My Empty Heart | Teen Ink

My Empty Heart

May 19, 2009
By Tweetybird13 BRONZE, Marietta, Georgia
Tweetybird13 BRONZE, Marietta, Georgia
3 articles 1 photo 0 comments

I take it step by step, as I stroll towards the beautiful creature. I have always been fascinated by horses, since the first time I glanced at one. I distinctly remember that day; I was 8 years old. We had always lived in the city, so I had only seen them on TV. It doesn’t give you the same feeling as actually standing right in front of the beauty. My mom took my sister, who was almost 6 at the time, and me to a huge farm. She wanted to show us how she grew up as a child- surrounded by nature. I was curious to see all the animals at the farm. When we arrived, I stepped out of the car and was amazed. Dozens of animals roaming around freely, it was an unforgettable sight! My eyes drifted around aimlessly, then I saw her. A lovely mare standing right in front of me and her fur glowed in the sunlight. Her eyes a luminous chestnut brown and her radiant mane flowed down from her broad neck. She noticed me and staggered closer to the fence. Her head stooped down, encouraging me to stroke the top of her head. I felt an instant connection with her. From then on, nothing could keep me away from horses.
Every day, after school, I would rush to the farm and gaze at the beautiful mare. I would occasionally bring her carrots, apples, and her favorite snack, mints. Whenever I visited her, I could see the same glitter in her eye every time. I would ride her for hours upon hours, until the sky turned dark and my mother called me to go home. I hated each time I had to leave her, she whined and I stroked her soft head. I promised her I would be back the next day. One day my beautiful mare was gone. Her owner said she passed away from old age. There was an empty space in my heart, waiting to be filled.
Six years later, to fill that empty space, I bought a horse with the money I had been saving up since the day at the farm. He was a pure black stallion and the way his strong legs carried his body so swiftly stunned me. I named the exquisite horse Twilight Storm. My 10th grade year was devastating for me! Twilight Storm had broken his right foreleg and had to be euthanized. I shrieked and wailed, “No, no, no! Don’t kill him, he is my best friend!” My mom comforted me, but it didn’t help. For the next few months, I just stayed in my room, weeping. But, after several depressing months, I decided that I shouldn’t be sitting here feeling sorry for myself. I was determined to do something about it! So, I devoted my next two years of high school and all of college to studying equine veterinary medicine. I still thought about Twilight Storm every night, but it was a good feeling. I promised him that I would do my best to save horses like him every day.
I continue walking until I can feel his constant breathing send chills up my spine. A gorgeous, black stallion with an innocent face and two starlit eyes gazing right at me, I can picture Twilight Storm. A single teardrop drizzles down my face. I study his injury carefully- a broken right foreleg. His name is Shadow; he is a racehorse. He stumbled on the track and shattered his foreleg. I will save Shadow; he will not end up like poor Twilight Storm. I fill my, once again, empty heart.


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