Miracle Horse

Chapter 3

Katherine, Hanna, Coty and I are at the animal hospital waiting impatiently for news. None of us know what even happened. We were all watching the race until the 4th furlong, all the horses began to slow down and then as if out of notice, the horses just fell. Yes, I know how stupid it sounds but it's only the truth. Coty is still crying. Katherine has stopped crying but there's still a single tear rolling down her cheek, making it's way to the white tiled floor and she doesn't bother wiping the tear away.

We have been waiting for almost 2 hours now. Katherine puts her arm around me and I rest my head on her shoulder, fighting the urge to cry. Dawn was always there to listen to me, when I felt like crying he would nuzzle me with his mouth. He was my best friend. The doctor finally arrives. I can't tell if he's going to give us bad news or good news because his face is expressionless. Coty makes a beeline for the doctor. "Is my baby alright? What happened at the race? Please tell me he's alright!" The doctor looks at Coty and at all of us and says "Dawn is fine but he will have to stay here for a week. All the other horses are also having some lung problems. We believe there was something in the air the horses inhaled. But your Dawn will be alright." Coty looks at the Dr.Monroe(That's what it says on his name tag anyway) questioningly "What? The air was absolutely fine at the race. I don't think that's the problem" Dr.Monroe sighs. "I also believe that Animals can smell things humans can't, Mam....Well come back when you would like to see how Dawn's doing" Before Coty can question anything, Katherine says "Alright. Thanks Dr.Monroe.

It's 12:00 p.m and I don't feel sleepy at all. I tiptoe out of my bed and make my way down the hall and the creaky stairs. Thankfully I don't wake anybody up besides Cedar and Caddie of course. They follow me but their walking slowly because they are sleepy. I could see it in their eyes. I open the freezer and take out some cookie dough ice cream.  

Cedar licks her mouth as if to say "I want some" in reply I say " No cedar, this isn't for dogs". I laugh as she walks away. Caddie walks away as well. I take out a chunk of the ice cream and place it in a bowl.

I bring the ice cream upstairs to my bedroom, eating it on my bed and thinking about Dawn. My worries rise back up and questions spin around my head. Will Dawn survive? Is he alright? Was the doctor listing? What actually happened to the horses that day? Am I dreaming all this" Is Hanna alright? Hanna! I totally forgot about her since the horse tragedy. I know it is way too late to call her or even text her so I let my worries fade away and drift off to a restless sleep. Though my worries don't fade away at all.

The morning light fails at brightening my mood. All I could think about is Dawn and Hanna and if their fine. I get up from my bed and strip out of my pajamas. I put on some denim minis and an old red hoodie with the phrase "KEEP CALM LIFE GOES ON" printed in bold letters. When I get downstairs I quickly make some toast and check the time. It's only 7:00 a.m. No wonder my parents aren't downstairs. They wake up late on weekends. Really late. I leave a note for them in case they are about to start a search party for me because I may be gone for the rest of the day. Hanna and I didn't come to our horseback riding lesson because of what happened. I run out the front door and make my way to Hanna's house. When Hanna opens the door, she still wears the same expression she wore on the day of the horse race. "I'm so sorry Hanna. I knew there was something up because of your attitude at the race. I just couldn't ask because Coty-------" Hanna cuts me off " I understand Amber. It's totally fine. I'm just not feeling well. My dad was like a second best friend to me. I can't believe he would even do such a thing. Mom has been at the police station for the past few days. I'm glad you came. I couldn't handle being alone for this long!..well I have Carmel but you get what I'm saying." I pause for a while and say "yeah I get you. Do you want to come to the stables with me? I want to go see Katherine and maybe we could go see Dawn after that." Hanna smiles. "sure."

When we get there Katherine, Coty and Rory are huddled close together at the barn. Hanna and I run to them. "How's Dawn doing?" I ask out of breath. Rory shrugs "We don't know yet. Katherine was expecting you guys to come. And now we all can go see" Katherine smiles "Are we going or what?"

Hanna and I run through the doors of the animal hospital. Dr.Monroe's back to us, he's writing something down furiously on a paper. "Hi, Dr.Monroe. What'cha writing" Hanna asks. The moment Dr.Monroe sees us he hides the paper behind his back and says smoothly "Personal stuff." Hanna sighs "oh." Katherine, Coty, and Rory arrive later on. "Hello. Dawn is in Room 204. You can go see him" Dr.Monroe gestures towards the room and we all pile in. Dawn is on a horse-sized hospital bed with a blanket that smells of hay. I stroke his head, feeling tears stinging in my eyes "It's going to be alright, Dawn." I get up and Coty walks to Dawn and I could tell she would rather run but Dr.Monroe told us not to startle him in any way. Coty immediately gets teary-eyed and says softly "My baby. Your going to be alright. I love you." Dawn opens his eyes when he hears "I love you". Coty gives a little laugh and plants a big kiss on his head.

The ride home is silent. Katherine drops Hanna and I at Hanna's house because Hanna didn't want to spend the day alone. When we get there, Caramel greets us with a wag of her tail and about a million sniffs. She's probably getting to my horse scent. Hanna leads me upstairs and we sit down on her bed. "Hanna, I just don't know what to do. Why would my dad even do such a thing? That's not him and the horses, the dishes incident you told me about...I don't get it. Why is everything all so messed up?" Hanna asks confusingly. I give a slight shake of my head "I don't know." I wish I had something else to say but I can't think of anything. So I just get up from the bed and look out at the window at the setting sun. It's beautiful. Magical. Almost like a miracle.