tHe new girL

There's more than meets the eye when it comes to a new arrival at the barn.

- EMILY FOSTER-TOMKINSON

Sophie watched the new girl make her way across the barn aisle. The trailer had pulled up not long before, and a beautiful black horse had been unloaded. Sophie didn't know anything about the girl who was moving into their barn, only that she was around the same age, and her name was Freya.

Freya was dressed in boots and breeches like everyone else, but she carried a long, white sick out in front of her, which she rolled across the ground.

"Why is she carrying a stick?" asked Sophie's friend Aimee.

"It means she's blind," replied their other friend Harriet.

"Don't be stupid," said Aimee, crossing her arms. "Blind people can't ride horses."

meeting freya

Freya stopped in front of the three girls and smiled.

"Hi, I'm Freya, nice to meet you."

"You too," said Sophie.

"Why are you carrying that stick?" said Aimee, as blunt as a hammer.

"I can't see very well, so it stops me from bumping into things."

"Told you it meant she was blind," said Harriet with a triumphant smile.

Aimee scowled and wrinkled her nose. "How are you supposed to ride without being able to see?"

"Oh no," said Freya, patiently, "I'm not blind, I ..."

"You just said you were," interrupted Aimee. "That's why you have a stick."

Sophie frowned at Aimee. She was being rude, but Sophie was too shy to say anything.

"Actually, it's called a cane," said Freya.

Aimee burst out laughing. "A cane?! Like my nanna uses."

Harriet giggled, but Sophie's scowl grew deeper. "Leave her alone," she muttered.