DRAGONCLOUD'S
CHARACTERS
A Matter of Life ~ a short story by Dragoncloud.
Can't I ever get any peace around here? Apparently not. I was kept up all night by Kieran crying! What a fabulous life I currently have. Pfft. Dad says he's tried his best to give me my own space, but I can never go into that deep feeling of losing yourself in a book or whilst writing a story anymore. It's just.. disappeared. If I could do anything, I'd make it go back to how it was before. Casey and Jai, Jai and Casey. We were a team, known around our little town of Sunset Valley for our riding. We always did the best yet craziest things together, because each other was all we had. Mum died when I was young, but I somehow have always felt connected to her - I don't know how, she's always 'there'. Silly, isn't it? Silly but comforting.
I'm not complaining though. I've got a pretty good life, if I'm honest. I have my Dad, a red setter called India and an old mare, named Olive. We're pretty wealthy, with a big house and swimming pool. I do okay with my grades at school and I have a part-time job. Oh, and then there's my step-mum and half-brother, Mika and Kieran. I don't have a problem with them, it's just.. Well, y'know. Me and Dad don't need them. We were the perfect team. But apparently they're here to stay, so there's no point moping.
Yesterday, Kieran started properly walking. Yeah, he'd done a few steps before, but yesterday he walked all the way around the house, no stopping. I was proud, of course. There's something about children that intrigues me - the way they know nothing and yet know everything. The way the look. The way they act. It fascinates me. I could watch Kieran do his own thing for hours. I like watching people.
Hey, and do you know another thing that happened yesterday? My life oddly changed for the better. I met Jackrabbit. For the first time in what was like forever I was at peace with myself, because upon Jackrabbit's back, it feels like you're flying. Like you're running away from all your problems and you don't have to look back. I hate running away from things, but I realised that I needed to today, to escape. To be free again.
I first saw the black and white stallion on my way home from school. He belonged to my elderly neighbour, Mrs Hart. She'd been living alone for a long time now, and she often spoke to me as I waited for the bus. She was a lovely woman - always smiling. Often, I hoped perhaps one day, when I was her age, I'd be as kind and as peaceful as that. She had no cares for bad things. She absorbed the good and kept the memories fresh, speaking to me about them every day. On this certain day, Mrs Hart wasn't there. It didn't take me long to realise what had happened. I think anyone would have guessed.
Mrs Hart had no known relatives except a younger sister in America, of whom her house went to. As for the horse, he was left behind. His scraggy fur and slightly overgrown toenails needed taking care of desperately, so that was the day I bunked off school to care for him. He was wary of me at first, however he soon settled as he began to see that I was helping not hurting. I went to school late that day. I said I'd been at the doctors.