V.

It took nearly 3 days for the girl to wake up. In between she regained consciousness but always fell back to sleep after having drunk some water. She had not eaten and looked thinner than ever.

Tess was always by her side and kept her company when she was not outside helping Claire with the sheep or Nick with their project of biological wheat. But she was at her side when she woke up.

"Where's Rahima?" came only the faintest whisper from the girl.

"Who?" asked Tess and put a hand to her cheek.

"Rahima…my horse…"

"Oh…you mean the black mare?" Tess smiled. "She is doing just fine, guess she was just a little exhausted from your long ride. We've put her in a paddock and the vet has already taken a good look at her. She'll be alright."

"Thank you…" whispered the younger girl and leant back against the cusion.

"Are you hungry?" asked Tess and patted her hand. The glance she got from the girl told her more than many words. "I'll be right back!" she said and stood up.

A few minutes later she returned with a tablet with a sandwich and a glass with orange juice on it. She sat down on the edge of the bed beside the strange girl and gave her the sandwich.

The girl took it and ate it immediately. Her eyes lit up and when she was finished, she smiled for the first time.

"What is your name?" asked Tess. She eyed the strange girl thoroughly. Her long hair had some strange short strands in it. On her bare shoulders she saw scars which were once cuts and must have hurt pretty bad.

The girl took a long sip of the orange juice and sighed.

"Come on, I won't bite." The older woman said smiling.

"My name is Alyssa. Alyssa Hawking." She mumbled.

"So, Alyssa, that's a beautiful name. How old are you?" Tess began to question her carefully. And just as careful, Alyssa answered a few of her questions.

"25…" Alyssa hesitated.

"And how come you rode alone through the night?"

The girl did not answer but looked at Tess with her sad eyes.

"It's alright, nothing will happen to you, ok? I promise."

Alyssa shook her head but before Tess could ask again, the door opened up and Claire stepped in.

"Hey!" she smiled and looked at both women on the bed. "So you finally woke up. You feeling alright?"

Alyssa nodded.

"This is Alyssa Hawking!" said Tess.

"So, Alyssa Hawking. Where did you come from? I mean, what a luck that Alex found you that night…"

"Alex?" Alyssa whispered. "Where am I?"

"Yeah, Alex Ryan. You are at Drover's Run."

The worried look on the girl's face made it clear to Tess and Claire that the girl did not know where she was, not at all.

"Drover's Run, in Australia?" Claire suggested.

Alyssa pulled a face. "Well, I guess I know in which country I am…But how did I get here?"

"As I already said, Alex found you on the road to Drover's. He was just on his way home and took a detour. Do you know what happened to you?"

Alyssa's face grew hard. "I…I don't want to talk about it…"

"So you remember?" Tess asked.

"I said, I don't want to talk about it…" the young woman hissed. But then her eyes welled up. "I am sorry! I didn't mean to…" Sobs were beginning to break through. "I…I am just so…scared…"

"Scared?" Tess wanted to know, but Claire put a hand on her arm to calm her down. So the blond haired woman did not push any further.

Alyssa looked at both of them thankfully and tilted her head. "And my horse?"

"Rahima, that's her name, right? She's fine. She was lame when we found you, but Dave, the vet, took care of her. She's alright." Tess said.

"Rahima? That's a weird name for a horse…" Claire interrupted.

"She's not a normal warmblood, she's…she's an Andalusian."

"An Andalusian?" Tess was confused.

"An old pure Spanish race. Very famous, very expensive…" Claire explained. "She looks good."

"Yeah, she does, I'm very proud of her. Can she stay here?"

"What do you mean?" Claire asked.

"Nothing…"Alyssa sighed.

"Well, sure, as long as you stay here, she can stay, too. Why not?" Tess interfered and smiled.