Mort smiled,revelling in the crisp morning breeze as he looked out across the quiet lake from the rocking boat he rode in. Who would have thought that, after just having come back from war, he would be lucky enough to make some new friends... Well, Maynard was his friend, Saffron on the other hand, was a friend he hoped to grow close with, close enough to call each other more than friends.

He waved at her from the boat smiling a goofy grin, Maynard who sat beside him, chuckled knowingly.

"You like her, don't cha?"

"What? Erhh... ehmm- she's just a very nice lass is all..."

The sentiment sent Maynard into a laughing fit, his chest rumbled as his voice boomed across the lake, nearby ducks swimming away from the sudden sound. "And she's a bloody catch, now isn't she?"

Mort blushed under his fur, his cheeks burning red as he gazed back at her on the docks, checking the ropes of her own canoe. He couldn't help but smile dreamily.

"Ya know what Mort? I think I should ask her out on a date!" Maynard said smugly, looking towards his friend with a playful smirk.

The red heeler froze, the very idea of it shaking this seasoned war vet to the core, until he saw his friend holding his side from laughter.

"Just pulling your leg, mate!!" the wolfhound said, giving mort a playful shove as he cracked up. " I swear, you should've seen your face!"

Mort sighed, letting out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. "But seriously, you should ask her before someone else does."

"Oh! Uhm... I'll ...consider it."

"Ya know? You are a very good guide, I'm happy you agreed to work with me on these fishing tours, it's a good little business".

"Yeah, Im happy too… and thank you Maynard… Besides, it allows me to keep working for the ADF".

"You should help Saffy too...ya know? Begin a bit of a partnership with her? I bet she would love to have someone extra for her hiking tours through the park..."

Mort smiled widely. "Maynard, mate, you have the best ideas!"

--

He returned the broom and the rake in its place, wiping the sweat from his brow as he took a step back to admit what he had done. Finally he had finished tidying up the empty stable, which was transformed into a shed some years ago.

"If my heart would allow me, I would gladly have horses here again…" Mort reflected aloud, his eyes dreamy as he reminisced about his past. " To take tourists hiking through the park… but Chilli was adamant, she still needs me, Saffy.",

He stayed at the site for a little longer, remembering long gone times, when the place was alight with Saffrons care.

--

"Im so glad we are finally beginning our partnership, Mort!", she said while guiding him to her stables. "I hope you can ride, cause I'm doing horseback tours as well."

"Oh, also…", she quickly took his hand with enthusiasm, unknowingly sending electric waves through all his being as she dragged him along towards the stables. "Cme here".

Mort couldn't believe his senses, just the mere touch of her could make his heart swell and lift, like a hot air balloon ready to take flight. By the time they made it to the stalls, Mort could feel the thumping muscle in his ears, as an echo of the heat in his chest that made it hard to concentrate on anything but her. He would follow her blindly wherever she wanted to go, whether to her stables or the other side of the world.

"This one here is Freckles, she's gonna be all yours." she said, guiding his hand to the dappled white and brown mares muzzle. His heart dropped at the loss of her touch, but he gave a friendly pat to the gentle animal nevertheless.

"Hi, Freckles, pretty girl...", he cooed.

As she guided Mort to the next stall over, he kept catching himself admiring her. Her graceful movements and distinguished stance, the gentle wag of her tail, the warm hues of her fur, that seemed so soft to the touch…. everything about her caught his eye in a way that made him forget his surroundings.

"And this lady here is Cinnamon." Saffron's face lit up when she approached the horse, "Don't tell the other horses, but Cinnamon's my favourite…" She got close to whisper into the heelers ear, and the sweetest of fires began to consume him at her closeness.

The beautiful palomino neighed, introducing herself and doing a little bow which showed off the lovely colour of her coat, a pleasant tawny that complemented the dim light of the place. Saffron caressed her lovingly, the cream mane of the mare looked as soft as silk, making evident the caring expertise of her mistress.

Mort tried very hard to concentrate on the beautiful horse, but he couldn't. He was lost in the contemplation of the delicate freckles adorning Saffrons snout, and how they exquisitely complimented her soft features. Without even knowing it, he found himself wondering how it would feel to kiss each one of those freckles…would she be ticklish?

"No one else but me can ride her, she doesn't allow it!" Saffron's voice took him out of his reverie, almost startling him.

"Ohhh, she's a picky one! I like that she's so loyal to you."

Because, somehow he found himself wishing for the most steady and loyal mount for Saffron, so she could be safe while venturing in the forest, even though he would still be accompanying her, happy to keep her safe from any harm…

She seemed to catch his mood, for she smiled one of those sweet and enigmatic smiles, those smiles that he had daydreamed were only for him.

Saffron looked at him intently, her eyes gleaming in the dim light of the lanterns.

"Yeah…" she mumbled, breathing deeply as reaching a decision, before speaking up again.. "Y'know,Mort... I'm very happy to have you here, life feels better since I know you…"

His tail wagged, and he smiled so widely that his cheeks hurt. The very idea of his presence bringing some degree of happiness to her was enough to make him giddy; now, to make her feel that life was better, sounded like a dream come true to him.

She slowly but surely shortened the distance between the two of them, her bright eyes never leaving his eyes.

He stood still, and held his breath, his instincts told him what was about to happen but he couldn't believe such a miracle was actually occurring.

She gently rested her hand in his, the mere feel of his fur under her paws sending a thrill through her senses and making her heart flutter like a caged bird. Yes, this was what she wanted, she was sure and she would go for it. So, she looked into his eyes, her smile full of unsaid meanings, but clear as dawn.

He gulped, any thought banished from his mind because there was only place for her in it; only for her eyes so close to his own, for her her snout so very close to his, for her breath … oh, her breath! so impossibly close! He let her do what she wanted, after all, he was frozen under some magic spell of hers.

She closed the distance completely and kissed him, to seal the enchantment.

His initial shock melted into pure bliss as he felt the softness and warmth of her kiss, and all of her leaning against him, even her very soul matching with his as if they were two pieces of the same puzzle, born to be together.

He went along with the kiss, following her lead… sweet and slowly, searing his very soul.

Mort couldn't help but embrace her and sigh into her breath.

The magic spell was cast, and the heelers' hearts light ablaze.

"I'm truly happy", she said sincerely.

--

Im truly happy, thought Chilli.

It was strange. Just yesterday was her eleventh birthday, and yet she was genuinely happy today.

Yes, she had cried a lot before sleeping, she had poured her little heart out in grief; her mother wasn't with her that year and she wouldn't be anymore...yet now, at the beginning of a new day, she was happy. And she didn't know what to make about it…

--

A new birthday was coming to her at full speed,so Brandy had decided to treat herself with an anticipated gift, maybe the most important gift of her life.

While parking outside the edifice, she couldn't help to dedicate a grateful thought to Carl, to her mother and her notebook...

She breathed out with a surge of energetic anticipation and permitted herself a moment to remember her therapy.

"So, Brandy, did you discover something about yourself before going to sleep after our last meeting? "

She wagged her tail lightly. "Yeah, I did!"

"Please, sit down and enlighten me"

"First, I had to wash the jar."

"Ooooh, I see!"

"So, if the clay jar symbolises me... I must clean myself before receiving all I need to receive".

The therapist smiled.

"You look perfectly fine to me... From what do you feel you need to cleanse yourself of?"

"From fear, so I can enjoy what I want to receive, without the fear of losing it…"

Carls tail wagged.

"Good Brandy," he thought.

--

Brandy looked at her father working in the backyard,he had woken up early and was preparing some tools. He waved at her from the plot he was working on.

"Brandyyyy! Please turn off the stove, kiddo. The kettle should be ready!!"

"Riiiightooo!"

Soon, the two daughters and the father were having breakfast.

"I'll be heading over to Maynards after lunch, girls. Ive gotta help him to change the motor of his boat... I'm gonna be returning to work with him on the fishing tours soon, so..."

"Ohh...I thought you weren't gonna do those anymore...", commented Brandy.

He sighed and put down his cup of tea, "I shouldn't have left Maynard alone with that in the first place... he's my friend...", he said while reassuring his first born with a light squeeze at her hand.

"Oh...I get it", the teen answered, her smile not reaching her eyes.

"I'ml also gonna return to offering hiking tours through the park." he added cautiously.

Brandy looked at her father with worry, Chilli was the one that spoke, though.

"...Dad... you loved to take people on those tours with Mum... Wouldn't doing them again make you sad?"

He sighed and kept silent for a bit, thinking how to better explain his feelings.

"... Maybe Ill be sad the first couple times I do it, I don't know for sure, but I know I loved to work on the tours with Mum, and I love nature as much as she did... I think it would do me some good, even if I shed a tear or two at the beginning… Besides, your Mum wouldn't have wanted me to give up on it because of her, for nature makes me happy… even without her by my side..."

He looked at his daughter's eyes, trying to convey to them the true meaning of his words.

"... It's not that I don't miss her, girls. I reckon Ill miss her till my very end! But I wanna try and make more good times, with Maynard, with the tours, with my girls…"

He took the hand of one of each girl into his… they had grown so much, pain and nature had done their part this last year, to make them taller and more mature every day.

He sighed. "Remember, the show must go on, with or without the lead; besides Cinnamon and Freckles will appreciate it." he added with a chuckle in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Chili's tail wagged happily, it was reassuring to see her own feelings reflected in those of her father, it showed her that it wasn't wrong to feel the way she had felt lately.

Brandy gulped, trying to feel as a mature first born should, without success. Her father was moving on, he was going back to doing what he loved, returning to the dad she knew and loved, so why was she so… scared.

She and her sister had decided to remain at home while their father went to Maynard's house.

After lunch, Chilli had headed outside to the stables, whileBrandy stayed inside, reading a sad novel, probably too old for her.

She could see Chilli in the backyard, she entertained herself for a moment with the younger pup's antics, until she heard neighing horses.

Chilli had taken Cinnamon and Freckles outside, she was petting and cooing to them.

"You're gonna be going back to the park soon. How does that sound uhm? Sounds good? Yeah...pretty horsies!"

Then she started an improvised game of chase with the animals, laughing and running like a wild child, happiness rippling in the very air surrounding her...

"...As if Mum never died…", thought Brandy.

She felt Chilli drifting away from her, bright and independent as a sky lantern, and she was being left behind alone in the dark, still mourning without a lighthouse to guide her out.

Chilli caught her eyes and her laughter stopped.

The younger sister seemed saddened suddenly and led the horses to their stall.

Brandy felt disheartened and tired all of a sudden, so she decided to take a nap.

--

I have cleaned the jar, I'm not afraid of losing anymore. We all lose and gain again, all the time, as a jar that's constantly filled and emptied, only to be filled again.

Brandy breathed in and smiled confidently, before heading to the reception.

"Good morning. May I help you?"

"Yes please... I have an appointment to see the social worker, to obtain a clearance to apply as an adoptive parent".

The receptionist smiled at her, as if he had heard good news.

"Of course, may I see some ID? I'll show you the way in no time".

--

"Bluey! I think you should be the princess this time, and I should be the dragon slayer ninja"

"Why?!"

"Because I've already been the princess three times, it's boring!"

Chilli perked up an ear at that conversation. She was folding clothes near the girls and could hear clearly all their shenanigans.

"Aww! But you're the perfect princess, Bingo!"

"Bluey, I don't like it!"

"But you you look great in a crown and fluffy skirt!"

"Bluuuueyyyy! You're just saying that cause YOU don't want to be the princess!!"

"But I don't like it."

"Well, I don't like it either."

"Then, I won't play with you!"

Bingo stared back at her sister, hurt was visible in her big dark eyes at first, then, indignation.

"Fine!" she said with a frown. "I'll just play on my own".

The little red heeler turned around and walked off with a decisive pace.

Bluey definitively wasn't expecting that.

"Bingo?"

Her younger sister just ignored her and kept on going towards the backyard.

"Bingo?? Bingo!!?", she ran behind her.

Chilli grimaced.

It hurt to see her daughters fighting, but they needed to learn how to deal with their strong emotions and overcome conflict by themselves.

"Yeah, as if Brandy and I knew how to do it." she mocked herself with a dark chuckle.

Ill give them some time to try on their own, if they don't resolve it, Ill intervene.

She continued her chores in silence, trying to calm herself, but Brandy and the girls were tugging at her heartstrings badly.

Some minutes later, she heard a woeful sobbing coming from the couch.

She sighed at the sight of her first born curled up in a crying fur ball.

"Bluey?", she asked softly, while sitting beside the pup.

She flung herself into her mother's arms, burying her wet snout into her welcoming embrace. She was warm and safe.

"Mum... I was mean to Bingo, but I didn't mean to, and now she doesn't want to play with me.", the girl hiccupped. "I did something bad and now she doesn't wanna speak to me... she doesn't love me anymore!", she said, ending with a woeful sob.

"Ohhh Bluey... I bet she loves you as much as she has always loved you! She's just upset right now".

I truly hope she does, Chilli's thoughts commented.

"Did you say you're sorry?"

"I tried to, but she ignored me, she even ran away from me!"

"Well, maybe she needs time..."

Yeah, like... four years or so. Her inner voice echoed.

Chilli sighed. "Honey, sometimes little sisters feel as small as a mouse, trapped without many options, either she plays with you in a way she doesn't like, or she doesn't play with you at all..."

"...Oh..."

"I know you didn't mean to hurt your sister, sweetie, but you should know Bingo will always look up to you, and part of an older sister's work it's to help your little sister to feel big on her own..."

"Not like a mouse?"

"Yeah, not like a mouse"

Bluey sniffed in some tears. "How do I do that?"

"Well, you can begin with being sincere to your sister and working on a solution together, so you both can play in a way that makes you and her feel comfortable".

Yeah Chilli, integrating her point of view, not trying to force yours upon her... you have been doing so right as a sister, don't you?

--

Chilli stayed in the stable with the horses a little longer.

She was sulking, almost buried in a heap of hay.

She had saddened Brandy.

Oh, she had seen it in her eyes, and her sister has always been so good to her... but why would Brandy feel sadness from her happiness?

Maybe she was wrong, maybe she should feel worse about their mother's passing, maybe it was too soon to begin to feel happiness despite Mums absence.

Her brows knitted together as she gulped some tears.

Maybe I am a horrible daughter to Mum, and a horrible sister to Brandy

She hugged her knees miserably.

But I need to express how I feel, and I do feel happiness!

She sighed and picked herself up.

"I'll go to speak with Brandy, need to say I'm sorry".

Chilli entered her sisters room and found her sleeping. The book she was reading before was randomly open over her chest, which went up and down with every breath of the teens deep sleep.

The girl smiled ruefully, there was no use in trying to wake her up, for Brandy was a very heavy sleeper.

The little heeler felt alone in the dark, without any kind of light to guide her. Maybe a walk could help, mum liked to walk alone when she needed to, she thought.

She sniffled and dried a lone tear from her cheek, then went to the side table at the entrance of the house, and with a long sigh, she closed the door behind her.

--

Chilli sighed in relief when she heard both of her daughters giggling and running in direction to their fathers studio.

She kept tidying up the living room, while listening to her children, playing atop the staircase.

They had dragged their dad out of his desk.

"Now dad, you stand here. Yes, like that... but pleeeeease could you play properly?"

"Yes! You dont look like a princess in despair at all!"

Bandit grunted. "Righto..."

"Oh! She needs a princessy name!!" Observed Bingo.

"Yeah!! ... What about Bandinette?"

"WHAT?!" Bandit, exclaimed.

Chilli laughed out loud.

"Uhhh! I like that!!", the littlest Heeler approved.

"Yay!! Let's go find our swords!"

The girls ran past her mother, who felt her heart at ease at the sight of their smiling faces.

She went to the foot of the stairs, where a lovely, and pretty huge, princess was looking at her from the top.

"Oh, princess Bandinette!! You are so adorable!", she exclaimed with a playful chuckle.

"Oh yeah?! Why don't you come up here, so I can show you how adorable I can be, my lady!?"He teased her with a seductive, yet comical grin.

Chilli huffed, mockingly affronted. "Oh! These royals and their privileges! Just try not to ruin that shawl around your shoulders, please!"

"Oh, I'll certainly do my best." The blue heeler princess faunted the bath towel around his neck like he was in a pageant show.

She smiled sweetly at him, while he perched on the staircase railing as a very much chagrined looking princess.

"I love you, Bandit", she added.

He smiled.

"I love you too".

--

"Children are not meant to fill a void" she had said to her therapist.

"Now I see that the love of a son or a daughter, the love of my family, of my sister, are not there just to patch up a void in me, but they are important in themselves, and I want to accept them because I need them, and they make me happy.

If I consider it, this would be even more evident if I became a mother, because my child would be his or her own person.

As the water in the jar, I'll receive it, Ill drink it and be glad about it. That couldn't happen without the empty space in the jar... If the water it's left in it forever , it will not act according to its nature, for people and relationships are meant to flow just as water, and to evolve; and the need, the want I feel eating away at me, it's only natural, just as the space inside a jar".

Brandy breathed in and signed her clearance petition; the social worker had said there should be no problems with it. If everything went smoothly, she could apply to become the mother of a child who needed her, once she felt it was time.

That alone felt like a sweet balm to her aching heart.

She was making it happen, on her own, for herself and by herself.

She went out the edifice, the sun was high in the sky and the day was bright. The breeze among the trees seemed to welcome her.

Now, it's time to prepare myself to find Chilli again.

--

Brandy woke up, shooting up from her bed as her eyes searched for her sister in the still luminous room

"Chilli?" She gasped

The house was in absolute silence, the only sound that could be heard was that of the birds chirping.

"Chilli??!! Where are you?!"

Brandys heart was beating anxiously, as some sort of bird of ill-timed water.

She went around the house, going room to room, but Chilli was nowhere to be seen, so she went to the stable, Cinnamon was also missing.

How on earth did she get to ride Cinnamon?

She could feel guilt stressing over her heart, squeezing it til the point she began to tremble. Had she made Chilli hide herself? Had she made her leave home?

She ran back to the entrance of the house, Oh Brandy you fool, you insensitive foolish brute!!! She berated herself as she got a set of keys from the side table.

"Oh No!".

She shuddered from fear, and her body froze for a second as she reached for the keys, when a horrid realisation came to her. Suddenly, the saddened face of her sister from the last time she saw her carved dread into her soul.

Dad always left his Swiss knife over that table, and she was sure he didn't take it before going to Maynard's house.

The knife was missing, but the keys remained.

"She didn't take a set of keys with her, but only Dad's knife!! Oh Chilli!!! What are you going to do!!!? Oh my little sister, Mum help me!!!" The thoughts came unbridled to her mind, and sudden images of Chilli laying still in the floor of someplace, took control over her, sending waves of desperation to her soul, shaking her heart and her frame with fear.

She breathed in once, twice, and for a third time.

I can control it, she said to herself.

"I need to control it for Chilli!"

There was no time to find dad.

She went to the stables again, grabbing the riding gear for the only other horse in the stable she could trust with the search. Seconds later she was riding Freckles, rushing at a blazing speed through the backyard gate.

"Now Freckles, we gotta find Cinnamon... hop, hop!"

--

"So, I went to the entrance of the park on my own… It was like an adventure, I felt like some sort of heroine going on a mighty quest!, but it also felt bittersweet. It was the first time I got to ride Cinnamon on my own, she was a picky horse and I would have loved to show Mum that she had let me ride her..."

"Oh Babe..." cooed Bandit softly while pressing his cheek against Chillis head. She snuggled deeply onto his chest.

The girls were fast asleep, and the only sound inside the room aside from Bandit and Chillis calm voices was that of the breeze dancing among the jacaranda seed pods.

--

Chilli smiled, enjoying the mares lively trot and the warmth of the sun, despite the undercurrent of sadness tugging at her heart.

"Do you know she's not coming back? Do you Cinnamon?"

The girl took her companion's nicker as a yes.

She felt her eyes filling up to the brim with tears.

"Just thinking about it makes me terribly sad… Oh! I know you are sad too! But I think you're gonna hold up just fine, you'll be alright in the end, Cinnamon", she said with a brave smile for the sake of the mare.

She caressed the animal's neck gently. "And don't tell this to Freckles but you're my favourite... Yeah, I know that it's kinda mean, but your coat's colour it's almost the same as Mum's fur!".

The pup chuckled, yet some tears came to her eyes.

"She's not coming back, and I miss her so much!!" she almost yelped.

"There are so many things I wanna show her, to do with her and I'll never be able to!" Chilli exclaimed, her voice teary despite the brave little frown on her brow. "But for some reason... I feel likeI will be alright...like Mrs. Samoyed's lamb y'know? ...Dad was right, even if I miss Mum, I'm a strong girl... and I got my pack, like the little lamb had his flock..."

She sniffled in her tears, cleaning up her snout with the back of her hand as she breathed in to steady herself, heroines of the tales her Mum used to read to her were brave girls after all. Without realising it, they arrived at the park's border, standing in just the right spot to get onto the path to one of Chillis favourite places, yet the ground there was too uneven for a horse, so the girl went down the mare and secured her reins in a tree.

"Wait for me here, Cinnamon. I'll be okay on my own…", she said, kissing the horse's white brow.

She began the ascent of the slope, skilfully finding her way through the tall grass and the knotting roots of the surrounding trees, before descending again until she found herself in a place where the tree trunks and roots were the biggest. Sliding against the muddy bank, she descended expertly into the gentle stream below.

Her tail waged. She liked that place a lot.

The shadows were cool, the dappled light breaking through the canopy made the waters shimmer like a starry sky, and she could refresh her feet in the stream.

A variety of birds and insects sang among the trees, which were so tall, that she felt like a tiny fairy in her wood's house.

She felt the urge to reclaim this place as hers. So, she took her fathers knife and engraved her name on the biggest root. Then, she grabbed an apple, a pencil and a drawing block from her satchel, and sat to scribble… and to think.

--

The bed made a soft creek as Bandit got comfortable to better look at his wife.

"I remember that place, Chilli. You showed it to me the first time I visited ya dad's house".

She smiled surprised at this memory.

"Aww, you do??"

Bandit chuckled lightly. "Of course, I do! ...I even remember how we kissed there..."

She smirked at him coquettishly. "Ohhh... I remember that too...", she added, snuggling even closer to him, if that was even possible.

"But I want to know what you were thinking about in that special place, back then. I would love to know a bit more about little Chilli...cause you know, we only spoke a couple words to each other when we met back in the eighties."

"You will not convince me about it, Bandit Heeler… we spoke a lot when we met, back in the two thousands". She teased, rolling her eyes a bit while smiling at him gratefully, returning to her place in his chest as she let out a long sigh.

"I thought about my Mum... About how hard she tried to make me feel secure and loved every day. She loved me so much that even when I had so little time with her, I'm capable of finding her inside me, whenever I need her. As a sort of warm, loving compass in my heart, holding my hand and guiding my steps, making sure I never felt too lost".

Bandit listened in silence. When he realised that Chilli had stopped talking, he sighed with content, taking in all that she said before speaking again.

"And you make that feeling for us every day, Chilli, just as your Mum did for you. Y'know, I noticed that you constantly and consciously are trying your best to make the girls and I feel safe and loved...so we'll still have you if you're not..."

She looked at him in the eyes and smiled sheepishly. "You got me, and although I do not intend to go anywhere, I know anything can happen… life can be frail sometimes "

He shuddered a little, sighed and tightened his hold on her.

"Im proud of you, my love…" he whispered, pressing his brow against hers.

"To marry you and be a parent with you was the best idea ever..." he said. "Our kids will look up to you as their role model, and I'm grateful for that. Thanks to your example, they'll grow as strong and compassionate women."

--

Chilli sighed and munched her apple.

Without even noticing, she had drawn Cinnamon.

She caressed the drawing lovingly; she couldn't explain how, but she had always related the mare to her Mum.

She looked at the palomino horse in the paper and sighed, smiling sincerely despite the mixed feelings in her heart.

"I'll be ok Mum, causeI know you're still with me, somewhere in here, even if I can't explain it… even if I can't see you".

--‐--

Chilli sighed. "Yet there's a part of Mum I miss terribly, Bandit...".

He looked at her, quizzically.

"Brandy", she said.

"Oh, of course." He looked at the ceiling while listening attentively.

"The fight the girls had today made me think about her, and about how I've failed to teach the girls to be good sisters to each other, to love each other unconditionally and to show it through actions".

Bandit frowned. "Chilli! You didn't fail, besides-"

"Really?" she interrupted her husband with a sarcastic huff. She groaned at herself, looking at the ceiling. "I keep saying that there's no better way to leadthan by example, and yet I rely on you and your brothers to show them a healthy sibling relationship…"

She sighed. "Granted, our girls love each other dearly and that's what matters most in the end, but it's mostly thanks to you, Stripe and Rad…"

" Oh, Babe…" Bandit gently made her roll to her side, so they could look at each other's eyes again."Y'know, I wasn't always like that with Stripe and Rad, I used to be a squabbling handful, after all"

Chilli raised a brow at that, waiting more elaboration on the subject.

"Have you noticed that my Mum has the tendency to give the same presents to Stripe and me, at Christmas?"

She smiled, her curiosity peaked. "Yes?"

"Well, that was because I always trashed Stripe about how his prezzies were better than mine, and then sulked as if there was no tomorrow! … after making him cry…"

"O Gosh!" she giggled. "Poor little Stripe! And poor Chris too!"

Bandit smiled, satisfied to have made her smile again.

"Please Chilli, don't go for a trip of self guilt… Relationships are complicated and are always imperfect", he said to her kindly, caressing her face.

"Sniff… you're right. Yet I would like to actually have a relationship with Brandy!" she huffed.. "Things need to change. I need to find my sister..."

--

"I need to find my sister!!!"

Was all that Brandy said to herself while riding Freckles at breakneck speed, following the trail of Cinnamon hove prints.

Her heart dropped when she caught sight of the lonely mare.

She ran to her. "Oh, Cinnamon!! Where is Chilli? Why did she leave you here?"

The teen hugged the mare's powerful neck and sobbed.

"Cinnamon… Why did she have to go?! Why… I need her, Chilli needs her… Oh where is She? And where is my sister!? What am I going to do!?"

She looked down, following the trail of her tears with her eyes. Then she realised the ground was soft and humid, the brown earth softly yielding at her weight.

She gasped "Mum and Dad taught us how to follow a trail!!".

Suddenly a memory of her childhood came to her.

The dappled pattern of the light in the woods soil, the birds and the wind ... .Her mother's laughter, her voice calling her name… Oh, to hear that beloved voice again!

Playing hide and seek among the trees to polish her and her sisters newly acquired abilities at tracking.

Their father, following them not far behind.

The complicit glances between him and their mother, the kiss they shared thinking she and Chilli weren't looking at them…

She breathed in deeply, focusing on the task at hand while wiping a tear away.

Her tail waged.

"Here!! Chilli's footprints!"

-‐--

Chilli breathed in deeply, looking at the ceiling of her room.

I must do it, I will do it.

She sprang up in the bed suddenly. "Bandit, I'm calling Brandy right now!"

The blue Heeler opened his eyes wide and smiled.

"Righto! Do you need me by your side?"

She looked at him, moved, feeling his support in her very core. One of her hands went straight to caress his cheek.

"Oh Bandit… Always… But this time I think Ill need to be alone with her. We fought alone, I'll try to make amends alone".

"Ok, babe, I understand"

"I'll need your phone though… I don't know if she would answer my number, so maybe calling her from another phone would help".

"Sure thing!" he agreed. Passing the device to her. "I'll go to take a shower then"

She took his hand in hers before he went away.

"Thank you Bandit, it means a lot".

The red heeler looked at the phone with determination and exhaled before entering her sister's number.

The only sound that could be heard in the parks forest was the chirping of birds and Brandys laboured breathing.

She ran here and there, following the subtle hints of her sister. A footprint here, some crushed twigs nearby, a strand of distinctive reddish fur… and her scent, so much like her own, like her fathers … and like her mothers… so much like a sunday morning in their parents bed, giggling and cuddling between the two of them…

"Clever girl, of course you didn't bring Cinnamon, this path is way too dangerous for a horse", she thought while her foot slipped in the soft soil.

Chilli's scent grew stronger.

She must be close!

A little crevice was before her, Chilli was there, motionless.

Fear gripped Brandys heart in a way she couldn't even describe.

The sheer anxiety she felt, transported her to that very day…

They were sitting anxiously in the waiting room waiting for their father, who had been called up by the nurse in charge Mum. A doctor entered running to her room also, while shooting a compassive look at them in his way.

The white walls seemed to close over her and Chilli, like the walls of a white mausoleum, she certainly felt like she was buried alive in her thoughts.

They had visited their Mum that very morning, she was looking so frail and tired, not at all like the Mum they used to have, the one that could play all the afternoon away or take them on trail rides with her beautiful horses. .

She kissed them and stroked their fur as if they were babies again. Brandy sniffed in her scent, still smelling like white lilies and garden herbs.

Both girls had climbed into the bed and had their heads in their mother's lap. Saffron gentle hands felt like an anticipated reminder of her love and a benediction at the same time.

"I love you so much, my girls…" she had said with a faint strained voice, tired yet calm. "You have been the best part of my life, my love for you is endless, so big that it could contain entire galaxies, with all their suns and moons combined, and still have space for more…!

My life has been good, and I'm so proud and happy to be your Mum! Always remember that…"

She was saying goodbye that time; although none of them acknowledged it, the three of them knew it.This time was for real.

Finally their dad opened the door.

He was stricken into stupor and his chest was heaving.

He came to them without saying a word, there was no need for it. Dad crouched to their level and just opened his arms.

They ran into his embrace. She could still remember his tears wetting her own cheeks. He hugged them so very tight… as if he dreaded losing them too, as if his own life could run loose if he ever let them go.

His frame trembled as he sobbed like a lost child.

She felt her limbs shaking with dread while she jumped the little distance that separated her from the floor.

"Oh no, please no!!"

Chilli laid still.

--

Brandy was relaxing, satisfied about the gone day, the day that she hoped was the first of a new beginning.

She picked up an old book, some old sappy love story that never got too old, and with a steaming cup of tea, she sighed with relief.

The night air coming from the window was pleasantly mild as she rested her head on the couch.

"Ok, I'll finish this chapter before I turn in for the night.", she thought, before being suddenly interrupted by a buzzing noise on her nearby coffee table, her phone was ringing.

Her heart almost stopped.

"BANDIT?!!" She screamed out as she read the name on the screen in shock.

She nabbed the phone in a frantic movement, her mind racing wildly, her worry patent in her rapid respiration and the slight tremble of her voice.

"Bandit??!! Has something happened to Chilli?! Is she ok?!! …The girls??!!!"

--

"Chilli!!?", said Brandy while gently shocking the eleven years old pup by the shoulders.

"Chilli, you ok?! It's me, your older sister!"

--‐--

There were three seconds of silence in which Brandy dreaded for the worse.

Three seconds of silence in which Chilli relished in the sound of her sisters voice.. Oh, she had missed her so much!

"... It's me, Brandy… your little sister…"

--

"Wha..? Brandy?" Mumbled the youngest girl, while stirring from a deep sleep.

Brandy released a very long ragged sigh.

"Ill need to speak about what happened today with the school psychologist…" she thought.

She frowned, making a very impressive angry mum face at Chilli. "What the hell were you thinking, leaving home without telling me!?!! Chilli, I was terrified thinking that…" She made a pause. Don't tell her, Brandy, she's still just a kid, she advised herself. "...t-thinking that something terrible happened to you."

She was gripping Chilli by her tiny shoulders, and looking fiercely into her eyes.

Chilli cracked a chuckle.

That wasn't the reaction Brandy expected from her, not at all.

"Oh, Brandy! You pulled out an angry face just like Mum used to!", she said, and yet… her eyes filled up to the brim with tears and flung herself to the older sibling chest.

"I'm so sorry, Brandy!! Gosh you look so much like Mum!"Chilli sobbed into her sister's fur.

--

"I'm so sorry, Brandy!!", Chilli said with a teary voice.

Brandy could hear her heaving respiration at the other side of the phone… she could almost see Chilli trying to restrain the ups and downs from her shoulders… trying to bring calm to her system…

"Oh, Chilli…", she sighed.

"Brandy I should have called you the very moment you left my home after that fight… I was so cold and callous to you, you didn't deserve any of that! I - I", she stuttered, "I miss you so much!."

--‐--

Brandy sighed and patted her sister's back gently, like she was burping a tot, a rueful smile adorning her features.

"Its ok sis…shhhh….you're fine…", she cooed.

Chilli cried her heart out into her sister's shoulder… it was her new safe place along dad's embrace.

Then, once all her tears were spent and her sighs released into the wind, Brandy finally spoke up again.

"Chilli, Why did you go out without your keys?"

"I did?"

Brandy sighed. "Yeah… you did, and pray tell me, for what did you take Dad's swiss knife from the table?"

"Oh! I just thought it might be handy, ya know? Ya never know what you might need here at the forest", Chilli shrugged. "Besides, it's a very good pencil sharpener!".

Just in that moment, Brandy looked at the big root behind them, where her sister's name could be seen, recently carved in the wood.

She sighed and looked at Chilli, whose bright eyes were calm and content at last, completely unaware of the dark thoughts that had plagued her older sister's mind just moments before.

Why must I always think of the absolute worst scenario?, she recriminated herself.

Well, here it goes, another thing for the psychologist…

"I'm sorry I made you worry…", Chilli said gently.

"No worries kiddo…", Brandy said, while ruffling her sister's hair.

Chilli batted her hand away playfully. "Well, you are still a kiddo too!"

Those words resounded in Brandy's chest, gripping at her heart.

"...Hmph, don't think so… not since Mum…" she sighed. "I feel that since that day I'm not a child anymore…"

The younger pup looked down, crestfallen… "Yeah, I think … I might have grown up because of it, but just a little…"

"Just a little is good enough".

Brandy sighed, suddenly so very tired…

"So, why did you leave the house, Chilli?… I know it wasn't just to take a horsey ride…"

The younger girl took a deep breath and looked at her sister's eyes.

"I've been happier these last few days… but I don't know if it's right for me to feel happy. Mum's gone and it hurts so much, yet I still feel like … moving on…"

She frowned, clenching her little fits, while searching for the right words to explain herself. "She won't ever be with us again, but I know that in some weird way, I can still be happy… because she is still with me, even when she's gone… so…"

The little heeler released a sigh "A-Anyways, for sure it's too early to laugh again, I'm probably a bad person for doing that… I realised that when I was playing with the horses and you looked at me with a very upset face, I wanted to say I'm sorry but you were sleeping and then…"

Brandy couldn't believe her ears.

Is she sorry for feeling happiness?

"Stop Chilli! Please!" , she said, enveloping her sister's hand in hers.

‐--

"None of it was your fault Chilli", Brandy said with a calming voice.

"Oh! But I was being annoyingly positive, I know how tiresome I can be…"

Brandy chuckled.

"Regardless, it wasn't your fault, and I wasn't mad at you… I was angry with myself… I shouldn't have snapped at you in that way…I said horrible things to you…"

‐--‐--‐--

"Will you forgive me?" asked Brandy at the pup buried in her embrace.

"Theres nothing to forgive, sister." Chilli said, while her tail wagged softly.

"I just…" Chilli sighed "...I need you back, I need you to be part of my life again… I miss you."

Brandy teared up, her lower lip trembled but it felt right.

The tears were washing away her sorrow and the guilt feeling. She was washing the jar, finally.

"You have no idea how much I have missed you little sister…"

Chilli's heart finally beat unfurled, free of uncertainties, smiling bravely before asking something. "Would- would you like to meet with me soon? Somewhere? There's no need for you to come over to mine if you don't want to, we could met in a coffee shop or-"

"Oh! But I would love to see the girls again!!" Brandy interrupted her sister.

The younger red heeler felt her heart soar at that, as if a great weight had been lifted up from her soul, and she sighed.

"I might feel a little awkward at the beginning, but I would like to visit your home", Brandy continued. "Your family is my family, sister, and I need them too".

Brandy stood up and cleaned the dirt out of her fur.

"C'mon mate, we still can make it home before Dad if we hurry up!", she said.

Chilli smiled and sprang up, taking her drawing stuff with her.

"I see you drew Cinnamon!", exclaimed Brandy.

"Yep!... Is it pretty good for an eleven year old?".

Brandy smirked, admiring the beautifully done horse in the paper.

"No… It's pretty awesome for an eleven year old!", she said, trying to echo her mother, yet in a new way, her own way.

Chilli smiled brightly at her, wagging her tail happily.

The older sister sighed, the little one had mud smeared on her snout, probably because she had cleaned her tears away with still dirty hands.

"Oh gosh, Chilli!", she chuckled while whipping the mud away from her sister's face, with her wrist.

The youngest red heeler giggled at the loving touch.

"Ya know, Brandy?"

"Hmm?"

"You're gonna be a wonderful Mum someday"

Brandy smiled at the heartwarming compliment.

"Oh… you too, Chilli", she said.

The pup snorted. "Nah, I don't want children of my own! But Ill be the coolest aunt ever and I'm gonna spoil your children rotten every time I get my muddy hands on them!"

The oldest girl laughed heartily, finally relieved of all the tensions of an adventurous day.

Then she realised something.

She was happy.

She was moving on.

THE END.