Chapter #3Life at Full Gallop by: BeeJay I'm Thalia Grey, and this is my story.
I'm the oldest of three children. My parents, Tom and Felicia, run a dude ranch. Kids get to ride horses around the corral; adults can take the trail. We get good people.
I had graduated high school, and was supposed to go off to college in the fall. The thing is, though I didn't dare tell anyone, I wasn't really sure what I should do. I knew that I wanted to work with horses; unfortunately, my grades weren't nearly good enough to make it as a vet.
I didn't know what I was supposed to become.
And then, I don't think anyone expected me to become what I did.
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It was the night before my eighteenth birthday. It was late, and I was having trouble falling asleep. It wasn't entirely excitement; truth is, I'm not sure what it was.
Deciding to try some fresh air, I got out of bed, and headed out to the stable. I know a lot of people think of stables as smelly and gross; but I never felt that way. To me, it was as much a part of my home as the family room in the house. I walked softly into the stable, not wanting to disturb the horses: No sense making any of them stay awake, just because I couldn't sleep.
After a few minutes, I felt myself getting sleepy. My idea worked. I turned to go back to my room and my bed; unfortunately, I felt sleep come upon me too quickly for that. Instead, I found a vacant stall, and stretched out on the hay, falling asleep almost before my head touched the hay.
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The next morning, I woke up to the sound of a commotion. Brushing the sleep out of my eyes, I realized that my family must have noticed that I wasn't in the house, and they were probably looking for me. "I'm in the stable," I called out, pulling myself into a standing position, which seemed to take longer than it used to.
"I think I heard her," I heard my younger sister, Zoe, say. "She's in the stable."
"Well, what in the world is she doing in there?" Mom asked.
"We'll have to ask her," Dad replied.
As I stood there, trying to think of how to explain why I decided to spend the night in a stall, I realized that I seemed to be taller than I was yesterday. I looked down, and screamed. My feet were gone, replaced with horse's hooves. As I looked, I realized that my legs were those of a horse, as well. Looking behind me, I saw that my upper body was attached to the barrel of a horse.
I had somehow been turned into a centaur.
"There you are," Mom said, as she and the rest of my family came into the stable. "What are you doing in the stall? How long have you been in here?"
"I couldn't sleep," I explained. "I thought I'd get some air, so I came out here. Then, I got too sleepy to go back, so I slept here. And now, I don't think I can leave." I opened the stall door and walked into the hall, showing them my body.
Mom fainted. indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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