Angel's Background: Part 1::
Welcome Home
It was a special day when Angel came to us here at Coldwater Creek. It was early spring and a few foals had been born that morning. But Angel was not born here, she was brought here. An elderly lady and her granddaughter came to the ranch one day, a small two horse trailer in tow with them. We at first thought they were lost, because we do not typically get visitors to the ranch unless by appointment. When the elderly lady got out of the vehicle, we began to get very confused. Her granddaughter was a young lady of around twenty-five. We assumed the older woman was into her eighties, but she was walking without support of a cane or any such items that typically followed the elderly.
The granddaughter smiled at us, "Is this Coldwater Creek?" She asked, looking at us. She stood next to her grandmother and held her hand gently. I couldn't help but to smile.
"This is, how can we help you?" I asked them both.
"My grandmother here has something for you all. She insisted that it must go to you, though we aren't sure why." The granddaughter began. "Is there somewhere where we can sit and talk?"
I immediately began to run through my mind of who this lady was, and I could not for the life of me figure it out. "Of course." I told them, "Right this way, let's go to the house." I realized then that the grandmother had not yet spoken. I was confused by this, but I wasn't about to be rude and ask questions. As I led them into the house, I pulled out a chair for the grandmother and helped her take a seat. The granddaughter sat next to her, almost protectivly. "So what exactly did you bring me?" I asked, getting right to the point. I was never a patient man.
"Well, this all started about a month ago. We really couldn't figure out what grandma was trying to say. You see, my grandfather passed away a little over a month ago and ever since she has been mumbling names and addresses and numbers and such. She has alzhimers, so we weren't quite sure what was going on. But this week things started to clear up a bit for her and we started to understand what she was saying. She kept telling us Coldwater Creek. We couldnt figure out where we had heard the name before, but as I was going through some old paperwork of my grandfathers' the name Coldwater Creek kept popping up. Only it was Coldwater Creek Tolter Ranch. We started putting the puzzle together. My grandfather used to be a Tolter breeder as well. While most of the horses were sold at auction along with the ranch and properties as he wanted, one of the horses, he had us keep. We weren't sure why until we read deeper into his will. The horse was for you, I am assuming."
"I'm sorry, but I don't recognize either of you." I told the granddaughter. Though listening to her story, it seemed true enough.
"Don't you talk that way William, of course you know me." The grandmother spoke, giving me a face that could only be described as disappointed.
I was shocked, "I'm sorry, but you have the wrong pers..." I stopped, "Did you say William?" I looked at the grandmother.
"Well yes, who do you think you are? I swear you keep getting crazier and crazier every time I see you." The grandmother chuckled then, smiling at me.
"It seems you do have the right person, though William was my father." I told the pair. "My name is James." I smiled then. "So, can we have a look at what you brought me?" I asked.
The granddaughter smiled, "Of course, I think you will truly love her. She was one of the last ones my grandfather bred before he passed away."
As we walked outside and back towards the trailer, I couldn't help but grin as we walked up. I helped the grand daughter with the trailer door, and as the light shone through, I could see a beautiful creamy white foal laying in the straw of the trailer. She lifted her head, almost fawn-like to look at me. Her face was feminine and and soft and her forelock was starting to come in. She blinked at me and stood. Her long legs expertly unfolding from beneath her. She wore no halter of any kind and I was happy she didn't, any sort would have mared her beauty. She stared at me for quite some time, her large lavender eyes trained on me. She wasnt at all scared of me, and I believed her to be about seven or eight months old from her size. She was all around gorgeous and graceful. She began getting curious, or rather assumed we wanted her out of the trailer, and as she came into the sunshine, her coat gleamed. No baby fuzz was left on her body, her coat was clean and short.
"Her name is Song Of An Angel." The granddaughter spoke.
With her name, she turned her head to look at the granddaughter, recognizing it as her own.
As I examined her, I discovered that she had an Overo pattern, but her main coat was so light, the blended perfectly. As I looked harder, I could see the outline of what looked like an angel on her barrel. I was awed. "The name definitely fits her." I said.
"She's all yours, I have to get my grandma back home, but please take good care of her. You won't find it hard for her to be trained, she's a natural dancer. Just play a bit of music for her and you will see what I mean. You won't be sorry." The granddaughter told me as she closed the trailer door.
As they pulled out of the drive, the filly didn't move an inch, I touched her shoulder and murmured her name. She looked at me. "Well Angel, welcome home." I told her.
(1017 words)
