Chapter 6: Asia's Story

Instructions

Chapter 6: The next day, Saturday, Asia woke up, got ready and headed out to groom Railynne and get her ready for the trail ride. She was supposed to meet Noah over at his house. The trail they were taking was rough so they would need to be careful. She packed a lunch, tacked up her horse, and headed out. When she approached his house, she could see his mother, Natalie Anderson, outside working on their garden. “Good mornin’ Asia!” She said with her usual southern twang. She was a rather pretty woman. She had straight blonde hair which she wore in a French braid, ice blue eyes, and had a bit of a short stature. She wore a t-shirt and overalls which were covered in dirt from all of her gardening. “Good morning Mrs. Anderson!” Asia replied with a warm smile. “Is Noah ready to go?” She added. “Yes, he should be over yonder in the barn, sweetie.” Answered Mrs. Anderson. “Thanks Ma’am!” Asia chirped. She steered Railynne over to the Anderson barn. It was where they kept their pigs, goats, chickens, and their horses. It was like a regular petting zoo. Asia tied up her horse and set foot into the zoo of a barn. She soon spied Noah with his horse. He appeared to be picking rocks from his mare’s hooves. “Hello there mister.” Asia teased with a smirk. “Hello yourself. How come you are always so early?” Noah snorted. “Because, I have great timing and you do not.” Asia jabbed. “Are you ready to go yet?” She added. “All in good time.” Noah responded calmly. He peered at her from the corner of his eye. Watching to see if he succeeded in annoying her no doubt. Well, she would show him. Asia tried her best to keep her calm composure and replied, “Well, then we best be going. We don’t have all day!” She smiled and ran to mount her horse. She knew he would follow. He had no choice. She had resisted his attempt at annoying her. They had an interesting relationship. It was a wonder they were even still friends. After she mounted, she saw Noah round the corner out of the barn doors, horses lead rope in hand. “Alright. Let’s get this show on the road.” He said with a sigh. Asia smirked. “Finally!” She exclaimed with an exaggerated groan. “You kids be safe now!” Mrs. Anderson shouted. “The path y'all are goin’ on is steep and rough. Don’t go too fast now, or your horses might lose their footing.” “Yes Ma’am.” Both Noah and Asia responded in unison. And with that, they kicked their horses into a gallop and headed out. After they had rode in silence for a while, Asia decided to break it up with a question. “So, why did you invite me out here anyways? Did you just get a spontaneous need for a trail ride or what?” She asked. “Well, I thought it might cheer you up.” Noah replied. “And why do I need cheering up?” Asia questioned, perplexed. “Well, after you saw Allyssa and I sitting together yesterday, you seemed upset.” Noah said. “By the way, she is my cousin who just got transferred to our school system. I’d never met her before and wanted to make her feel comfortable so I invited her to sit with us.” He added. Asia felt so relieved yet stupid for the way she had acted towards her. “She was… your cousin?” “Yes.” “Oh Noah… I’m so sorry for how I acted. It was stupid. Forgive me?” Pleaded Asia. “Of course I forgive you, Asia. But I have to ask… Why were you so irritated anyways?” He asked, confused. I don’t even know why I was irritated. Asia thought. I felt so jealous seeing him with a different girl. “Well… We’ve been best friends for a long time now… I really appreciate our friendship and I-” “Asia, look out!!” She saw the steep pothole in the trail ahead of her but she was too close… her horse going too fast to stop in time. The next few moments were a blur. She felt the motion of falling… no, tumbling down from her horse. She felt the immense pain of her body’s impact with the rocky ground. She saw the enormous body of her horse falling on top of her own. She heard the desperate screams of Noah crying out her name. “Noah…” She gasped. Her vision began to fade. Her hearing faded away. Everything went black. End of Chapter 6