she will personally see to it that you have enough water again and that the taxes are lowered." The girls' mother looks at Carlotta with huge eyes and nods. "From when does this generous offer apply?" she asks Carlotta, to which she says that she could theoretically take them right away.
Immediately she sends her children to pack up a few things and is about to leave to find her husband, but Carlotta puts her hand on her arm and says that they can tell their father right away, as soon as they have packed everything up and are driving to the estate. Only a few minutes later, the two girls come back into the living room with three bags and pack a few more blankets that are lying on the beds. The mother of the two takes a few steps forward to pack some more, but doubles over in pain, barely having moved a little. Her daughters are with her just as quickly as Carlotta and support her.

Carlotta gets a message on her mobile and after reading it briefly, she asks the woman: "Do you think they'll get as far as the marketplace if I help them?" The woman nods and is about to get up, only to double over in pain again. "Okay, I'll help your mother and you run along to the market place. There, a few people will wait for you and take your luggage. Then you look for your father and take him to the marketplace too. See you there." The little girls nod and run off with their bags packed. Carlotta helps their mother up and supports her. Slowly they walk through the house and no sooner are they at the front door than the woman almost falls again. "I'm too heavy, go without me, please." But Carlotta won't have it and whistles once through her teeth. Immediately Arriba trots around the corner and lies down on the floor in front of them both. "Do you trust me?", Carlotta asks the woman. She nods in confusion. "Okay, Arriba will take them to the marketplace, otherwise we won't get there today. I'll help you and be with you the whole time." Again the woman nods and puts one leg over Arriba. As soon as she sits, the stallion stands and slowly trots off.
Only ten minutes later they have arrived at the market place, where a small commotion has already formed. When the stallion appears with the woman on his back and Carlotta at his side, many make way. No sooner are they in the middle of the square than they see the small carriage, on whose bench the two girls and an equally filthy man are already sitting. There is a small wound on his arm and he is red from the sun. Arriba stops next to the carriage and lies down again on his side so that the woman can dismount. Carlotta helps her onto the bench of the carriage and gives the coachman a few instructions. He nods and drives off; Carlotta mounts Arriba and rides alongside the family.