Aphrodite //some parts undergoing rewriting

c h a p t e r t h r e e

"It was the state championships and I was determined as ever to go home with another win.

It wasn't like I wasn't going to win, I mean I win every time. There hasn't been a time, in a long time, that I haven't won in a competition.

My horse, Dusty, was my best friend, we worked great together. Like two peas in a pod, peanut butter and jelly, two foxes in a hen house, or my personal favourite "two cannibal midgets in a fat guy's rib cage."

Once you enter the dust-filled arena, it's like time slows down just for you to enjoy what you love doing. As you glimpse at the time on the clock, you realize that it's ticking fast, but that very first moment sticks with you the whole way through, making time seem slow.

"And that Ellie, is why I love riding." My mom said after she finished telling her story. Mind you, she tells it a lot. I could probably tell it as if it was my own story.

"I don't understand. You loved riding; you loved horses, right? You moved so far away from what you loved, why?" I didn't understand why she would move away from it. She has never stopped talking about how she wanted to move back here, and get out of London because she was sick of it.

"It's a complicated story."

"Care to explain?"

"Fine." I'm pretty sure I saw her roll her eyes.

"I didn't want to move away, I was guilt-tripped into doing so. As you recall, I met your dad while he was here for school. I never understood why he came to Tennessee for school, away from the amazing London, England. Like, why not go to California? Or even Florida? But he happened to choose Tennessee. Your dad was a very convincing man, Ellie. He always talked about how wonderful it was 'back home'. Another reason why I never understood why he chose Tennessee for schooling, but that's besides the point. Anyways, long story short, he ended up convincing me, I call it guilt-tripping me, into going back with him to London. To be honest with you, I hated it out there. I always wanted to move back here, to what I love. I never liked living in the big city, I liked living in what felt like the middle of no where. And your father and I getting a divorce was the perfect reason for coming back out here."

I was stunned. I never knew any of this. I wonder if dad knew this, I wonder if he knew she was always unhappy.

All I said was "Oh." To that because I didn't know what to say. I was extremely stunned.

***

The dirt path was covered in a layer of dew the next morning. Carrot in-hand, I walked down the long trail to where the horse should be.

I was determined on getting the horse to like me, or at least approach me without biting a finger off. So why not bribe it? Horses like carrots, right? This horse will love me by the end of today, if it wants to or not.

I reach the wooden fence that had a few other wire-like looking lines on it that looked like I'd get shocked if I touched them. I stayed far away from those, I didn't feel like getting electrocuted today.

The horse was there once again, in all it's amazing looking glory. Speaking as a person who doesn't really like horses, this horse was beautiful. I was surprised it's white-coloured coat wasn't covered in stains from the grass or mud, but the horse seemed to be well taken care of.

I took a few steps off of the path, heading towards the fence. I had the carrot gripped tightly in my hands, and when my knuckles began to turn purple, I loosened my grip on the orange vegetable and took a few more steps closer. I had to duck or else I would've been taken out by a tree branch, I did not feel like falling again.

I stepped on a branch nevertheless, and the horse picked up its head quickly from grazing. I wished I knew the horse's name so I could call it over. Do horses come to their name? Are they even able to learn their name? I heard once that a horse's brain only matures to a seven year olds brain, so it was like talking to a seven year old. Maybe if you said the horse's name around it a lot, and called them with their name, they might learn it.

"Aphrodite!" And then I heard someone whistle really loud. I looked over to the other side of the pasture (a new word I had learnt since moving) and was able to make out a figure. It looked like a woman, but maybe I was wrong.

The horse, Aphrodite, turned it's head quickly towards where the sound had come from.

"Come here girl!" Okay, so the horse was a she.

This time when the figure yelled, I could here that the voice was very feminine. I guess I was right when I said that the figure looked like a woman.

The horse bolted across the grassy field towards, I'm assuming, her owner. As the mare (make that two new words) was running across the field, I thought I could see the rib cage on the horse, but I might've just been seeing things. The owner seemed nice, I'd think that Aphrodite was being treated well.

But I've been wrong before.

EDITED.