Finding My Soulmate

Chapter 1

5 days left. Grace was looking at her calendar on the wall for the thousandth time this month. But she couldn't help it. After waiting for so long, now there was only 5 days left until she was no longer seen as a child. She gripped the necklace she wore tightly in her hand, but her warmth did not seem to travel to the cold silver the necklace was made of. The necklace had been given to her at birth. It was the shape of a half heart. When she had gotten a little bit older, she realised everyone had a necklace. She tried matching hers to her parents, then her friends' necklaces, but none of them clicked together. She had seen her parents click theirs together and hoped that one day, she could find who had the other half of her heart. "Grace, I need you to take these tourists on a hack!" Her mother, Amanda, called from downstairs.

"I'm coming mum!" Grace put her phone in her pocket and rushed down to the kitchen.
"Who am I taking and where are we going?"

Grace's parents owned White Oak Ranch together. Her dad stood for most of the mucking out, cleaning the barn, fixing things, while her mother stood for attracting tourists and, along with Grace and her sister when they weren't at school, took them out on hacks in the area. The small village they lived in was perfect for tourists to spend their summer. White Oak Ranch's neighbour was called Greenland, where Grace's best friend, Alyssa, lived. They had summer cottages close to the lake that split White Oak and Greenland's land. That way, both ranches could benefit from tourists. Their small village wasn't too far away from the city either, and easy to get to. "Take them round the Star Trail. They're confident enough to walk and trot, and maybe a little canter. Not any faster, though," Her mother replied.
"Alright, who am I taking?" Grace asked as she put her boots on.
"I was thinking you could take Midnight. She could use getting out a bit and with Patches and Peaches on the trip, it shouldn't be a problem."

Patches and Peaches were two look-alike rescue horses her mother had found, both paints with markings almost the same places. They were slow, steady and took care of their riders. They were also inseparable, and refused to leave each other. Midnight was a gentle mare, but she could be quite fresh, and due to being on box rest after an incident, she wasn't quite into work again yet, and only very experienced riders got to ride her.

"Have a nice ride!" Her mother called as Grace rushed out to the barn. WIthin 5 minutes she had tacked up Midnight and led her outside, where Patches and Peaches stood with their riders on top. Grace swung onto Midnight's back and let herself get comfy in the saddle. "Hello! I'm Grace, I'll be leading you on the trail ride today," Grace smiled at the tourists. "Follow me." She turned Midnight and they headed down one of the trails in the forest behind the barn.

After an hour she halted Midnight back at the barn, who was drenched from sweat from being so excited on the trail. She had been prancing about while Patches and Peaches luckily had followed steadily behind. Grace jumped off and tied Midnight to the post, before going take the horses from their tourist riders. "Thanks for the ride!" One of them said.
"No problem! I hope you enjoyed it, and do come back!" Grace smiled. She knew she had to be polite for the business.
"Hey, let me help you," her dad came out from the barn.
"Thanks dad, are these two getting used again?" Grace asked as she handed Peaches' reins to her dad.
"No, they can be untacked and come back out in the field." Grace took the saddle off and hung it on the post next to Midnight.
"I'll be back in a minute," she promised the black mare, before leading Patches down to the field, followed by her dad with Peaches. She took the bridle off and watched as the two horses trotted down to join the rest of the herd, which were Spartan and Captain, the two bay geldings, as well as Pepper the dappled grey mare. Autumn and Onyx, the two chestnuts, were out on the last trail of the day.

A whinny came from behind Grace as she turned and walked away from the field. "I'm coming Midnight," Grace laughed a little at the mare, eager to want out. She dumped the saddle on the post and led Midnight to the field. As she opened the gate, the first thing the mare did was lay down and roll. Typical Midnight, Grace thought as she closed the gate and went up to put the tack away.