The Family by Marissa Kennerson Read Free Book Online Page B

Twig!” Ryan yelled. Twig dug her heels into Sapphire, and the horse obediently sprinted after him.
    They rode for an hour and then circled back. It was still warm and humid, but the sky had turned a threatening gray. The group formed a tight cadre as they ambled back to the stables. Everyone chatted casually, laughter bubbling up from the pack now and then.
    “I’m going to walk Sapph over to the stream for some water,” Twig said.
    She steered Sapphire away from the group and headed toward a wide stream that lay to their right. The water was frothy with the turbulent current. As Twig and her horse neared the stream, she felt raindrops on her head. Sapphire stuck her black, velvety muzzle in the water and began to drink. The raindrops came harder and faster. Twig loved the rain; she wasn’t fazed when it started to come down in sheets.
    She thought she heard someone calling her name. Twig pulled Sapphire’s reins to steer her back toward the group, but Sapphire resisted. She had become interested in something in the grass. Suddenly, a flock of birds emerged from the trees. Their wings snapped loudly, like clothes on a line pulled taut in the wind. The sound startled Twig. The birds disappeared into the sky, which had turned gunmetal gray.
    “Come on, Sapph. We’d better go. It’s getting a bit wild out here.” Sapphire continued to resist. She began to snort and scratch one of her front hoofs at the ground.
    “What is it, girl?” Twig leaned sideways to try to get a look at what was upsetting Sapphire. The rain made it hard to see, and Sapphire was so agitated that she wasn’t responding. Twig was just about to pull harder on the reins, to demand that Sapphire come with her, when she saw what was happening. By then, it was too late. The horse had put her muzzle into a hive of bees that must have fallen from a tree. Sapphire reared up as the bees swarmed. Twig tried to hang on, but she was in the wrong position. She felt a sharp, unnatural twisting in her back as she was thrown from the horse.
    She heard screams.
    Everything went black.

12
    Twig looked down at her light brown pony with its shaggy white mane and long white bangs. The girl in front of her rode a white pony with big black spots. They were riding slowly around a ring. Six impeccably groomed ponies carrying six elegant children dressed in party clothes .
    Twig looked down at her frothy, raspberry-pink party dress. A tulle ballerina skirt parachuted around her small body .
    “Livvy! My birthday girl! My baby girl!” A tall young man with warm golden skin and prematurely gray hair held Twig carefully atop the pony, making sure she didn’t fall. His eyes, like bright green marbles, were full of love. They were magical eyes .
    “Daddy!”
    Twig saw her mother outside the ring. She was dressed in a fitted strapless, chocolate brown dress. Avery’s hair was almost platinum, buttery, blonde, and pulled up in a high ponytail. A beatific grin spread across her gorgeous tanned face. Twig wanted to go to her .
    “Mommy!”
    “Just another round, Livvy. Then you can go to Mommy.”

13
    A sharp pain in Twig’s arm shot into her consciousness. Her head throbbed. She was parched.
    “Mommy?” Twig was barely able to utter the word. Her mouth was so dry, despite the rain that continued to pelt her. She didn’t know where she was, and she was in a lot of pain. She was so dizzy.
    “Twig, I’m here. Everything is going to be okay.” Twig thought she heard her mother, but she wasn’t sure.
    “Mommy, I want Daddy. Where is Daddy? I want my daddy!” Twig had begun to scream. A panic was setting in that she couldn’t control.
    Commotion. People swarmed around her, creating a canopy and blocking the rain. Twig couldn’t see the sky. She wanted desperately to see the sky. She wished the people would move, give her some air. She felt like her lungs were collapsing. She couldn’t get a breath.
    “Doc is coming! He’ll be here in a minute,” Twig heard