First of all, thank you to those following my story. Even if there aren’t many of you, it still warms my heart to see people interested in my fictional story.
Secondly, I’m currently in my final year and therefor I have many exams. I have been unable to write anything down, due to high stress levels. It will probably take a few more months before I’ll be able to write anything.
Finally, I created a logo for the stables. Please click the link below to see my sources.
A world, so full of nothing. That had been Daniel’s life ever since he lost the battle against his ex-wife six years ago. He had tried replacing everything. He moved in with his parents on the ranch. He bought himself a young horse, which he trained and was now competing within many different shows. To the outside world, it might have seemed like he was fine. However, deep down, nothing helped him cheer up or made him feel alive again. Alcoholism, chain-smoking and depression were diseases which crept into his life.
During the six years that had passed, many women had tried to get close to Daniel. And just as many had failed. He had promised himself that love was an unnecessary emotion and he therefore should never feel it again. Love is an emotion which only causes pain and suffering. He had had enough of it.
Daniel was staring up at the ceiling of his room. He had just woken up from a dream he had often had in the past few weeks. He had peeked at some forms laying on his mother’s office - or actually the cupboard his mother called her office – and found files of someone who she had just hired. He had also found her curriculum vitae, which contained a photograph. Two bright green eyes were staring at Daniel. The woman on the picture had a wide smile and flaming red hair. On her nose, she had tiny freckles and a pale skin color. Something about the picture, made something Daniel feel very uncomfortable about the woman. And ever since then, the same dream kept coming up every few days. He was running down an extremely white hallway. The end, to which he was running, was as bright as a sun. The more Daniel was running towards the light, the further away he seemed to get. And then, out of a nowhere, a high-pitched laugh sounds. Daniel trips and falls. When he looks up there’s a blonde woman standing over him, smiling and laughing at him.
Daniel sighed and got out of his bed. He grabbed a red lumberjack shirt and a pair of jeans. He put on his boots and silently went downstairs. It was very dark which would make it difficult for anyone who didn’t know the house to navigate around. However, Daniel had lived there for almost his entire life and knew the house like the back of his hand. He was about to turn 34 years old. His age was one of the biggest discussion points between him and his mother.  His mother, Catherine, wants Daniel to at some point marry and give her grandchildren. And Daniel was definitely planning to do exactly the opposite of that. To live on his own, not having any commitment to anyone but himself. And other than that, he was quite certain he was never going to find a woman who he could love anyway.
Daniel had decided to start his day early. At the time the new woman arrived, he’d be having his break. That way he could avoid having to help her get started. He knew Mei was going to be there as well. It was a better idea to let her take care of the lady instead.
Daniel had somehow made his way into the tack room inside the barn. He flipped a switch next to the door which made all the lights inside turn on. All the horses woke up, their heads turning or sticking their heads outside their stables and neighed. Daniel grabbed the feeding cart which was stored in the first stable next to the tack room and systematically fed the horses. He knew exactly how much concentrate every single one of them ate. And since there weren’t too many horses stationed in the barn, 4 stallions, 1 gelding, 4 mares and one foal, Daniel was done within 2 minutes. He put the feeding cart back in the stable and yawned.
Daniel checked his watch, five past seven. He had enough time to take a quick break. He stuck a hand inside his pocket and grabbed the package of cigarettes he always kept near him. He picked a cig out of the package and stuck it in his mouth. He reached down his other pocket and grabbed the lighter he kept in there to light the cigarette. He inhaled the smoke and waited a bit before exhaling. A smoke cloud formed and Daniel took another puff off the cigarette. He could already hear his mother nag at him for smoking inside. But what the eye can't see, the heart won't grieve over.
Daniel kicked out the cigarette and got back to the tack room. It was a small rectangular room. Against the long back wall, about a dozen lockers were placed next to each other. Above each locker there was a name burned on a wooden name plate. Daniel opened one of the many lockers. On the name plate it said “Abd al Alim”. Inside the locker were two saddles, two bridles and some blankets he could use. Daniel grabbed the top saddle, which was the dressage saddle and the bridle that goes with it, which had white stones on the browband. He also picked up a random blanket and closed the locker again.
Daniel went back into the long hall with stables. On each side of the hall was a row of stables. On the left side, the row was interrupted by the entrance towards the indoor arena. Abd al Alim, which Daniel nicknamed had Abdel, was placed at the far end of the hall, because that was where all the stallions were located. They were separated from the mares, which were located at the front of the hall.
Daniel yawned and slouched towards Abdel’s stable. He quickly brushed the chestnut horse and put on his tack. Daniel checked his watch again and put on his cap. The new lady was supposed to arrive around 8. It was now fifteen past seven, which gave him enough time to train Abdel and start his break. Daniel lead the stallion into the indoor arena. He checked the girth before mounting.
His ride was an easy one. Daniel and his horse were completely adjusted to one another. Daniel only had to think about something and Abdel did it right away, without Daniel having to even give any pressure with his legs. At the moment, Daniel was training Abdel to enter competitions. He still had to start at the very lowest level. Since he had already trained horses to a higher level before, he didn’t have any difficulty teaching Abdel some nice tricks like flying changes or travers.
After about 40 minutes, Daniel decided his horse had sweated enough. He dismounted and brought Abdel towards the grooming area. Daniel untacked Abdel and used a hose to wash him and help him cool down. The horse snorted multiple times, indicating it enjoyed the cold water. Daniel then threw a fleece rug on Abdel. Daniel looked on his watch and noticed it was already five to eight. He hurried towards the canteen and started his break.
 A small red car pulled up to the driveway of Riverview Estate. It stopped on one of the parking spots next to front door of the house, next to a large and extremely dirty Land Rover. A slender young woman stepped out, the gravel crunching underneath her brown leather boots. Her long wavy red hair was tied back into a pony tail. Her bright green eyes scanned the front of the building. The house reminded her of an old Dutch farm house. When one stands on the front of the building, it looks like a house. But at the back a big barn was attached to it. Classic deep red window shutters and a double mahogany entry door broke with the white walls. She smiled and closed the door of her car. The woman walked up to the entry door and sighed.
“You can do this,” she told herself, “calm down, you can do this.”
The woman grabbed the golden doorknob and enter the building. She entered a small corridor which lead into a big open space, which obviously served as canteen. The space was dimly lit by ornamental lights. The dark colours used in the canteen also made it seem darker. When walking through the corridor, the heels of her boots made dull sounds on the wooden floor. The woman rubbed her hands together and her shoulders tensed as she walked into the big open space. A foul stench hung in the air, the smell of someone smoking.
“Ah,” someone said, “you must be Eleanor!”
The woman jumped at the sudden outcry and then nodded. She looked at the elder woman standing behind the bar who had just surprised her. Her grey hair was tied back into a bun and her smile was wide.
“Yes,” Eleanor said, “it’s so great to be here.”
“My name is Catherine,” the woman said smiling. She walked up to Eleanor and shook her hand vigorously, which made the bun on her head shake up and down as well. Eleanor smiled back at the woman, ignoring some sounds behind her.
Catherine placed her hands on her hips and angrily looked at something, or rather someone, behind Eleanor. Eleanor turned and saw a dark-skinned man staring at her from behind a newspaper. He was sitting on a sofa in the corner of the canteen, with a cigarette in his mouth. Eleanor walked up to him and reached out a hand to shake his.
“Hi,” she said, “it’s nice to meet you.”
The man looked at her, scanning her completely from top to bottom. He removed the cigarette from his mouth and blew the smoke into Eleanor’s face. He then put it back in his mouth and went back to reading his newspaper. Eleanor’s stomach had twisted into a knot and she felt like throwing up. Eleanor retracted her arm, but continued to look at the man. His hazel eyes were now scanning an article in the newspaper. Eleanor stood there for a moment, before Catherine finally spoke.
“I’m so sorry,” Catherine apologised, “he’s never done that before.” It was like she was talking about a dog instead of a man.
“It’s fine,” Eleanor said, turning to Catherine, “I’m sure we’ll get along fine.”
Catherine laughed nervously. “Shall we continue into the stables?”
Eleanor nodded and followed Catherine towards a small door at the far end of the canteen. Eleanor felt something prickle in her back. She turned and saw the man staring at her again. His eyes quickly shifted back towards the paper. Eleanor felt awkward for a moment and then followed Catherine through the door towards the stables.
With his heart pounding in his chest, the dark-skinned man ran through a long white corridor, doors on one side, windows on the other. He felt the adrenaline rush through his body and he was breathing heavily. He pushed his body through the swinging door he had been closing up on. Once again, he entered a same white corridor. He took a breather and looked at a little plate which was located next to the door and displayed a number, B15. Another rush of adrenaline shot through his body as he suddenly realized how little further he had to go. He inhaled and ran through the corridor.
He simply had to be there in time. If not, everything he had fought for would be lost. The idea made him feel weak and nauseous. Or maybe it was the air he was inhaling so desperately. The air, which reeked of disinfectant and illness.
The man kept looking at the numbers on the doors, which now read B20. His dark brown wavy hair was now sticking to his forehead. Only four more doors and he’d be at his destination or his demise. He felt like he was running towards a light, which seemed to be very far away and hardly came any closer. The last few doors, running past them, felt like an eternity. During this eternity, he had time to think about everything. He had time to relive his entire relationship with his wife before it was crushed by his best friend. This woman had not only taken everything he held dear, she had taken his dignity. Once he thought everything he had was gone, somehow God had been kind to him and given him something to hold on to. But now she was going to take even that away. A small life, growing inside her womb. She had decided to remove it, without talking to him about it
Finally, he reached door B24. Before going in, the man closed his eyes and thought back to the moment he found out all about his now ex-wife. Flashes of their married life flooded his thoughts. He squeezed his eyes shut even tighter, inhaling the sick air of the hospital. Suddenly the door in front of him opened. A beautiful woman with blonde hair stepped out into the corridor. The man’s stomach twisted into a tight knot.
“It’s done,” she said, glaring at him.
The man felt like his life was being sucked out of him. His legs became weak and he let himself fall to the ground. He stared up at the woman, tears prickling in his eyes. For a moment, nothing seemed to matter anymore. His entire world collapsed. As quickly as the feeling of helplessness drowned him, as quickly it disappeared and pure anger filled his entire being. He jumped onto his feet and charged at the woman. His tears blurred his vision. Something wrapped around his arms and pulled him back. He struggled against the grip of the two men in white cloaks holding him. He kicked, he yelled, he cried, but all in vain. The men holding him were too strong.
The man leered at the woman. An evil grin crept across her face.
“How dare you?” the man spat at the woman, while still fighting the other men’s grip on his arms. Tears slid down his cheeks.
“Being with you was probably the worst thing I could’ve done,” the woman said, placing her hands on her hips, “you are the most terrible lover I could’ve ever had. And that is why it had to be taken out.”
Another flood of nausea surprised the man. He had lost the will to fight like he had lost everything else. This child was the only bit of light that kept him wanting to keep going, wanting to live. But now she had taken it, there was nothing left for him to live for. He felt weak, a stranger in his own body. Again, he felt his legs weaken. The two men were now struggling to make sure he’d stay upright.
“Well,” the woman turned to leave, “thank you, Daniel, for everything.”
Her footsteps echoed through the white corridor of the hospital until she disappeared through the swinging doors he had so desperately run through not minutes earlier.
The two men let him go. Daniel dropped onto the ground, with his back against the wall with the windows. He stared at the door across the hall while the two doctors left. Tears clouded his vision and slowly slid down his cheeks. He had no idea he sat there, curled up against the wall. He was, for a very long moment, unable to move, unable to think. It could’ve been hours until he finally decided to get up and leave. He left everything behind him and walked into a new future, with nothing in it.
