I used to have a stallion named Zuni. He was white with a little pink snip on his nose. To me he is a hero in so many ways and a brave one too. Well there is a story that I want to tell you. It all started on a sunny morning in June. I woke up early in the morning as usual and did my usual morning things. I woke up, ate breakfast, got dressed and then headed out to the barn. We had five horses including Zuni. There was Picasso who was a chestnut paint, Nico who was a bay sabino stallion, Malia who was a blue roan sabino mare, Ava who was a flea bitten gray and Zuni my white stallion. Every morning it is my job to feed the horses and then bring them out to the pasture. So I fed the horses and then put them out to pasture after. I put Zuni on the cross ties because that day I was going to ride him. After I put the other horses out I brushed Zuni, picked his feet, tacked him up and then we were on our way. I have some spots that we love to go including a huge field with grass that's up to my hips. While he grazes I run around and lie down in the tall grass. The day that I rode him that's where we went. The first thing he did when we got there was gallop across the field. When I ride him I feel like I'm free and that nothing can stop us. After a good run I took off his tack and let him roll in the grass and graze. He never runs away. He always sticks by my side. I was just lying in the grass when he came over to me and started to sniff my tummy. I patted his soft muzzle and let him graze by me. A few minutes later I went to my backpack to get a snack and I noticed some really dark clouds. I kept looking at them because they didn't look like storm clouds. They looked like something worse and I wasn't going to stay to find out. A flash of lighting lit up the clouds and a clash of thunder followed. Zuni spooked and trotted around for a second. I calmed him down by talking to him softly. After I could get him calm enough I put on his tack and then we were on our back to the stables. As we were walking along the trails I noticed that the wind was seeming to pick up a little. The dark clouds started to roll in and Zuni was getting a little frisky like he knew there was a storm or something coming. About 20 minutes later I could almost see the end of the trail and right before I could even blink once more a flash of lightning hit a tree only a few feet in front of us. Zuni spooked and reared up. I fell off backwards and hit my head pretty hard on the ground. The last thing I remember seeing was Zuni running down the trail at a full gallop, and then I blacked out. I didn't know what had happened. Did I get knocked out? Did I die? I then remember seeing blurs of a white horse above me. I heard fainted breathing. He came back for me. I slowly sat back up and took off my helmet. I rubbed my head and it hurt a little but there was no bump. Once I felt not so fuzzy and a little more alert I stood up and patted Zuni's neck. I looked at the trees around us and what I saw shocked me. Many of them were down like something just ripped them right out of the ground. I grabbed the reins and hopped back into the saddle. I trotted him to the end of the trail. I started to cry then. Houses were no longer standing. What once was a house was now just a pile of wood. Tornado. That's what those clouds were. And so was my house. And the barn. I called for the horses as I cried. I grabbed onto Zuni's mane and cried. My parents were home at time. At least the horses were outside at the time so at least they had a place to run. They we're all trained to jump for our western shows. A few minutes later I saw a group of people with special dogs come up to what once was my house. They dogs started to dig a certain area of the pile of the wood. I clicked to Zuni and cantered him up to the rubble. They asked me who I was and if I was ok. I told them that I was fine and that this was my house. A few more people came over and started to pull away the boards. About a half hour later they found my parents. they were huddled together in the bathtub. They took out two stretchers and put them out on them. They were taken to a white tent set up in the middle of what was the road. I waited and waited to hear about how good or bad the news was. As I waited I cried into Zuni's mane. I was scared. Finally one of the men came out of the tent. My heart was beating fast as he approached. The news wasn't good. My parents didn't make it. I stood there with with my eyes tearing up again. I was frozen. What was I going to do now? I have no home, no family. I still didn't know if pur horses were found yet. The only thing that I had left was Zuni. After about an hour of crying I decided that I should go to the tent that was a few blocks away. That's where all of the found animals were. I rode Zuni up to the tent and looked around. I through all of the horses. Then that grip of fear that had me in its clutches finally let go. There they were. All four of them. I hopped off Zuni and walked up to them. Yup. It was them for sure. One of the vets walked up to me and asked if I needed help. I told her that these were my horses. I told her that I lost my house and farm. And also my......parents. She believed me. I know that I found my horses but, I don't have a place to house them. No food for them or me. No home. No place to go. No money. No family. I told her everything that happened. She didn't know what to do. I told her thank you for everything and then I was on my way. I put lead ropes on my horses and rode Zuni as I led them. I walked down the streets for hours. I was hungry. I was cold. I was scared and confused. Then I finally saw hope. My friend Meca. I rode up to her. We were both glad to see each other ok. She lost her parents too. And she doesn't know where her horse is, Decan. He's a bay tobiano. She said that he was outside during the tornado. I told her that we could find him together. I helped her get onto Ava who was her favorite horse. We rode together on roads and in some fields to try and find Decan. Finally after hours of searching we finally found him. He was grazing peacefully in a large field which was once the town park. Meca jumped off Ava and ran towards him. Decan lifted his head and scalloped towards her. When Meca got to Decan she gave him a big hug and kissed him on his nose. Then she grabbed his halter and walked him up to be and the other horses. Luckily I had an extra lead rope. Meca hooked the lead rope onto the side of Decan's halter and tied it onto the other side. Then she hopped onto his back and then we were back on our way. We traveled for days looking for shelter somewhere and food. Finally out wishes came true. We had arrived at the next town over that didn't get hit by the tornado. I rode up to a blue house that recognized. It was my parents friends. I jumped off Zuni and knocked on the door. Alesha, my moms friend answered the door. She asked me what I was doing here and I told her everything. She felt extremely bad for me and by the end all three of us were in tears. So Alesha and her husband Jon took us in for a few days. Then a few days later to our amazement, they adopted us. Now me and Meca were adopted step-sisters! Oh and Alesha and Jon also had a brown quarter horse named Brownie. So we were able to keep all our horses. I now have been here for a few years and I love it. Every once and a while I look back on the day of the tornado. It was a tragic thing and I may have lost my blood related family but I know have a new family. I know that someday I will see my parents again. It may bot be today, or it may not be tomorrow but I know that it will someday.
R.I.P Mom and Dad
(P.S this story fictional)
