I stared at the clock, each second seeming slower than the one before. 2:00 finally came, and the bell sounded. Its ring sounded like my aunt’s clock at 12:00, which I thought was strange for a school bell. But I didn’t care. School was over for the day. I was finally free! I rushed to my bus: I looked around, but saw no familiar faces, so I sat down by myself. I waited for the bus to start. I saw my brother walk by me. He didn’t look at me, then my sister walked by. She looked at me for a second, then quickly glanced away, continuing towards the back of the bus. I sank lower in my seat. I felt so alone. When I felt the bus start driving, I jumped.

My stop was the first stop, so I didn’t have to ride very long. I quickly got off. My brother walked past me, of course. I waited for my sister. I finally saw her walk off, but she was with a friend and, like my brother, passed me. I looked down at my feet and began walking.

“Are you ready to go?” my mom asked after I had finally walked home7
“Where?” I asked.
“Violin lessons,” she replied. Oh yeah. I forgot about that. I had my lesson first, and then my sister had hers. It was 30 minutes from my house, so I usually had to wait for her to finish, but my mom offered to drive me to see the horses that lived nearby after I was done with lessons. They had just bought a horse that I had never met, so I was eager to go. .I hurried into the car and drove to the barn.
I saw three horses in the pasture. Two I recognized, and I could tell the third one was new. I walked up to him and petted his silky brown fur. Suddenly one of the other horses charged at him. They seemed to charge at him if he ever got too close to them. They made sure he was alone. Alone…I was shocked. I felt so like this beautiful horse. All alone and… unwanted. I could feel tears come to my eyes. I knew how this horse felt.

I whispered softly to the horse what a good boy he was and how I wished I could have him. The horse turned his head and gently put his nose on mine. I smiled at this sweet little horse. I wanted him—needed him. I looked around and saw that my mom was in the other pasture.

“Can I ride you?” I asked. Although he didn’t answer, I took his look as a yes, so I jumped—more like climbed on. He didn’t move a muscle but waited patiently for a command. Grasping his thick, brown mane in my hand, I asked him to walk. He just started walking, when I heard my mom calling me. “Time to go!” she yelled to me. I slowly dismounted. “I don’t want to leave you,” I told him softly. I buried my face in his mane. I petted his beautiful coat once more. “I’ll come back next week. I promise!” I whispered.

I ran in the car, and we drove off. The week slowly dragged by. I couldn’t stand waiting. Today I’m going to see the horse; my horse.

When I get there, he walks towards me, still alone, still like me. “Let’s run,” I whisper. I jump on his back. “You ready?” I ask. I kick him into a full gallop, listening to his hooves thundering against the earth. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. I can hear each hoof hit the ground; yet we’re flying, leaving everything far behind us. Today I’m not alone. Today he is not alone. Today, together both of us are truly free.