SKY RIDER

Zoey Harper ignored the barrage of texts her husband sent her. The last one read: If there’s any hope of fixing our marriage, don’t leave us. I still love you.

She shoved her cellphone into her pocket. The rancid smell of manure brought more relief than the shit he’d spouted to their marriage counselor. She didn’t trust Ben to get a better job. Dreams don’t pay the bills, she said. Their counselor told her some time alone horseback-riding at Blue Sky Stables would change her mind about divorcing his deadbeat ass.

A rancher with callused hands and a kind smile tipped his hat at her. “We’ll pair you with a horse once that rider finishes his session.” He pointed at another rider brushing the sand dust off a horse’s back.

She glanced over at a white horse standing in the midst of empty stalls. “What about that one?”

He eyed the horse, chewing on a straw, until a girl with pigtails appeared from the storage closet, carrying a saddle and rein.

“Daddy said nobody can ride it because it’s a Pegasus,” she said, smiling.

The rancher grabbed the tack from the girl and nodded towards their house. “Go check on your mama. See if she needs help.”

Zoey arched her brow and lowered her voice in case the girl could overhear. “Mister, you shouldn’t feed your daughter with fairy tales, or else she’ll be disappointed later on.”

He smirked as if holding a secret. “Ma’am, the universe holds many mysteries. Only time and sweat on our brows may reveal what seems impossible.” He placed the saddle and rein onto her outstretched arms. “Fair warning, that horse only transforms around a rider of his choosing.”

Ears turning towards her, the stallion sniffed her greeting hand and pressed his muzzle into her palm. Her fingers brushed its soft, rubbery skin as she reached into her pouch to offer him an apple. His brown eyes widened, and he accepted her gift with a crisp bite, lips wrapping around her palm.

“Do you feel lonely in this stall?” she asked.

The horse snorted, bobbing his head.

She patted the muscular arch of his neck. “If you’re really a Pegasus, I’d take you home with me. It’d be a dream come true to fly on one.”

A nicker rumbled beneath his broad torso as he nudged the reins with his muzzle.

An invitation to ride him onto the pasture?

She guided the metal bit into his mouth, climbed onto the saddle, and steered him onto the dirt path towards the white picket fences. The stallion slowed down and looked towards the sun-dappled forest trail beyond the stable. She dug her heel on one side of his belly to coax him onto the pasture. He shook his head side-to-side and remained still.

“Guess you don’t like fences,” she murmured.

The red, orange, and yellow leaves rustled in the cool breeze, promising a relaxing trail ride—a break from the stress of her marriage. She dug her heels against his belly, and he sensed her mood.

Clip-clop, clip-clop.

The white tendrils of its mane glistened gold under the sun’s rays.

Clip-clop, clip-clop.

She relaxed into the rhythmic sway of his slow and steady gait until the incessant vibration of her phone snapped her out of a trance. A groan nestled deep in her throat. It must be her husband texting her.

Sold my paintings online. That should cover our bills for a month.

She pressed her phone to her chest, her throat tightening as heat simmered her cheeks. He was trying to save their marriage, too. Would using her savings for a divorce make her a deadbeat wife?

A sharp whinny erupted from the horse as his muscles tremored beneath her.

“Whoa, whoa! Easy, boy.” She held onto the reins, securing her phone in her pocket. “What’s wrong?”

Wolves emerged from the surrounding thickets, twigs crunching under their paws. She steered the horse back towards the ranch, but the pack stepped into their path. The horse reared, punching his hooves at them, and broke into a gallop, jumping over a log. Her legs squeezed the saddle as she heaved air back into her lungs, heart pounding in her temples. Thin branches whipped at her skin from all sides but were less painful than the sharp claws and teeth. Every landmark looked nothing like what she’d seen on the trail. Around the bend, a cliff plunged over the forest canopy. She yanked the reins back, but the horse tossed its head and galloped faster. She shut her tear-streaked eyes and prayed for herself, then for her husband’s future as a widower.

A blinding white light shone through her eyelids. The air vibrated with the deep, rhythmic whoosh of a thousand feathers beating in unison. She braced for gravity to pull them down into the unforgiving earth, but weightlessness engulfed her. The white horse soared over the lush, yellow-green canopy and into the orange, clear sky. A silent laugh bubbled up in her throat as warmth bloomed within her chest, spreading like sunshine.

The horse glided onto the pasture, and hooves galloped onto the earth. She dismounted from the saddle and landed on her backside with a thud, her legs refusing to cooperate with the world spinning around her. Looking around for the rancher to purchase her new friend with her divorce savings, she dialed her husband’s number.

“Honey.” She beamed. “You will not believe this.”

Ariel Echeverria is a US Army veteran in Orlando, FL. When she’s not writing fantasy and young adult fiction, she can be found playing video games and attending church with her friends. Follow her on LinkedIn @linkedin.com/in/ariel-echeverria.