Living the Real Oregon Trail

Chapter 1~

This new life was harder than I thought it was going to be. The trail was a lot harder, but as I walked I wondered what lied ahead was it good, or could all our hard work been in vain. I was stuck between two worlds and I didn't know which one to run to. There was our nice comfortable world back in Iowa, we had a wonderful ranch and I had my own horse. But that was before Mama died and the drought hit. Then there was the hope of better things. In Oregon, there was better land and a whole new life.

Daddy had said that if we stayed close and worked hard that this would be a great opportunity for us. We only had each other, but I'm not sure, I'm sure that there is a wonderful young man just waiting for me to find him. But I don't know if he is in our new life, or back at the old one.

My Mama died just ten months ago and Daddy seems so strong, I never saw him cry, but at night I heard him and I heard his heart cry every moment that she was gone. We were so close and when Mama died we got even closer, he was my best friend. I knew that if I stayed with my daddy, no matter where we were, that our life would be wonderful.

Our mission was to get to Missouri and head out with the rest of the people looking for a better life and a new future. Everyone was from somewhere different and some were immigrants. Hey had amazing stories to tell and it always fascinated me to listen to them a receive some of the wisdom they had to offer. But my daddy had the best wisdom of all, her told me wonderful stories about my mom and how much he loved her. He always reassured me that she was watching us, and that she would be very happy to see us pulling through. But that was the hard part, pulling through.

Our lives were never to be the same, my mother was the most amazing person in my life, I could tell her any thing and I knew in my heart that she understood and that she loved me very much. She died because of the loss of food. She always gave at least half of her portion to my baby brother or me. She always said that she was stuffed, but we all knew better. She was very frail and weak and one day, she just didn't want to hold on anymore. We decided then to set out on the Oregon Trail. Daddy said it would be best.

We packed everything on our wagon and headed out, that was two weeks ago and now we were about a two days walk from the start, Independence, Missouri.

Chapter 3~

When we arrived there were so many people, but it made feel safer to have such a large group. I hoped to find the "someone" I was looking for, I hoped with what was left of my heart that I hadn't left him behind me in my past. There was a lot of commotion and talk of how to cross what seemed as the world to me, and start up in the West. As I Sat with my dad a young girl about my age, 16 and her older brother came asked me to join them in a game of tag.

"I've never heard of that game before." I said puzzled

"Well come on, we'll teach you," Said the girl playfully. "my name is Kayla and this is my brother Kyle. What's your name?"

"Grace, " I said and went with them to the middle of a huge field with hundreds of other children, a lot of them younger than I.

As we played, I got tired and sat down on a fallen log. Kyle joined me and we talked for a while.

"Where are you from, I'm from Montana."

"I an from Iowa, we came here because my mother died and there was a drought."

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" he was the first person who I felt really meant that, everyone else pitied me, they didn't really care. But he, he was different.

"How old are you." I asked him, I hoped he was close to my age or even older.

I'm eighteen. How old are you?"

"I'm sixteen, like Kayla.... I'm..uh.. really glad we met." I really meant that too. "I was wondering if there was going to be any young people my age. I'm glad you and Kayla are here."

I'm glad you're here with us too."

Kyle was very handsome. I didn't know him very well, but I could tell that he was very sweet and sensitive. He had blue eyes and pale blonde hair. His hands were rough from hard work, but were gentle too. His lips curved perfectly when he smiled and he was always smiling. He made me fell safe.

I caught myself staring into his blue eyes. I was surprised to see him staring into my brown ones. Then, Kayla walked up and stopped everything to see if we were going to play still.

"I don't know, I'm sort of tired." I was glad when Kyle said the same. Kayla went off chanting, "Kyle and Grace are in love! Kyle and Grace are in love!"

Kyle seemed upset and started to get up and go chase his playful sister.

"Don't, it doesn't matter. I don't mind." I said shyly.

He seemed content with that and we got up to take a walk and get to know each other better.

Chapter 4~

I'm not sure if it started when I first met him, or as we sat talking, but something inside me made my heart flitter every time I saw, thought or talked about Kyle