The Goat's Milk [Open]

Laura's cheeks were instantly a bright, rosy red as they met the cold air, and her lips licked raw from the wind. She shuffled through the falling snow, her whole body hunched into her thin coat against the wind. She was almost to her front stone steps, when she saw a slight, small figure run by. Laura stopped where she was, turning around to meet the teenage girl by her house, who looked to be a bit older than her.

As the girl got closer, Laura recognized Lethe Turner, who lived close by and raised horses. She smiled, but saw that Lethe did not wave and smile back, her face was blank and emotionless. For a breif moment, Laura was puzzled, and then she remembered that Lethe could not remember people that she met, and had to be reintroduced. She let her face show as a dazzling smile with her bright white teeth. She held out her hand to be shaken. "Hi, I am Laura," she said in a cheery voice. "We have met before, but you probably don't recall that."

Laura was also confused for why Lethe had come, but her mother, Dana, always came about every few days or so, to purchase milk for them, and Lethe was probably doing it for her today. As if in an answer, Lethe spoke about how her family wanted to purchase goat milk from them and would pay them for it. She nodded and went to get a cup to pour it into, when she noticed the amout of liquid in the bucket. And Lethe added," If you can spare it..."

Laura felt embarressed and then angry about the state that her family was in, but she wanted to help Lethe. "Yes, of course you can have some, you buy some about thrice a week," she reminded Lethe. Laura received the tin cup from their kitchen and returned, about to fill it up. "Just bring back the cup when you can..." she added, going to scoop up the milk.

But it wouldn't budge. Further inspection told her that then can and its contents were frozen solid. Laura blushed, murmuring, "Sorry about that," quickly. She scoffed a socking wet mockisin around in the damp snow. "Want to come inside while we wait for the milk to thaw?" she offered, gesturing to the door, which was still hanging wide open.

Lethe gave a small smile and walked straight over the stone front steps and into the small and shabby house. Laura followed directly behind Lethe, closing the door shut behind her. Laura was quite for a minute as Lethe took in the run down house, the peeling green paint on the walls, the creeky floor that looked like it hadn't been washed in weeks, and the small space, with a single rusty stove and a table to fit three, although they were a family of four.

Laura flushed and felt the heat rise to her face as Lethe peered around, and she tried to make the house look bigger than it really was. She scramble around, introducing Lethe to her mother, and her two twin brothers, who seemed excited to meet Lethe. Then Laura took Lethe down the hall to another, almost identical room , even smaller than the kitchen. It was the bedroom where the whole family slept, and their was a single mattress, overflowing with feathers.

When Laura and Lethe returned to the kitchen, Lethe spoke. "I like your house, it's very...homey," Lethe said. Laura nodded, but did not speak, knowing that Lethe was at least trying to be poliet, and she appreciated that. There was an awkward silence as Laura's mother bustled around the house, trying to look busy. She put the milk on the stove to speed up the melting process. Suddenly, "How long have you been breeding your goats?" Lethe asked curiously. Laura knew it was a good way to break the silence, so she replied.

"Well, my father got these five goats when my father was alive, a bit after I was born. My father worked a full time job then, so we had enough money to buy them, also knowing that they would soon be making us money, too. We started out with six you see, but one of the smallest ones didn't make it through a winter. One of our oldest goats has stopped producing as much milk lately, but um... So with these ones we sell the milk, use the extra milk for our own cooking, and sometimes make some butter or cheese from it and sell that. But many people can't afford such delicassies, and it takes some time to make them too, so mainly we just stick to milk."

Laura was surprised that she had talked so much, and then there was quite again. She turned to Lethe and asked, "Well, what about you? How long have you had horses for?"

Laura listened intently to Lethe as she explained that the horses were not really hers, she would breed them and send them off to the capitol to pull the chariots in the beginning of the Hunger Games, and where they lived, and how Lethe would help them. She wanted to hear about a life that wasn't hers, that wasn't depressing, and wasn't chaining her to the job and way of living forever. And then Lethe asked if Laura wanted to see the horses...

Laura stood up quickly, knocking over the small, rickety chair that she was sitting on. She felt heat radiating from her face as she bent over to pick up the chair. "Oh yes, I would love to go sometime," Laura replied. "Maybe now, if you want to, or if you are not to busy, or, or..." she tripped over her words.

But before Lethe could reply, either no or yes, her mother came bustling over. "The milk is done heating, it isn't frozen anymore," she said quickly, and hurried away. And Laura's words were lost in the din and scraping of chairs on the wood as both Lethe and Laura stood up. She led Lethe over to the small, rusty stove, turned it off, and reached for the cup. She poured the thick and creamy liquid almost to the top of the cup, emptying half of the tin pale's contents into it.

Laura tried to make herself look busy, taking the milk off the stove, giving the milk to a milk jar, and putting that outside for they didn't have a freezer, but the cold air and snow would freeze it, and coming back and giving the cup filled with the milk in it to Lethe. Finally, she turned around and asked. "How much would you.. would you like for it... er, um... want to pay for it?", she asked, her words stumbling, her cheeks a bright red.

Laura watched as the huge wad of money entered her hand, Lethe's warm skin brushed against hers. She thought to protest, this was much more then the little cup of milk was worth, but no words came out of her chapped lips, just a choking noise, which Lethe didn't notice. Laura felt bad, ashamed, wrong, taking all this, but all she did as stand by. It as awful.

Lethe was then at the door, swooping Laura with her, telling her they should go drop off the milk at her house, and maybe see the stables, and Laura was secretly relieved. She could leave part of her life, see something glorious tha wasn't hers and rundown. Her joy and confusion kept the biting cold at bay when the door was swung open. And then they were walking. Laura wanted to say something, anything, on the way there, but again, for some reason she couldn't.

They neared a house, and Lethe reached for the doorknob, so Laura asumed that it was her house. It was nice, a lot better then her own, and she had to stop the flood of jealousy that as building up inside of her. Lethe yelled to her mother, announcing her return, and even adding, "And I've brought a friend!" Laura smiled. She was considered a friend? That was nice.

Lethe's mother came running downstairs, but seemed to frown when she saw Laura in the house. What was wrong with herself, she wondered. She heated up again. Did her clothes really look tha bad? But then Laura noticed Lethe. She was flushed too. She deposited the milk, and rushed them both outside to the stable, chatting defensivly about why her mother had acted that way.

Laura nodded, not talking, just listening, as Lethe explained that her mother was hoping for a boy friend, because she thought that Lethe was about the age to marry. "I don't think you are at that age yet," Laura said. Hopefully, that was what Lethe wanted her to say, but it was also what Laura thought.

Then they were in the stables. A great waft of manure and hay and horses flooded Laura's nose as she breathed. But she saw Lethe, the most calm that she ever was, stroking the horses. "This is great," Laura breathed. She tentively went up to one horse, petting its nose.

Laura back away a little bit as the dark brown horse she had been petting snorted. She knew that these were mighty creatures that you must respect, the way his nostrils flared and his eyes widened, Laura was a little bit frightened, although she would never admit it outloud. The horse nearest Lethe, that Laura heard Lethe call Susie, whinnied, and she jumped, her shoulders shaking.

Suddenly, Lethe was on top of Susie with an expert stride. Laura could see how good she was at riding, and how much she loved her horses. "It must be hard to part with them to the Capitol once you love them," Laura thought to herself.

Lethe took a frayed piece of rope and used it as the bit and reins, Laura knew a bit about horses. She could see tattered saddles in a heap at the side, but Lethe didn't bother to use one. Laura was glad to know that Lethe wasn't rich, with tons of money to throw around for saddles and such, but she was making a living. It shamed her to think this.

Lethe and Susie turned and exited the stables, and Laura didn't have much choice but to follow them. She watched in jealousy as they trotted around, and then galloped, almost like one being. Lethe was so skilled, Laura envied her. The wind whipped around, pulling at Laura's hair, and making her pull her threadbare coat tighter around her.

A snorting noise startled Laura, and she looked up. Lethe was reaching a hand down for her. "Hop on. You can ride with me." Laura knew she would regret this later, but for now, she didn't even care as she extended her own freezing hand and met Lethe's. Lethe pulled her on in back of her and they started off with a walk. Even at that slow speed, Laura was scared at the horse's rocking motions, and clung tightly to Lethe.

Laura didn't want to go any faster, but she didn't say anything about it, so she found herself bumping all over the saddle as they picked up the pace. Up, down, up, down, up, down. The wild movements made Laura's eyes widen in fear and her butt hurt.

But somehow, at some point, Laura unclenched her muscles and opened her eyes. It wasn't so bad. In fact, she could almost describe it as fun. Laura let her hair flow back, uncaring towards the cold and laughed. A real laugh. She leaned in closer to Lethe and said, "Can we go fast?" A pause. "Really fast!"

As soon as Laura said the words, she really wished that she hadn't. But she couldn't take back the sounds that had left her mouth. Lethe paused for a moment, as if deciding if Laura was joking or not, and then whistled and spurred the horse on. Laura almost wished that Lethe would stop, saying that this new speed was all a joke. But she didn't. Laura felt bad in the pit of her stomach. This was all her fault, not Lethe's.

The horse picked up the speed, until she was gallopping fast, very fast, much faster then Laura had ever bargained for. And still the horse got fast, maybe even faster then Lethe was used to. But Laura was clinging a death grip to Lethe's shoulders, so as long as she was doing that, she was safe, for Lethe was so experienced that she would never fall off.

But they were approaching a high fence all to quickly. Laura didn't want to jump it. She closed her eyelids and squeezed them together tightly. She felt the horse's front half go into the air, as if she was jumping. But she wasn't jumping. Laura opened one eye for a half second and found that the horse was still on the ground, but her hooves were thrown in the air. The horse was bucking.

Laura felt herself sliding from the horse's back. She had lost her grip of Lethe and didn't know where she was. She was falling, she tried to hold on, but she couldn't. Laura didn't remember falling, but the next thing she knew, she was on the ground, coughing and panting. The horse was gallopping. Suddenly, from the ground view, the hooves looked huge, easy to crush a person. "Oh please, don't walk on top of me," Laura prayed silently. And Susie didn't. She just kept on going, away.

When Laura was able to think and see without fuzzy vision and hear without a ringing noise in her ear, she wondered where Lethe was. Had this ever happened to her before? If not, it was totally Laura's fault. If Lethe was injured, that would be all her fault too. It was all she could do to keep from bursting into tears. The prospect of a scarred and incapable Lethe brought hot water around her eyes. Laura herself had no deep cuts or broken bones, but if Lethe did...

She forced herself to her feet, pain suddenly shooting up her leg, but she forced herself to walk. A few feet away, she saw a huddled figure lying on the ground, that turned to be Lethe. Ignoring the stabs up to her shin, she made herself run to Lethe's side. "Oh, no," she whispered outloud. "Lethe are you alright?"