The Stables..a short story by myself...

The sound of rain was even audible over the car radio. It pelted against the windows constantly against the backdrop of the winter evening sky. A young girl sat in the back seat of a grey car alone. Her head was leant against the cold window pane. Her eyes followed the droplets of rain as they hit the moving car and slid down on outside the window. The drops glistened before disappearing from Lisa’s eyes. Lisa’s gaze fell from the rain drops to the dog hair littered floor. Hazels gigantic Irish wolfhound had occupied the car the day before.

The car smelled strongly of dog hair and dust. Lisa tried not to sneeze, she wrinkled her nose and suppressed the urge after a moment. A chestnut haired girl with black glasses of the same age as Lisa sat in the front of the car. Her hair was wild and uncontrolled. It moved now as she spoke across at an older version of herself. Her mother Marie. “Haze - enough!” came the short sharp response from the driver of the car. Marie flicked off the radio. Hazel was whining at her mother. Another sharp response caused Hazel to sigh angrily and turn her nine year old head towards the window. Lisa had arrived at Hazels house for the day only to discover that Hazel was being made go to horse riding lessons.

Hazel’s voice rose in tempo as she whined but the short sharp reply from her mother ended the conversation. With no radio silence enveloped the car. It felt stifling. As Lisa’s gaze roamed around the interior of her friend’s car she reflected on Hazels and her own love of animals. Hazel had a dog kennels at her house and a multitude of pets roaming around while Lisa did not. A spark of green envy twinkled in young Lisa’s eyes as she reflected on this. This trip to the stables was an unexpected turn of events and while Lisa felt awkward being dragged along with her friend a small smile reached her lips. To be among horses was something Lisa cherished.

There was nothing to say as they travelled towards the stables. The silence in the car became uncomfortable. Lisa focused on her hands clutched together in her lap. After a moment Lisa turned again towards the window, through the blur of the rain Lisa caught sight of the pillars at the entrance to Mint Stables. Behind these pillars came a row of evergreen trees along a rough dirt path pocketed with pot holes full of rain. Two majestic horses and their riders came into view coming up along the path. That little spark of envy twinkled in Lisa’s eyes once again.

The car came to the end of the path, a large rusting red shed with a large opening as a door stood in front surrounded by smaller stone buildings. Horses were being led by stable hands into the smaller buildings and out of the rain. Marie brought the car to a halt. Lisa unbuckled herself and clicked open the door of the car quickly. Hazel followed a moment later. The smell of wet hay, moist earth and of horses rose up Lisa’s nose. It was pleasant in a natural way. Lisa stood waiting for Hazel to reach her side as the car drove off again. Hazel gave Lisa a knowing smile and headed towards the rusting shed. The moist earth and hay sunk under their feet as they walked.

The evening was slowly becoming night. The rain had lessened to a light rain that clung in a mist to both of the girls’ dark hair. They entered the shed as a gush of wind blew in with them. Dust floated down from steel rafters in the ceiling, a large arena laden with hay on the ground stood in the centre of the shed, steel fencing encircled it with a large gate at the front and at the far side. A blonde women greeted Hazel as they entered. A bookshelf held some riding helmets. Hazel took one of these and put it on over her uncontrollable hair.

Hazel followed three stable boys as they led in four brown and grey horses through the gate and into the arena. One of the boys, a fair haired boy gave Lisa a mischievous wink as he passed her. The fair haired boy handed over the horse he led and walked out again. Lisa stood with her back to the helmet bookshelf where Hazel had left her. She scuffed her shoe in the dirt looking a little lost. The woman who had greeted Hazel disappeared into a small office built in the corner of the shed. She put her fingers to her lips to signal Lisa to be very quiet. Horses were spooked easily and every sound was amplified in that shed.

A short, bald middle aged man led a black horses into the arena past Lisa. His face held frown lines that were deep and almost dramatic, dry hay cracked under his boots. He held an clear aura of authority around him. The Trainer. He sauntered into the arena with his glossy horse and joined the two stable boys left and four girls including Hazel. All of them were kited out in black riding gear. He separated the girls and let each mount their horses with the help of the two stable boys. His voice was gruff and low as he ordered the girls around.

An ice cold breeze blew in and caused Lisa to shiver slightly, She buried her hands deeper into her coat pocket and stepped closer to the arena. Lisa quickly sat on one of the hay bales that circled the steel fencing next to the main gate. The pit, patter of rain was still faintly heard from outside. The sound whispered through cracks throughout the shed. An eternity seemed to pass for Lisa as the trainer had the girls slowly trotting around in a circle. One of the girls, a black haired girl looked petrified on top of her horse.

Her horse stumbled and then a few moments later her horse stumbled again. The girl was thrown forward as the horse picked up pace in fear. The black haired girl began to whimper until she regained control with the help of the brown haired, tall stable boy. However this caused all the horses to become jittery and break the form of the circle. In a split second Hazel lost her reins and was thrown backwards in the saddle. She failed once, twice, three times to side back right in the saddle. Lisa began to panic for her friend. She leapt up from the hay bale and on to the first rungs of the gate to get a better view of what was happening. She didn’t dare open the gate. Her weight on the rusty steel gate caused it to shake and rattle and cause a crashing sound that echoed around the shed like a gun shot. Lisa climbed up another rung which caused another echo of sound.

All the horses began to panic, shuffling backwards, ignoring the reins that pulled on them and snorting loudly. The two boys ran quickly to a horse each and began to bring them under control, shh-ing them over the noise, attempting to calm them. The trainer rushed in between Hazel and the black haired girl trying to calm her horse as the gun shot sound still echoed around the shed.

Just as the trainer had grabbed hold of the slim reins of the brown horse that the black haired girl was on, Hazel’s horse jumped, stumbled and kicked the trainer with a back hoof suddenly. Lisa gasped as she saw the figure crumple to the ground after letting out an almighty scream. The fair haired stable boy Paul was no where to be seen. The woman in the office slammed open the door and ran to Lisa, Her face was distraught and angry. She grabbed Lisa by her collar and pulled her roughly down to the ground, swung open the gate and rushed in muttering “oh no..” repeatedly.

Lisa landed roughly on the ground bearing her weight onto her wrists painfully. Hot tears came involuntarily to her eyes and rolled down her face as she tried to pick herself up off the cold earth. The woman had the horses under control eventually and had all the riders dismounted from their horses. Hazel was looking from her trainer to the older woman as she gave commands. and did not glance over to where Lisa was. The figure on the ground had not moved nor let out another sound. One of the stable boys began speaking frantically into a mobile that he had pulled from his worn jean pocket while the other was crouched over the man in the hay and dirt.

Lisa felt light headed and breathless as she turned from the scene unfolding in front of her eyes her feet hit the ground with force as she fled from the shed with tears cascading down her young face. Out in the Yard the wind blew Lisa’s hair into her eyes as she ran blindly into one of the nearby stone buildings. The smell of horse dung and stale hay assaulted Lisa’s nose as she ran through the wooden door frame, clipping her arm off it as she did so. The building was dark but highlighted by moonlight and a faint overhead light that flickered every so often.

Horses shuffled in stalls facing the door in a long line, bags of hay and of sugar cubes lay scattered about the cobbled stone floor. Lisa ran down the length of the building, past most of the horse stalls and only panted to a halt at the last one where a timid old mare stood quietly. Lisa fell upon the pile of hay next to that horse stall. The hay was rough against her clothes and smelt strongly of old dirt and sweat.

Her breathing came in short stilted pants in tune with her fast beating heart. Lisa could hear the sound of an ambulance siren in the yard but her limbs were immovable. Her will to move had evaporated along with the last of the tears that rolled down her face. Lisa stayed unmoving with her arms wrapped around her legs on that hay knowing that she could have caused a man to die because of her actions, She stayed there long after the sound of the ambulance had disappeared, Her nine year old face scrunched up in despair. After what seemed like hours Lisa heard Hazel calling out her name in the yard and then in the building. A light shone out in the dark. Lisa raised her face from the top of her knees and saw Hazel walking towards her. Hazel sank to the ground next to Lisa and hugged her friend quietly.