My heart pounds until my chest feels like it will burst. It’s not fair. They shouldn’t have taken her away. Not before I could say good-bye. Tears burn my throat and press behind my eyes. Then I hear it. A soft nicker. It’s coming from far away. From outside. I race out of the barn. “Here, horse! Here, pinto!” I tear around the back of the barn. And there she is! She’s grazing, standing a few yards away. There’s no fence out here. Nothing to keep her from running away. I remember how much trouble we all had catching her at school. That day seems like months ago. “Don’t run off on me,” I beg. I’m walking toward her, in spite of what I know about horses playing hard to get. Instead of running, the pinto raises her head and nickers at me. We step toward each other until I can take hold of her halter. “You had me so worried.” I stroke her white blaze. It starts at the whorl between her eyes and goes down to her nose. It’s jagged, like lightning. “Why didn’t I notice your blaze before?
