GENRE: Humor
LENGTH: 1,536 words
RATING:

Working for a school project at a horse rescue facility, Nelson falls for the one horse which can't be found a new home.

Toscana is a beautiful, young chestnut mare whose looks attract prospective adopters before her terrible temper puts them off. Nelson forms a bond with the horse, but then has to leave for college, followed by a job in London.

Several years later, he visits the rescue center to see the mare who stole his heart -- only to find that Toscana is gone. What does that mean?

EXCERPT:

At the center, the incoming horses’ miserable condition wrenched Nelson’s heart.

Emaciated and terrified of humans, these ghosts of their former equine selves blossomed under proper care. During his three-year stint, every horse found a new home.

Except one.

Nelson noticed the bad-tempered ginger mare biting and cow-kicking her handlers on his first day. She was an unfortunate introduction to horses and he wondered in horror: did such a creature deserve saving?

“Don’t worry, son.” Bob, the manager, laid a hand on his shoulder. “Toscana isn’t typical. She’s young and still has fight.”

Nelson asked whether this was a good thing? He rather doubted it.