Hard rain is pounding on the roof, thunder crashing towards the barn. It’s 2AM when I see the red glare shine through the window, Dad’s pulling in with a trailer hauling behind his truck. I grab my coat, and pull my muck boots on as I run out the door and towards the trailer. The creature inside is kicking the steel walls, screaming in fright. My dad jumps out of the truck as he yells “get her out of the trailer Tess!” while running towards the barn. It’s raining down hard, while I turn the trailer lights on and grab a halter as I slowly open the door, “hey girl! It’s okay I swear I’m not going to hurt you..” I say loudly over all the banging sounds going on around me. I jump into the trailer and walk up to her. A wild horse that dad just went to save from a kill pen. She is the prettiest thing i’ve ever seen…she is a buckskin, with a black main and tail, but I can tell she has been absolutely torchered.I put the lead rope around her neck and pull the halter over her face, then walk her out of the trailer into the harsh rain. She hops out, but then starts rearing in fear. I calm her down and walk her into the barn where it’s more quiet. Dads already got her a stall open with 2 buckets full of water and tons of hay scattered around the area. She is argumentative about going in, but with a little help from dad we got her inside. “Do you think we can help her, dad?” I ask. “Tess…I don’t know. Look at her she has scars everywhere, she is scared to death, and she is all alone.” She is all alone, she was taken away from her family in the wild, now she is trapped within four walls, by herself. “We will check on her in the morning, I think all three of us need some rest.” Dad says to me as he puts his arm around me and gives me a hug. Dad knows I want to help her, but he also knows that I know it might not be possible.

“Tess? Tessa!” A sweet little voice says while poking me with tiny fingers. “Seriously Bonnie, what time is it?” Bonnie is my little sister, me and her are 8 years apart, but were really close. She is almost 6, but we do everything together! “Its 7AM! Please come outside Tess..” 

“Bon, I just woke up! Let me get ready and then I’ll go outside with you.” I responded. I throw on a pair of jeans and my favorite pair of HeyDudes, along with a tank top and a Kimes Ranch hat, then walk out of my room to go find bonnie. “Good mornin’ Tess!” my mom says to me as I walk into the kitchen still in search of Bonnie. “Hi mama, have you seen the new mare yet?” I asked, “Not yet, me and your dad were going to go out into town to get her some herbs..maybe to calm er’ down a little” she said as she started to laugh a little bit. As I go to grab a tiny biscuit on the table bonnie runs up and tramples me, “are you ready yet? I really want to go see the new horse” she says loudly. “Go on girls, me and dad are goin to head out for a little” she says while grabbing her bag and her keys to the truck, and I think dads already outside waiting for her. I help Bonnie put her boots on and we head outside. “Oh my gosh Tess..I can’t wait to see this new horse!” Bonnie says jumping up and down while walking in a very fast paste towards the barn. 

“Isn’t she just gorgeous?” I say to Bonnie. “Yeah..but she seems deadly.” she replies while taking a step away from her stall. “Don’t worry, me and dad are going to work on her to try and save her!” I say while walking over to grab a halter. “Are you about to go in there with her?” Bonnie says, “yeah, I have to work with her! It doesn’t just happen overnight.” I responded, “you can’t be serious, she is going to go crazy!” she says while backing up even more. “Will you hand me some of the alfalfa, and maybe a couple treats?” I ask. Bonnie goes to where all the hay is stored and hands me a flake of it, then goes into the tack room to grab some treats, “you better be careful..” she says nervously. “Bon, I know what I’m doing” I tell her, which is also a lie, but I can’t give off the fact that I’m very nervous right now to try and get this mare out of her stall. I walk in there with an open mind, “hi there girl!” I say to her to ease the stress we both have.

 “I just want to help you..” I say while putting the alfalfa in front of her, she seems to really like it since we put it in her last night and now it’s gone, so i’m hoping this will work. She doesn’t move though, so at this point I have one choice. I walk up to her slowly with my hands out so she knows I’m not going to hurt her, I put my hand in front of her snout and offer her a treat. It takes a second but she ends up sniffing it, then eating the whole thing. “What a good mare!” I say excitedly, while Bonnie is doing a dance over in the corner. I take the lead rope that’s attached to the halter and slowly put it around her neck. She is as still as a rock, I can tell she wants to freak out right now, but I’m proud she isn’t. I put my hand on her neck and stroked it down her back. “What a good lady” I say calmly. “Is that her name Tess?” Bonnie asked me, “She doesn’t have a name.” I say, “well I like Lady! It fits her.” Bon says. She is such a lady, “I like that name too Bonnie, good job! That’s her name, Lady.” I say. I like the name, and I think she does too, because she is sniffing me all over as if she smells more treats. “We are you going to save you, Lady” I say.