Gravel crunched under the wheels of Mom\u2019s car as we pulled into the stable driveway. I leaned out the window, searching the pasture for my best friend, Tialani.<\/p>\n
At school I was nobody. All the other kids had money and cool clothes. I wasn\u2019t good enough to be their friend. But Tialani loved me.<\/p>\n
\u201cTia!\u201d I called, climbing out of the car.<\/p>\n
Across the pasture, the little chocolate-brown Arabian whinnied and came running. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t have believed that if I hadn\u2019t seen it with my own eyes,\u201d said Mom. \u201cThat horse came to you!\u201d<\/p>\n
I pressed my cheek to her muzzle. \u201cI have to get to work, girl. I\u2019ll ride you as soon as I muck out the stables.\u201d<\/p>\n
I met Tialani\u2019s owner, Karen Bragg, when I joined 4-H. All the other girls in the program had horses of their own. As usual I was the odd one out.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you work for me after school,\u201d Karen said one day, \u201cyou could ride the horses whenever you want.\u201d<\/p>\n
I jumped at the chance. Every afternoon, after being invisible at school, I groomed horses and cleaned out stalls. My brother, Bryan, couldn\u2019t understand why anyone would want to do such dirty work.<\/p>\n
Bryan didn\u2019t understand. He wasn\u2019t a nobody. He had plenty of friends. I saw them when they came to the house, even if I was too shy to talk to them.<\/p>\n
I refilled the water trough by the stable and carried in fresh hay, greeting each horse in its stall as I went by. I loved them all, but Tialani was my favorite.<\/p>\n
She was the prettiest horse I\u2019d ever seen: chocolate brown with black shading. Tia nickered when she saw me. She came when I called. She ran to the gate to greet me. The kids at school didn\u2019t see anything special about me, but this beautiful horse did.<\/p>\n
I finished mucking out the last stall and ran to the pasture. For an hour before my mom picked me up, Tia and I practiced cantering for my lesson. \u201cMy birthday\u2019s next week,\u201d I told Tia when it was time to go. \u201cWe\u2019ll spend it together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody in school wished me happy birthday that day. None of them even knew I was turning 13. But Tia waited for me like always, in the pasture. Karen was waiting too. \u201cI have something for you,\u201d she said. She handed me a brightly wrapped package.<\/p>\n
I tore open the wrapping. Ownership papers? My name was printed under Tialani\u2019s. \u201cShe\u2019s\u2026mine?\u201d I stammered. \u201cHow could Tialani be mine?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTina, that horse decided who she wanted her owner to be a long time ago,\u201d said Karen. \u201cShe chose you. I\u2019m just giving her what she wants.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, thank you, Karen! Thank you!\u201d I ran out to the pasture. Tialani trotted up to me. \u201cYou chose me,\u201d I whispered, rubbing my face against her neck. \u201cYou\u2019re the best horse in the world, Tialani, and you chose me!\u201d<\/p>\n
When I got home Bryan was in his room with his friend Tony.<\/p>\n
\u201cKaren gave me Tialani!\u201d I cried, too excited to be shy around his friend. \u201cI have my own horse!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s awesome!\u201d said Tony. \u201cI\u2019m not very good at it, but I love to ride.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you want you can come riding with me sometime,\u201d I said. \u201cTialani\u2019s great with beginners. I could take one of the other horses.\u201d Did I just invite some boy to go riding with me?<\/em> Well, if a horse like Tialani thought I was special, I was certainly good enough for Bryan\u2019s friend!<\/p>\n Between school, my job and my new horse I didn\u2019t have much time. But one afternoon I finally got Tony settled. I mounted another Arabian from the stable.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to walk alongside the road to get to the trail,\u201d I explained, \u201cbut there\u2019s plenty of room.\u201d<\/p>\n It was nice having a person to talk to. Tia was patient and very well behaved, like she knew I wanted to make a good impression. Tony had lots of questions about riding and my job at the stables. We really hit it off.<\/p>\n At the end of the trail, we turned around to head back. By then I considered Tony not just a friend of my brother\u2019s, but also a friend of mine.<\/p>\n \u201cToo bad we can\u2019t stay out longer,\u201d Tony said. He patted Tialani\u2019s neck. \u201cYou really have a great horse here.\u201d<\/p>\n I sat a little higher in my saddle. I knew Tia was the best horse in the world, but I didn\u2019t mind hearing other people agree.<\/p>\n I led the way back to the main road. The sun was just starting to go down. About halfway home a pair of headlights appeared in the distance, weaving erratically. \u201cLet\u2019s get the horses into the ditch,\u201d I said. \u201cThat guy\u2019s going too fast.\u201d<\/p>\n I urged my Arabian away from the road. The car was bearing down on us. \u201cCome on, girl,\u201d I whispered to my horse. \u201cTony, hurry!\u201d<\/p>\n The car swerved. The side mirror caught my leg and snapped off.<\/p>\n The Arabian horse screamed and spun around in wild circles with the impact. I clung desperately to its neck.<\/p>\n There was a bang like a shotgun blast. The car\u2019s engine didn\u2019t falter. The driver sped off without even slowing down.<\/p>\n My Arabian stumbled around, terrified. I got my leg up over the saddle and fell to the ground. The horse galloped off away from the road. \u201cTony?\u201d I yelled.<\/p>\n He lay dazed in the ditch, his leg in an awkward position as if it might be broken. I had to get help. I looked around. The car had thrown Tia about 50 feet from the road. I ran to her and tugged helplessly at her reins. I didn\u2019t want to believe she was dead.<\/p>\n \u201cSomeone please help me!\u201d I screamed. My legs gave out and I collapsed onto the ground.<\/p>\n There was a hand on my shoulder. I looked up and saw a woman, plainly dressed but very pretty, her hair shiny like silk. Where had she come from? I hadn\u2019t seen headlights. She helped me up and led me to her car. \u201cWe shouldn\u2019t move your friend,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019ll go get help for him and Tia.\u201d<\/p>\n She drove me up the gravel driveway to Karen\u2019s house. My parents were waiting inside with Karen. The woman told them about the accident, and I wondered how she knew all the details.<\/p>\n My father rushed off to Tony. Karen called an ambulance. Mom took me to the bedroom to lie down. I never saw the woman again.<\/p>\n Tony\u2019s leg was broken, but he was going to be fine. The Arabian I was riding reappeared unharmed. Only Tia was gone forever. My best friend. The only one who ever thought I was special. Could I face the world without her?<\/p>\n A few days after the accident I sat with Mom and Karen having a cup of tea. \u201cI wish that woman who brought you home had stayed longer,\u201d said Mom.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t even hear her leave,\u201d said Karen. \u201cAs a matter of fact, I didn\u2019t hear her drive up either, and we always hear cars on that driveway.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAnd I didn\u2019t see her headlights on the road,\u201d I said. \u201cIt was like she just appeared out of nowhere.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe she did, Tina,\u201d Mom said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe she was your guardian angel.\u201d<\/p>\n That seemed pretty far out. God wouldn\u2019t send an angel for a nobody like me, would he? I had to take that back. To Tialani I wasn\u2019t a nobody. I was special. Maybe God thought I was special too. After all, he sent me a horse and he sent me a friend.<\/p>\n Now I believe he sent me an angel too. How much more proof did I need? I was <\/em>special to God. And it doesn\u2019t get more special than that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Gravel crunched under the wheels of Mom\u2019s car as we pulled into the stable driveway. I leaned out the window, searching the pasture for my best friend, Tialani. At school I was nobody. All the other kids had money and cool clothes. I wasn\u2019t good enough to be their friend. But Tialani loved me. \u201cTia!\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25737,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[152],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[2412],"class_list":["post-14048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-angels"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n