Chapter 1: Children

Lauren, a blonde six-year-old girl, sat on the floor of her equestrian-themed bedroom in the large estate house just outside Richmond, Virginia. Surrounding her were most of her stuffed animal friends and a small basket with some fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies, but she was quickly losing her patience.

“Isiah! Where did you go?” she yelled loudly

Unlike most six-year-olds, she wasn’t prone to quickly losing her temper. She discovered a new friend recently, and if she had her way, he would be living at the estate with her. Instead, Isiah lived with his uncle, who was chief of security at their horse farm. Isiah was a dark-skinned boy of the same age with short brown hair and a persistently serious expression. He was also tall for his age.

What sparked their initial friendship was when they discovered they were born at nearly the same time on the same day at the same hospital. In a cruel twist of fate, both their mothers passed away at childbirth, leaving their fathers’ to care for them. Unfortunately, Isiah was dark-skinned, and both his parents were white. Discovering this, Isiah’s father abandoned him declaring his mother cheated. Lauren’s father felt terrible for Isiah and spoke to Isiah’s uncle. If the uncle would assume custody, then he could have a job at his estate. His military background and experience made him ideal for the chief of security position. Unfortunately, his uncle was a cruel man. Beatings were common, and his uncle hated Isiah playing with a little girl, even if it was his employer’s daughter. Worse, Isiah was never permitted to cry.

“Boys will behave like boys.” His uncle would always say.

Typically, the two would spend time in the barn around the horses. Lauren taught Isiah quite a bit about how to handle a horse properly. The first time they walked into a barn, he was a little nervous. Lauren demonstrated approaching a strange horse, where to put his hands and to watch his feet. It wasn’t anything extraordinary except for the occasion when a neighbor decided to set off some fireworks. Fireworks in an equestrian community is a big no-no. The sound will cause the horses to panic and hurt themselves. When that happens, the last place for a young child to be is in the barn. Marcus was one of the more difficult horses they owned. He was also immense at 18 hands high. On that day, Marcus was well on his way to hurt himself in his stall, and her dad and the staff couldn’t calm him. Without being told, the two children snuck past her father and started stroking the massive horse. In just a few seconds, not only was Marcus calm but miraculously the entire barn also. After that day, Marcus was cared for by Isiah exclusively. He never rode the big horse, but the children made frequent trips to see him. Marcus became far less difficult when the children were present.

When the children weren’t at the barn, they were playing in her room. Playing by themselves isn’t saying either of the two were introverted, far from it. Lauren’s precocious manner was seen as quite charming by the staff. Lauren hosted many sleepovers for her school friends, but when Isiah came by, they isolated themselves. Today, Lauren declared they were finished playing house, and it was time for a picnic. Isiah left for the bathroom quite a long time ago.

“Isiah! Did you get lost?” she yelled again. It was a fair question. It happened a lot to the guests.

Lauren peeked out her door just in time to see Isiah coming down the hallway from the opposite direction of the bathroom. His hands were behind his back, and he was shyly looking down.

“Whatcha got?” Lauren asked curiously

He glanced up sharply and gave her a rare smile before looking back down. “I figured since we were having a picnic, we should have some flowers.”

He produced from behind his back a handful of daisies.

“Aww, that’s so nice.” She paused in thought after collecting them. “Where’d you get them?”

“Outside,” he answered a little sheepishly.

She giggled. “Javier is gonna be mad at you.” She was referring to their groundskeeper.

He just shrugged and sat down by the blanket for their pretend picnic.

He was like that. He wasn’t precisely passive but not much bothered him. He behaved much differently when Lauren wasn’t around. He was unusually calm for a young boy his age, but his passive but guarded demeanor changed in an instant when he saw her. A smile lit up his face when her platinum blonde locks of hair came bounding around a corner. Isiah was full of energy and excitement when he came by their estate. After the first day, she declared they were “bestest” friends and made no effort to hide it from her father, who was more than a little amused at their behavior. Her father liked Isiah and repeatedly watched the boy’s guarded personality transform in her presence.

Isiah’s uncle was far less amused. He wanted Isiah to stop playing with her entirely on many occasions. Unfortunately, the uncle didn’t have a daycare, so his hands were tied.