PERSON: Aaron Phillips
PLACE: Green Horse Fields Track
Posted on August 20 2009
fire burning
in the eyes of the stranger.
A dark haired man walked slowly in the shadows of the track buildings. He didn't know where he was going or what he was doing. He only had one thing on his mind. It was a very important thing that had happened. He sat down on the mounting block by the track. Memories collapsed together and showed a picture. It was the picture of the sun rising.
.4 AM THIS MORNING.
The sun was just rising. It was beautiful for anyone to watch. It felt even better for Aaron today as he was flippin freezing this morning. The spring air was damp and stuffy and the wind was cold. He checked his thin spring jacket to make sure he wasn't icing over.
He was up earlier than usual today. He had been restless all night for some reason and half an hour ago he decided he might as well just get up. Walk around the farm like he did every morning. Usually he stayed close to the barns and checked on every horse in the barn but today he felt like walking by the paddock fences to enjoy the scenery. He shoved his hands in his pocket and took in the fresh smell of spring.
Suddenly Aaron found himself further from the farm then he normally ventured. It's not a big deal. He still had another hour or two before he had to make it over the GHF track anyway to work his mounts. He didn't have to hurry either since he only had one mount to ride today. Just a little further. He trudged on keeping his eyes on the ground in front of him. The grass was slippery and he really didn't want to have a wipeout.
A loud bang erupted to the right and Aaron jumped up with surprise. When he landed he landed with a crunch. The wipeout that he had not wanted came and it wasn't very pleasant. What he saw when he turned over made him gasp. He was looking straight into the eyes of a black stallion.
.BACK TO THE PRESENT.
The man shook his head and stood up. The head rush he received made him fall back down. He waited a few seconds before standing again. That's better. He rubbed his hands together to warm them up and stuck them into his pockets. He turned slowly and started back into the shadows. He watched as someone came up to the track and mounted a horse in the exact spot he was just sitting. It was probably someone who wanted to train their horse in private, secrecy was big in the racing world. In fact Kirsten absolutely loved running their horses at night, under only the lights from the track. Maybe that was her right now...
.7 AM THIS MORNING.
Aaron was physically on the track and riding a horse but mentally was not there. He had no idea even to which horse he was riding, he was just that clueless. All he could think of was his encounter with the black stallion a few hours ago. Who was he and where did he come from? What was with the fire burning in his eyes? What was his story? It was the same questions that kept playing over and over in his head.
He felt odd at the moment. Almost as though he was disconnected with what is going on. Suddenly he felt a quick jerk of the reins on his right. He looked sharply to the side startled. He was looking right in the eyes of Melanie, who was giving him a confused look. "What are you doing?" He looked around to see that he was at the far end of the dirt track when he was supposed to be on the turf. His mount was probably even more confused, which is why she hadn't bolted. Melanie shook her head and pointed towards Kirsten.
The owner and well know jockey was at the rail furious and anxiously screaming at him. Everyone nearby seemed to be staring straight at him and he felt his cheeks flush with embarrassment. He had definitely screwed up big this time.
.BACK TO THE PRESENT.
Aaron scratched his head and sighed. He remembered the anger in his boss quite clearly this morning. He was lucky she had not fired him on the spot. In fact he had had a good mix of "luckys" this morning. Lucky he had not hurt himself badly in his fall. Lucky he had stumbled across that black stallion. Lucky he had not ruined his mounts career with his carelessness on the track. Lucky he had not gotten fired after the episode. He walked back towards where ARS kept their racing string when at the GHF track and thought about his final "lucky" this morning.
.3 PM THIS AFTERNOON.
After the big blow out at the track Aaron felt pretty useless and stupid. There was still the image of the black stallion in his head though that he just couldn't clear. He just had to know. There was nothing he could do about it, he needed to know. The mystery was eating away at him.
When he finally tracked down Kirsten and talked calmly about the episode this morning he felt relieved. He had all the answers to his questions and a new purpose and challenge to look forward to. He had everything figured out and set up. Now it was time to put his plan into action. He was moving the black stallion to GHF to begin training at once.
.BACK TO THE PRESENT.
The man and horse stood side by side and focused on the track in front of them. It was a place for disappointments and achievements, training and winning, records and stumbles. It was a place of mystery. It was time to begin the journey of a partnership that will not break down or be forgotten. Man and horse were going to unite as one and show the world what they were capable of. Before he even got a chance to mount Aaron looked into the firey eyes that captivated him and lured him in. The horse was meant to run, and now was his chance.