Broken Wings 2 - Midnight Flight, Andrews, C. [classic books for 10 year olds .TXT] 📗

long enough for them all to think I wasn't kidding. Then Gia laughed and the rest of them joined her.

We were all quiet again.

Teal stared down the gravel road. “I don't care if it only goes to an Indian store. It goes somewhere,” she said in a loud whisper.

None of us disagreed. The shadows grew longer as the sun slid down toward the mountain. Everything that lived and spent its time in the daylight here surely gave thanks for the mountains, I thought. Funny, I realized, how I had never once thought to be grateful for anything in nature.

Maybe I was not grateful for anything at all.

Maybe that was why I was here.

Broken Wings 2 - Midnight Flight

Confession

An the days that followed, we were given new chores, which included learning how to milk cows. We were then made to do that first thing in the morning instead of working in the garden, after we recited our morning chant, of course. Added to the milking of cows came the caring and feeding of the horses. Once again it was Teal who moaned and groaned the most, complaining about her callused hands, the odors, and the hard work. We were truly exhausted when the sun set, but we knew that didn't mean the end of our responsibilities.

Dr. Foreman had given us all passing grades on our schoolwork, but then she added more and more to our assignments as if she was trying to see how much we could accomplish before crying “Uncle!” A new and more efficient and effective spirit of cooperation had been born among us, however, and Gia was smart. Robin commented that she was actually learning fasterunder Gia's tutoring and better than she had in regular school and I couldn't disagree. To our buddies' chagrin, we actually enjoyed working together. M'Lady One couldn't resist commenting, “Aren't you all turning into nerdy little goody-​goodies.”

No one responded. We just kept working. I was afraid this new spirit of cooperation would be torn apart at the next group therapy session, but we didn't have another like that. Instead, Dr. Foreman began what she described as a new and more personal round of analysis and healing. She called us in one at a time, me being the last. When one of the previous four returned, I looked at her and waited in anticipation, hoping to hear something that might help me when I was summoned to see Dr. Foreman.

However, whoever talked with Dr. Foreman returned in a cocoon built out of painful memories or fears and didn't want to speak. Gia was like that for days afterward, as was Mindy. Teal seemed sadder, more defeated, and Robin angrier. It was as if the invisible bonds that had grown among us were cut again. When it came my turn, I was truly frightened. What powers did she have? What would she do to me?

The afternoon of my appointment, Natani was showing me how to groom a horse he called Wind Song. A quarter horse, he had a short back, muscular chest, and muscular hindquarters. The other girls weren't as interested as I was in horses, and I could see Natani liked that I was. The only time I had ever been close to a real horse before was when I had watched a parade in Atlanta.

Natani was demonstrating how to use the hoof pick and telling me why it was important to remove the buildup of dirt and debris. Longtime exposure tobacteria could cause infections, he said, and stones could eventually cause bruising.

Wind Song was patient and cooperative as though the horse understood what Natani was telling me and doing. When I commented about that, he nodded and said, “He does understand. Not words, but actions. That's how animals speak to each other and how we speak to them, by what we do, not by what we say.”

“There can be no lies between us then,” I muttered.

He smiled at me. “Yes, daughter of the sun, yes.”

I was afraid when he handed me the pick, but soon I was doing it and Wind Song was just as calm as he was when Natani worked on him. Before I could finish, M'Lady One was at the door of the horse barn.

“Dr. Foreman wants you,” she said. “Now!”

“Can't I finish this first?”

“No. It's time for your therapy.”

Wind Song turned toward her as if he could feel my nervousness. He bared his teeth, snorted, and shook his head. Natani looked at me hard, but I'm sure it wasn't difficult to see the anxiety in my eyes.

“In here,” he said, holding his hand over his heart, “is your hogan. No one can come in there unless you say yes.”

“Move it, girl,” M'Lady One shouted.

I handed the pick back to Natani and started out.

“He's a crazy old loon,” M'Lady One muttered as we walked toward the house. “All that peyote has gone to his head and turned his brain into mashed potatoes. I don't know why Dr. Foreman keeps him here.”

“Why are you here? Why do you want to do this rather than be out there with people, having fun, getting on with your life?” I dared ask her.

"Why am I here? It's the least I can do for Dr. Fore-

man. She's done so much for me. If you don't appreciate her yet, it's because you haven't improved enough. But don't worry,“ she said, smiling, ”you will. She has never failed yet with one of her wards."

“Never?”

“Never. It's just a matter of time. Longer for some than others maybe, but just a matter of time, so don't think you're anything special.”

“You're improved?” I fired back at her. The smile flew off her face like a frightened bird lifting off a branch.

“Yes, I am.” Her eyes were small and cold. “If you think I'm mean now, just imagine what I was and what I can be again if I have to be.”

“If that's true,” I said, pausing to take off my shoes, “then you've really not changed, have you?”

“Oh, you're so