“ TRUE FRIENDS”

by Colin

The sun was glinting through the trees as Dora rode Copper along Larch Lane towards the village. She looked up and smiled as a couple of birds flitted between the leaves of the birch tree, chasing each other and chirping merrily in the early morning sunlight. This was her favourite time of the day, walking alone with Copper in the early morning mists, peaceful and serene in her dreams and thoughts.

Looking up, Dora saw a little bird with a couple of worms in her beak, settling into her nest to feed her loud chicks. Smiling, she thought how happy that little bird must be, feeding her babies and feeling safe in her little home. How nice to have a happy home, a person to love and children to nurture and love.

A drop of water fell off a leaf and landed on Dora’s face, startling her back to reality. “Clop Clop Clop” was the only sound from Copper’s feet as he sloped his way through the puddles in the lane, She looked up and felt more drops fall onto her face as the wind slowly swayed the branches overhead, feeling the cold drops slowly trickle down her face and over her lips. The sun glinted on a giant spider’s web, the quiet rustle of leaves and the soft smells carried by the early morning mist all added together to make this a wonderful break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

“Hi Dora, how’s the Colonel doing? I heard that he was back home after his fall, but I haven’t seen him around much!” Dora turned around in surprise to see Hector riding up behind her on his new mare, a beautiful roan with a single white star on her forehead and a splash of grey on her top lip! Hector was a charming fella, having retired from the Army in his late fifties, he had bought a large farm estate over by Weatherby and was well liked by all the locals.

“Oh hi Hector. The Colonel’s doing fine, thanks. He came home last week, but he has been told not to get around too much and to keep the weight off his leg until he recovers a bit. Luckily it was not broken, just sprained when he fell so at least he is not in a cast!” Dora tightened the grip on her reins as Hector pulled up beside Copper, just in case he took off or was startled at having another horse beside him.

“Well, when you see him, please let him know that if he needs anything, just call me anytime.” Hector smiled as he started trotting ahead and waved at Dora, trying to keep his rather large bottom from bouncing too much!

Dora smiled as she watched Hector disappear in the distance, thinking how nice of him to offer to help the Colonel after his recent fall. Copper was trotting now, slowly and gracefully as he settled into a nice pace, Dora was comfortable, moving easily in a rising trot and watching out for anything that might spook Copper. Dora patted Copper on his neck as she watched his ears flick and move, listening to all the noises around him as he stretched out and enjoyed his steady trot.

“Dora, Dora, wait up girl!” came a distant cry from her left. Running down the hill came Amanda, a young girl who had been working at the local Co-op for the past few months. Amanda had been injured in a car accident when she was just 13, both her parents were killed and her older brother had looked after her until he was killed in an accident at a building site. Now in her early twenties, Amanda had moved here about three months ago and the Colonel had helped her get a job, rent a flat and get settled into the local community.

Dora pulled up Copper and stopped, waiting for Amanda to catch up. Breathless from running, Amanda fell against Copper’s side and hung onto his saddle, panting and gasping as she recovered from her long run. Dora was worried and asked her if she was okay. Amanda nodded as she got her breath back. “How’s . . . the . . . Colonel . . . doing?”

“Fine now, thanks. He’s back home and recovering, hopefully he’ll be out and back on his feet next week” said Dora. Looking up at Dora, Amanda smiled and nodded.

“Fine, if he needs anything, please let me know. I’ll try and get over to see him this evening and I’ll take him some soup, you know, the thick vegetable broth that he likes”.

“Thanks, I’ll tell him when I see him later” said Dora. Smiling back, Dora squeezed Amanda’s hand as she stepped away, watching her wave as she started jogging back along the lane. Dora was always amazed at just how many folks knew the Colonel and were willing to help him. Steadily trotting, Dora was watching a car racing along the road off to her right. As she came up Lincoln Hill, she saw the car racing along the twisty road, careening around corners and flying over the small humps with a long plum of blue smoke coming out the back tailpipe.

The car screeched to a halt and a wild looking, long haired man with a strange felt hat, a long scarf and a long red coat jumped out of the drivers door, ran across the road and waved frantically at Dora.

“How is he? …DORA …. How is he? DORA CAN YOU HEAR ME? HOW IS THE COLONEL?” Dora waved back and smiled at the sight of Dr Morton jumping up and down. Mike Morton was a real character. Having retired from the local hospital a couple of years ago, ‘Mad Mike’ had set up his own practice looking after old folks who could not travel or were in need of more intensive in-house care. However, he was also an avid amateur actor and took his roles very seriously. His latest role was as “The Doctor” in the local playhouse version of “Dr Who” and he was always trying to get into character, which made for some interesting meetings with him during the day!

“He’s fine, just a sprain and he’ll be back up and running around next week, just needs a few days bed rest” Dora called back as she waved at Mike.

“Fine, if he needs anything, just call me . . . and make sure he’s at the opening performance at the end of the month . . he’ll love my new TARDIS”, called Mike as he jumped back into his car and took off in a cloud of blue and black smoke.

“Another friend worried about the Colonel”, thought Dora. How many more? Does everyone worry about him? How nice to be so well known and liked that so many people were worried about him. Dora looked up to see clouds scurrying across the sky as the sun disappeared behind a great big dark cloud, portending the oncoming rain that seemed to be a familiar occurrence every day for the last few weeks. First the sun, then the rain, then more rain and then the cold biting winds that kept blowing over the Dales and made these early days of winter so miserable.

Turning into the wind, Dora headed back to the stables, cantering across the fields in an effort to get back before the rain started. With the wind blowing in her face and the first raindrops stinging, Dora laughed as she guided Copper down the steep hillside, enjoying the feeling of freedom and the wild rush as Copper jumped the stream, then raced up the hill, over the small fence and turned towards Follyfoot, glad to know that he was going home and willing to put in more effort to get there quickly, knowing that once home, Dora would give him a nice bucket of warm bran mash (his favourite) and a good rubdown!

Dora’s hands were gripping the reins tightly as Copper reached the top of the hill, turning him gently to the left as he changed his leg and balanced him as he cleanly jumped over the small fence. Just as he landed, a truck went roaring past on the nearby road, loudly blowing a double horn and squealing as the driver slammed on his brakes on the wet road. Dora turned her head as she heard the horn, cursing the stupid driver who was making so much noise and wishing that he would stop. Then she suddenly felt a pain in her head, a sharp, jagged pain that would not stop, and then the pain spread down her back, into her hips and across her legs. Dora passed out and lay unmoving on the ground, unaware that Copper had stumbled, fallen down and threw Dora into the ditch beside the hedge, landing on her as he tumbled down.

Copper hit his head and lay unconscious on top of Dora, bleeding from a couple of cuts on his side and a deep gash on his left foreleg. The blood was dripping down on top of Dora, mixing with her blood that was now pouring out of a deep gash on her arm. The rain was heavy now, pouring down in sheets, cold rain, almost freezing, coming down heavily in waves. The sky was now a dark grey, clouds racing across from the east, coming so low that they were touching the tops of the hills, causing a mist that clung to everything, penetrating through your clothes and reaching into the furthermost innards, a biting and penetrating cold that seeped in and froze everyone and everything. A typical Yorkshire winter day was now in full fling, beating down on the dales and making sure that everyone was thoroughly soaked!

Hours passed, but no-one could see Dora or Copper lying in the ditch behind the hedge. The rain kept coming and both of them lay there, unaware of the cold and the danger that they were now in. Lying in the ditch, the rain was pooling below them seeping into their clothes and drawing out all the remaining heat in their bodies. Unless help came soon, Dora and Copper might never wake up!

Back at Follyfoot, Steve was busy cleaning the stalls, wondering why Dora was not there to help and cursing Ron for not turning up, today of all days. With every horse in the stalls, many doubled up because of the rain, Steve knew that it would be early afternoon before he would be finished, so he just kept on working, but he swore that he would tell Ron exactly what he thought of him when he next saw him.

By mid morning, Ron and Dora had still not appeared and Steve was getting more and more angry. He always felt that he ended up doing most of the work and that Dora never appreciated him, but this was ridiculous, leaving him alone all morning to do all the yard work. She should have been here hours ago, but no, off she goes gallivanting with Copper and skipping the work. And as for Ron, that lazy lout, he should be fired, Just trouble, that’s all he was good for, never worked, never around when you needed him and always hanging around with his friends in the village.

The sky was clouding over even more and the rain was getting heavier. Splunging around in his boots, Steve kept on cursing them both for deserting him and wishing that Dora would hire some real help for the yard work.

Slugger appeared over the half door, a cuppa in his hand for Steve but a worried frown on his face. “Ere, Steve, I know that Dora loves her alone time riding Copper in the morning, but she’s never been this later before. Think she’s okay?”

“Eh? Well, I’m sure she’s fine, She was going to ride down into the village to get some bread, since SOMEONE forgot to order it today!” said Steve, as he took the proffered cup of steaming tea from Slugger. “And since its raining, I’m sure she stopped off someplace until the rain lifts”.

Slugger nodded as he walked off, the rain still pelting down and creating mini-rivers in the yard. “Never been this late, not like her to be out, never called, not like her”, he mused as he walked back to the house. Slugger looked up as Ron snuck into the house right behind Slugger, dropping his wet wellies on the floor and shaking his jacket to get rid of the extra rain.

“Well me ol’ mate, and where’s the Mistress of Follyfoot today?” asked Ron.

“I don’t know and I’m worried as ‘ell, I is!” replied Slugger.

Ron looked up and saw the worried look on Slugger’s face. “Wow, you’re really worried, aren’t ye” said Ron, suddenly feeling a strange tingling down his back as he realised that Dora was missing and things were not right.

“She’s never this late, never called and never ever not here when it’s morning horsey ‘wake up’ time! Not since she came here has she been this much missing” said Slugger in a quiet voice to Ron.

“Blimey, what does Steve say?”

“Nothing, he doesn’t seem to be worried at all. Just too busy mucking out and not thinking about her” replied Slugger.

“Right, I’ll go off and ride up the Lane, following the way she usually goes. You take the Land Rover and check out over by Barnaby Hill. Don’t worry, we’ll find her” said Ron as he rushed out of the house and onto his bike. Slugger ran after him (well, more like shuffled fast as his legs wouldn’t really run at his age) and called out to Steve to join him in their search for Dora. Jumping into the Rover, they raced off on their search, now worried that something serious might have happened to Dora and Copper.

Lying in the ditch, Copper awoke to feel rain pouring down on him, his legs cold and stiff, pain in his back and the world at a strange angle. Not knowing any better, Copper tried to get up, but his legs were stiff and he could not move, so he relaxed and then drifted back into unconsciousness.

The rain continued to come down in sheets. In the far distance, the first peels of thunder could be heard and the flashes of lightening showed the dark, storm lashed hills as the clouds continued to come in from the East. The rain was now biting cold, numbing skin upon contact and draining the heat from everything that it touched. The peels of thunder were louder now, the rain pelting down was now a deluge, with the flashes were getting brighter and closer together with ever passing second.

The rain was forming rivulets as it continued to pour down the hillside, forming ever growing puddles and streams as the storm continued. Lying in the rain, Copper and Dora were now completely drenched and getting colder every minute. Copper winced as the loud thunder rang out, but not enough to wake him up. Dora still lay under him, unmoving and cold in the growing puddle of rain.

“Hey, did you see a young girl on a horse riding up the lane this morning?” called out Ron as he passed a young girl walking down the lane.

Amanda recognised Ron and called back “Dora? Yes, I saw her a few hours ago riding Copper. She was heading towards the village and seemed to be fine”.

“Thanks” replied Ron as he continued along the lane on his bike. Moving more slowly, Ron was looking carefully for any signs of a fall or where Dora might have left the lane, but the rain was making it very hard to see any horse tracks in the growing mud and puddles. The cold was getting to him, cutting through his leather jacket and seeping into his bones, but Ron was getting really worried now and he decided to go back along the lane to see if he had missed anything.

Turning around, Ron slowly started back along the lane, checking both sides but seeing nothing, Ron started to feel the first pangs of real fear, worried that maybe she had fallen off, or maybe someone had kidnapped her and Copper, or maybe she had got trapped somewhere and no-one could hear her calls for help.

Dora was such a lovely person, always caring about others and worrying about them first, never a bad word about anyone and a warm hand to help anyone in times of need. She had helped Ron so many times, always with a smile and a helping hand, a warm cuddle when he was down, a few words of advice when he was lost and strong words of encouragement when he needed them most. Dora, his friend was missing and Ron was worried, no….Ron was scared!

The rain was gathering in a large puddle that seemed to be a small river around Dora and Copper. Both were still out cold, and the rain was getting heavier. The rain water gathered around Dora, getting deeper and small waves were now lapping up against her face, reaching to her chin and beginning to touch her nose. The same waves were running up against Copper’s face, creeping into his nostrils and covering his lips. Twitching, Copper’s lips were turning blue from the cold, but still he did not wake up. Dora lay in the water, her brown hair soaked and sticking to her face, her eyes still tightly closed and her lips turning blue from the cold.

“Flippin heck, ‘ang on, he says, don’t worry, he says, no problems, he says”, moans Slugger as Steve drives over another giant pothole. “You must be aiming for the blasted holes, seems to me that yer hitting every one this side of Barnsleydale, you is trying to drive and avoid them ‘oles, ain’t ye?” asks Slugger as Steve hits yet another hole. Steve just grimaces at Slugger as he continues to drive at the break neck speed of 23 mph . . . hitting yet another hole and wishing that if Dora had not gone out and skipped off from work, then they would not be wasting their time looking for her.

Another peel of thunder and the whole valley shook as the lightening struck a tree just over the next hill. Another flash, another strike….another flash and another hit..coming fast and furious now, one lightening strike after another.

Rounding the top of the hill, Steve and Slugger saw Ron sitting under a tree on his bike. “Stupid idiot, get out from there before you get hit by lightening, you blistering nincompoop” yelled Steve at Ron, but his voice was obliterated by another resounding peel of thunder and a blinding flash as a bolt of lightening struck the tree that Ron was hiding under.

“Blimey, that was close…seen Dora? Saw Amanda back there and she said that she saw Dora this morning heading towards the village, but that was a few hours ago”

“No, nothing and it’s raining so much now that we’ll never see anything” said Steve. “Let’s head back to Follyfoot in case she has gone there and is waiting for us.

“I’ll stay here and keep looking, you never know, maybe she’s still here somewhere” said Ron as he roared off on his bike, still soaking and getting colder by the minute.

BANG! The sound of the lightening striking the tree directly above Copper awoke him with a start. Looking up, Copper saw the tree branches waving wildly as some of them started to break off. Scared, Copper tried to get up but his legs were numb so he rolled over and tried to move his forelegs. The lightening frightened him, but Copper was determined to get up. Copper managed to scramble up and stood over Dora, looking down at her bedraggled and wet limp form in the water.

The water was now covering Dora, all the way up over her face since Copper was no longer there to protect her from the waves. The water was rising faster, now it covered her completely, but still she lay unmoving in the cold water. The life was seeping from her, the cold was drawing it out of her as it continued to cover her. The water was a dark, muddy colour, cold and the mud was calking over her still, immobile body. Bubbles came from her nose as she slowly exhaled…. Then nothing…………

A full minute passed and the waves continued to roll over Dora, the mud caking her hair and completely covering her body.

Steve and Slugger pulled into the yard at Follyfoot, looking to see if Copper was back home, but in the rain they could not see anything. Steve jumped out and started looking in all the stalls to see if Copper was there, while Slugger checked the house, but there were no signs of Dora or Copper.

“Well, what now?” asked Slugger.

“I don’t know, perhaps we should wait here to see if she turns up” said Steve.

“Well, I think that I’ll just call the local police and let them know that she’s missing” said Slugger as he picked up the phone.

“What can they do, probably not much right now! Perhaps she’ll be back soon and then we’ll think this was just a ‘storm in a teacup’ and maybe we’ll be able to tell her how much trouble she has caused with her private rides in the morning”.

Steve went over to the fireside and sat down, watching the flames as they flickered and danced in the hearth. Slugger got off the phone and sat down beside Steve, hugging his cold tea as he wondered what else he could do.

Ron was slowly cruising up and down the lane, still looking but seeing nothing, getting more and more worried and wet as time went by…….worried…..scared……now really upset, but unable to think what else he could do…….where is Dora?

Copper stood looking down at Dora, wondering what to do. He could see her still body, but she was just a cold, grey lifeless shape in the mud……….

He bent down and sniffed at her body……but her could not smell her usual smell . . .the water and the mud covered her and he was puzzled …..he did not know what to do……..

Slowly, Copper nuzzled her body, blowing softly on her face, but Dora lay unmoving in the mud…..her cold lifeless body soaked and still ……

Copper pawed the ground, stamping his left foreleg in the mud in frustration and anger…….

He gently nudged Dora’s lifeless body, blowing on her face and pushing her shoulder gently with his nose…..Dora did not move…so Copper tried to push her harder, but she was in the mud and there was no way that he could push her up and out of the ditch . . . so . . .

Copper suddenly reached forward with his head and bit Dora’s jodhpurs’ around her waist, gripping tightly and lifting her up and out of the ditch. He dragged her forward and let go of her clothes, rubbing his nose against her and blowing more heavily on her face. Still nothing, so Copper licked her face with his tongue, pushed her harder with his nose and blew directly onto her cheeks.

The mud was knocked off her face and Dora suddenly took a deep breath, grasping at her face as she cleared the rest of the mud and rain from her face. Looking up, Dora screamed as she saw a giant brown nuzzle about two inches from her eyes, a bright white streak moving above her face as Copper kept blowing on her cheek! A loud whinny came out from Copper as he realized that Dora was alive . . . he stood there and started calling out in his loudest voice, neighing in a tone that Dora had never heard before . . .so loud that she had to cover her ears . . .Copper stood back and reared up on his hind legs . . continuing to call out in the loudest voice that he had . . . .so loud that his call could be heard over the peals of thunder and rain that continued to pour down.

Ron stopped dead . . . . . . “What is that god awful noise” he thought to himself, as he listened. Looking up, he saw a horse rear up in the distance, about a mile away and then he realized that it was Copper. Gunning his bike, Ron raced to the horse, watching as he continued to rear up and down, still making that awful nose that he could hear above the storm.

Sliding in the rain, Ron arrived and jumped over the hedge to find Dora lying on the ground, Copper standing over her, guarding her and pawing the ground. As Ron approached, Copper’s nostrils’ flared and he kept pawing, looking at Ron with a mixture of fear and confusion.

“Steady boy, it’s me, Ron, your pal, steady, steady” said Ron as he approached Dora. Copper backed off and stood, watching carefully as Ron knelt down beside Dora.

“Hey girl, you okay? Hurt anywhere?”

“I’m okay, just a few cuts, but nothing broken except my pride!” smiled Dora as she slowly stood up . . .and promptly fell down again as she realized that her muscles were so weak she could not stand!

Ron helped her up and onto his bike, and they slowly drove back to Follyfoot at a very slow walking pace, Dora hanging onto Ron and holding Copper’s reins. Dora was confused, cold and hungry, but she was also happy to see Ron and couldn’t wait to get home to Follyfoot.

As they entered Follyfoot, Steve and Slugger came out to help Dora into the house as Ron took Copper back to his stall. He spent the next half hour rubbing him down and gave him a nice warm bran mash (double helping) and a couple of extra apples as a treat.

Copper was happy, he was home, the rubdown helped his circulation and the mash heated him up….and the apples were good! Nice of Ron to feed him .

Dora was sitting by the fireside, a couple of blankets wrapped around her as she sipped a cup of piping hot lentil soup (from a can, not a Slugger special). Steve and Slugger were talking but she was not paying any attention. All she could think about was Copper and Ron. She had realised what had happened and that Copper had saved her life. Slowly she stood up and told them that she was going out to see that Copper was okay.

Carrying her coup, Dora walked out to the stables and Copper……

Copper whinnied as he saw her approach and turned around to rub noses with her, glad to see her up and walking again! Dora just stood there, tears in her eyes as she realized that if Copper had left her, or if he had not dragged her out of the water, or if he had not cried out for help, then she would have died.

Looking at him, she started to cry as she realized that he was pleased to see her as he watched her intently. Dora walked over to him and put her arm around his neck, rubbing his nose and telling him how much she loved him. Tears were slowly coming down her cheeks as she stood there, so grateful that he was her friend. Horses were very intelligent and loyal, but Copper was a true friend and she knew that he would never leave her again. She also realised that she could never leave Copper and that he would be with her for the rest of his life.

Ron stood in the shadows as he watched Dora and Copper. He chewed on a straw as he watched them together, Copper’s warm breath hanging in the air as he stood watching the rain falling.

“It’s okay, Ron, come join us, please. I want to have my two best friends beside me, two friends who never gave up on me and who literally saved my life, Please, come join me” Dora said in a soft voice as she held out her hand to Ron.

Ron stepped over and Copper promptly rubbed his head against him! Ron burst out laughing as he went flying across the stall, as Copper’s rub was the equivalent to any other horses full blown charge!

Recovering his pride, Ron moved back over to Dora and squeezed her shoulders gently as she looked up at him, Her lovely brown eyes glistened with tears, but there was a special look there, a small flame of friendship that was growing, a feeling that she was his friend and that nothing would ever change that.

Ron never thought of Dora as a girlfriend, but he had always thought of her as a special friend and now, as they stood there together in the stall, he realized that friendship is not something that you just get, it was something that you had to earn and work hard to keep. A true friend was something that you treasured and kept, that lasted all life long and although boyfriends and girlfriends might come and go, a true friend was there to stay.

Dora looked at Ron, tears were still running down her cheeks as she blinked her eyes clear. Copper’s face was warm against her cheek, Ron’s hand was gently squeezing her hand and she felt this wave of thankfulness sweep over her.

“Ron, why did you stay out in the rain and keep looking for me, even though you were frozen and wet, there was no sign of me and you had been up and down that lane a few times?”

“Dora, you’re my friend………………”

“And . . . . . well, anyway, umm, hmm, you’re my friend and that’s what friend’s do ….never leave each other, right?”

Dora just smiled, squeezed Ron’s hand and relaxed.

“Ron, thanks. Yes, you’re my friend and that’s what friends do . . .they never ever leave each other . . .ever!”

“Ron, I just wanted to say thanks.”

Dora squeezed his hand again and looked into his eyes, thankful that she knew that she could trust him when she really needed him. Standing there, Dora realized that she was one of the luckiest people in the world, living at Follyfoot, surrounded by people she loved and horses that she cared about, and now a person and a horse had returned that love and shown her that they too cared about her.

Finally, her dreams were starting to come true!