So last night I dreamt a brilliant dream. Or at least I really liked the idea of it. And I hope you do too cuz that's what this is. This isn't a story you can jump right into. You have to travel back. Back to a time where there weren't huge mansions on every street. Back to where the people lived in houses that were built by the man of the family. Back where you didn't have 6 or 7 neighboring families, but maybe one. Back where country families lived out in the woods. Back into the boondocks.
"Momma, are you sure we have to go?" Delilah asked as her and her momma lead their horses to the trail.
"Yes, baby, we do. Ever since you pa died we haven't been getting by too well here. We need to find a place where we have neighbors to help us. We're all alone out here." Her momma, Marielle, told her sweetly. Delilah sighed. As Marielle climbed upon her horse, Betsy, Delilah remembered something.
"I'll be right back, Momma." She said quickly and ran into the old house that looked more like a run-down hut. She ran into the bedroom that her momma and her shared. She carefully counted the floorboards. One, two, three, four, five! She stomped on the fifth board and it popped up. She rushed to get the contents of the secret hiding place. A diary, an old doll, and her pa's old pocket knife. She smiled at the items and shoved them into her shoulder bag. Delilah ran back out of the old house and to her momma and her horse, Nora.
"Got it. Now let's go." She jumped on Nora and they were off on their trip from Kentucky to Tennessee.
*Days later*
It was getting dark and Marielle and Delilah still had no clue where to go. They had been riding the same trail for 3 days now, only stopping for food or sleep. It was almost completely dark out now. They saw a little house, the first one today. They decided to stop and see if the people there maybe knew somewhere they could sleep.
"I'll go knock on the door, okay, Momma?" Delilah said while climbing off of her horse.
"Alright but be careful. Remember these people are strangers." Marielle called back. Delilah nodded and knocked on the door. It swung open almost immediately. A man stood there with a shotgun pointed towards her. She gasped.
"Whatdoya want?" He asked sharply. Delilah was speechless. She saw a boy show up behind him.
"Calm down, Pa. She can't be more than my age." He said. The man lowered his gun. She felt her momma come up behind her.
"We've been traveling for a few days now trying to find somewhere to move to. We haven't had any luck so far. Do you know somewhere we could sleep for the night?" Delilah asked, now more confident.
"Yeah, out there on the ground." He said harshly.
"Or here. Right, Pa?" The boy said with a smile. The man sighed.
"I guess so. But just for tonight. You've gotta find somewhere else to stay tomorrow." The man said.
"Oh, of course. And thank you very, very much." Marielle said. The man moved from the doorway and let them in.
"I'll go get your bag, Momma." Delilah said and started to move back out the door. "I'll go with you. I'll show you where you can tie the horses up, too." The boy said. Delilah smiled. They walked out the door and closed the door behind them.
"So how long have you been traveling?" The boy said.
"Three days." Delilah answered.
"With just you and your Momma? Wow, you guys are lucky that some cowboys didn't try to... nevermind." He said. Delilah's eyes got wide. He noticed.
"Hey, don't worry about it. I'll show you a place where you might wanna stay tomorrow. The people who used to live in it moved out a few months ago. You might like it."
"That would be great. It's really pretty around here. And peaceful." Delilah said. He smiled and thought, 'Just like you.'
"You know, I didn't catch your name." He said instead.
"Delilah. What's your's?" She asked.
"Todd. Todd Matthews. Nice to meet you, Delilah." He said and smiled.
"You too, Todd." She said. They had been walking the horses uphill when a wooden post came into view. They walked over in silence. He took Nora and Betsy and tied them to the post. As he turned around Delilah realized she had been staring at him. She hurriedly blinked and looked down at her feet. Todd had still seen. He smiled at her and they started to make their way back down the hill. It was completely silent. Delilah was in her own little world. She didn't notice Todd looking at her. Or that she was about to step into a big hole. Todd grabbed her just as she was falling. She clutched to him and he pulled her up.
"Whoa, now. You gotta be careful. You're in the woods now. There's mole holes everywhere." He told her.
"Thanks." She said simply. The continued to walk down the hill.
"When we get back don't listen to my pa. He's moody. He doesn't really mean what he says." Todd said as they were nearing the old house.
"Okay. Thanks again for letting us stay." She replied.
"You're very, very welcome." He said as they walked up to the front door of the house.