Finding My Soulmate

Chapter 4

"Have a good trip!" Her mother's attempt to hold tears back didn't quite go through, however Grace smiled. At this moment, she was too excited for the coming trip to feel sadness. She would miss her parents, but it would be a great trip. Grace waved goodbye as she headed down the driveway on Sandy, with Midnight on the side.

It had been a busy morning, and Grace had been up early to pack and get the horses ready. Midnight was getting used as a pack horse and was therefore carrying two big sacks on her back, that her father had taught her how to put on. She was riding Sandy in her western saddle, which meant she had two saddlebags on for the most important things she had and possibly needed to find quickly. She had helped her parents get ready for the day, and at 9am sharp Grace was heading down the drive with the two horses. When she got to the end of the drive, she headed down the side of the road. Soon, she'd be out by the biggest road in their small town. The one that passed from one end to another. She was to follow that, away from their town, and towards the next. Which was easier said than done, for the ride was long. Grace set the horses into a trot to get moving, but after a while slowed to a walk. The sun stood brightly above them. The road was open, with fields on each side, and only a few trees every few miles. The road was empty, too. Once in a while a lorry would pass, with what seemed like groceries in the back, or sometimes it was a car of someone on a longer trip. 

At around 1 o'clock in the afternoon, the scorching sun stood at its warmest. Grace was sweating, despite having packed her jumper away and only in a t-shirt. Spotting a few trees, big enough to shade both horses, she decided to have her break there. She took off Sandy's saddle and the two sacks Midnight was carrying, but kept their bridles on. The only thing that seemed to be cool was the necklace around her neck, and even that didn't have its usual ice-cold feeling that it normally did. She looked around to see the area she had stopped at. There wasn't much to see, just endless, non-stopping fields, with a fence parallel to the road. The three tall trees hid some grass, which the horses began munching happily on. Grace took out her lunch that she had packed and began eating it, sitting on the ground with her back against one of the trees. The view in itself wasn't bad, but it wasn't interesting either. Grace wondered how far she had gotten. Her mother told her that if she moved fairly quickly, she'd get to the next town early evening, where a friend of hers was waiting so she could stay the night. 

After eating her lunch, Grace started packing her things. She put the saddle on Midnight this time, making Sandy her pack horse. She struggled a little to tie the sacks up properly, but in the end she got them to stay, and that was that. She heaved herself up in the saddle, the heat coming through to her legs, making it more difficult than normal. With Sandy in one hand, she moved on. She hadn't noticed that the trees had hidden a creek from their view. She rode over to the water, loosening the reins. The horses drank as if they hadn't had water in months. They needed strength, too, to be able to continue this long journey.

After letting them drink as much water as they could manage, Grace took them up to the road again and the journey continued. The sun showed no sign of going away or warming less, and it would be a long time until the sun started to fade. The journey was fairly quiet, apart from the odd passing vehicle once in a while, all that could be heard was the sound of hoofbeats on the ground, and occasionally a flock birds in the air above them. With only the same scenery to be seen for hours, the journey seemed long and boring. Grace started to doubt herself, was she even heading the right way? But as the sun's warmth started to fade, Grace knew she was on the right track. Now that the air was getting cooler, and a cool, gentle breeze seem to pick up. They had walked for hours, but Grace set both horses into a trot. To get their muscles moving differently, and to get them going at a faster pace. She wanted to get there as early as possible. Grace could feel that her legs were relieved to be used and put in another position than the one from when she was sitting still to match Midnight's walk.

When Grace finally reached the town she had been looking for, the sun started to set. Her two horses were drenched in sweat due to the heat. Grace was also starving. She hadn't had anything to eat since her lunch break, and the waterbottles she had brought with her had long since been emptied. She wasn't exactly sure what to do first. The small town was quite lively with nightlife, with music to be heard from what seemed to be the only bar in that town, and people tumbling in and out the door. A man walking from the sidewalk came up to her.
"We don't normally get visitors at this time. Who are you?" he asked her.
"I'm Grace," she replied, halting the two horses. "My father arranged for me to stay with someone called Jerry, but I'm not sure where to go."
"Is that right? Well, I'm heading that way so I'll take you to Jerry's farm," he replied.
"Thank you!" Grace replied as she followed after him. He went to his car and Grace stayed behind him, the horses trotting to keep up.

It took  less than 10 minutes until he stopped. "Jerry lives here. Have a nice night!" The man waved as he drove off. Grave turned the horses down the driveway. In a way it was similar to their own farm, but not quite. The facilities were different, and the barn wasn't as neat as theirs. Even though the barn they had at home wasn't particularly fancy, this barn looked rundown. Grace halted in the middle of the drive and jumped down. It was all empty. Apart from a herd of cows mooing in a field, it was all quiet, too. Grace loosened the girth of Midnight and tied both horses to a post in front of the barn, before she walked up to the main house and knocked on the door. Grace felt a shiver down her spine as she looked at the run-down building, that creaked in the wind. It seemed like no one would answer. The long waiting time only made her more nervous, but then the door slowly opened, revealing an old man with a stok standing in the door opening.
"Sorry for making you wait. Why are you here?" He asked kindly, but with a hint of reservedness in his voice.
"I'm Grace, my father told me to come here," she replied, the tension around her dropping instantly as soon as he spoke.
"Oh, Grace! Welcome! You can put the horses in the barn or in that empty field in front. I haven't prepared anything since I wasn't sure when you'd come, but I'll get you some food once you put them away," he replied.
"Thank you very much!" Grace turned as the door was closed behind her and went down to the two horses.

She opened the barn door. Despite it looking old on the outside, it looked renovated and well-kept on the inside. Grace found that two of the empty stalls were ready with hay and feed. She started with Sandy. Untying the sacks on the mare's back, she left them in what seemed to have been a tack room when it was used. She then put the buckskin mare in one stall, and untacked the other, before putting her in the next stall. She took the things she needed from the tack room and went up to the house.

She opened the door cautiously and entered. The old man stood in the kitchen, which could be seen from the entrance of the house.
"I'm just making some quick dinner. Are the horses okay?" He asked.
"Yeah, thank you for letting me stay," she replied politely.
"Of course, I owed your father a favor. I knew your grandfather, but it was your father who helped me keep the farm when I was about to lose it," he smiled. Grace had lost her grandfather when she was only 4 years old, so she didn't remember much from him. 
"Um, what do I call you?" Grace asked cautiously.
"Oh, sorry! My name is Jack," he smiled.

They sat down and had dinner. Jack told her many stories about how his farm was binging with life back in the day. Grace listened patiently, and then told him some stories of her own. The evening was soon gone, but Grace enjoyed the company. When it was starting to get late, she went out to check on her two mares, both of which were doing fine and seemed to have settled in the unfamiliar stalls. She gave them some extra hay for the night, before saying her goodnights and heading to the guest room where Jack kindly let her stay. It wasn't easy for her to sleep in an unfamiliar room. After what seemed like a hours of tossing and turning, she finally drifted off to sleep.

It was her alarm that woke her up the next morning. Grace groaned and got out of bed. She had to get moving early if she were to get a head start before the heat caught up to them. Grace had a quick look at the map her father had given her. He had shown her which way he recommended she go the first few days, to pass the smaller towns. She wanted to reach the woods before noon to save both herself and her two horses from the heat that was expected to arrive.

After a quick breakfast, Grace was out tying up her two sacks to Midnight and tacking up Sandy. She had had a quick shower that morning, but wore the same clothes as the day before. It could be a long time before she could clean them, and wanted to save the sets of clothes she had as much as possible. She offered Jack to help him with the cows, but he shook off her offer and said he had to do it himself, as he had done so every morning for over 30 years. When she was ready, she waved goodbye to Jack and thanked him for his hospitality. And then, the second day of her travels started.