Free Riding

Chapter I - coming back home

Izukus's hand was hanging lazily out of the window. He moved it gently, enjoying the feeling of the wind on the skin of his palm. His green eyes absorbed the landscape spreading around him. Kilometres of greenish and yellowish grass fields and sand. A few bushes and trees standing lonely here and there. Ever so often an oasis of water with bright green plants and colorful flowers growing around it. The beautiful mountains rose to the sky on the horizon. Izuku felt safe and peaceful for the first time in a while. The smell of sand, wild plants, and burning wood washed over him. He was coming back home. Memories easily found their way into Izuku's troubled mind.

He was sitting in the front seat of his father's old truck in his mother's lap. His father was singing along to a song on the radio. His mother was laughing. The mountains were far away. Izuku didn't know exactly where they were going. Melville. He only knew that it was his father's hometown. He was excited to see it for the first time with his own eyes. Not imagine it from the stories he fell asleep to every night. The mountains were promising a fairytale, a heaven, a new home.

After a few more hours the mountains were no longer on the horizon but so close that Izuku felt as though they were hovering over him. That's when he saw it. The ranch where most of his dreams took place and where his most precious memories were made. They were driving around fields of grass enclosed with wooden fences. Each of them contained a few beautiful horses. With spots of dirty ground and sand. Tall trees were scattered, providing shade from the sun. Fields of hay and other necessities could be seen far away. And in the middle of everything was a big circle-like surface filled with buildings. A spacious riding hall, three riding arenas, long barns with hay stacked above the boxes, and in the middle of it all stod the Umanoie house. The huge house that Izuku used to consider his other home. It was just as he remembered it. Like time didn't affect it. Dark reddish wooden boards and a dark greenish roof. The house was encircled with porches and wooden columns. There were a few garages and warehouses that continued on the sides of the house. And in front was the parking lot that they were currently parking on. Pots of flowers were everywhere. And even though they were as colorful as the rainbow itself Izukus focus was stolen by the crimson-red Hibiscus. Two eyes as red as the flowers made their way to his mind.

He was standing in front of the house for the first time. It seemed so much bigger than, or is it rather that he was much smaller he was only 7 years old. His father parked the light blue truck and walked around on the sandy ground with a big smile. He had his light brown hat and riding boots on. He looked like he perfectly belonged there and not like he just drove 6 hours to get here from the city in which they lived. His mother looked a lot less in place but there was a big smile on her face too. She knew how much this meant to her husband even though she didn't like it nearly as much as he did. But this ranch was very important to his father, Izuku knew that well. So he was smiling happily as well. He knew from his father's stories that the ranch was owned by his father's old friend, Mituski. They grew up together and always dreamed about owning a ranch of their own. They worked hard to accomplish their dream. But then his father had to leave Melville because of college. He decided to use it as a chance to make more money and help that way. Then, while in college he met Izuku's mother Inko and fell in love with her. They got married and opened a firm together. The business was doing great and he was able to help Mitsuki out. In the meantime, she got married to her childhood crush, a kind and gentle man named Masaru. And so her ranch was growing in Melville and his farthest firm in San Dait.

To this day his father went to Melville anytime he could to help out if needed and now when Izuku was old enough and Inko approved of it, he brought him with him as well. In his father's stories, he would always say that Umanoie looked exactly like their dreams as children. But he was wrong, this place couldn't be imagined even in dreams.