This is the passionate life story of two young rodeo kids Autumn and Albert. Together they learn about life's challenges and surmount every obstacle thrown in their path. Inspiring, intriguing and intense.
The author, Gabrielle Meier, is 16 years old.
Excerpt:
It was on a splendid day that the most wonderful feeling ran through my veins. So passionately yet aggressively her sweet lips gently pressed against mine. The tension between our souls was so strong that I could feel all my muscles tensing up, striving to get myself closer to her. The sweet yet delightful smile she wore on her flawless face as she handed me a beautiful wooden ring she had made for me was more than enough to melt my heart. Her tender touch caressing my hand felt so unique, special and real yet when my alarm roared as loud as the buzzer of the rodeo grounds, I confronted and suffered the sad reality of my splintered life.
So long ago, back in 2000, I sighted her. I recall standing there, in the middle of nowhere lost in our empire, so elegantly she climbed out of her truck, with such beauty she stole my heart. Not long after, we met again, this time in town, with a group of her friends. Strangely, she was different. I felt like she was shy and hiding her real amazing self. We saw each other regularly after that day, each day better, fuller and more of an adventure than the previous. Every time I learned more about her and every time she let me in a little more. She was the most interesting, passionate, perfect person I had ever met. These two years of my youth I spent wrapped in her arms, riding every trail and learning everything about life together were the two best years of my life.
Autumn was the perfect name for her. She was as sweet as the green grass of the spring and as tanned as the golden leaves of the fall. She was as calm as the late summer nights yet as wild as an alpha wolf and beautiful as the shining stars she so often looked at. She often wore tight wranglers with a beautiful bull riding buckle and cowboy shirts or tank tops that showed her back and shoulders but didn’t quite conceal the cream straps of her bra. Her skin was tanned and flawless but for a small heart-shaped birthmark, she so elegantly wore just below the nape of her neck.
She was the unique sunset you only see once in your life if you are lucky. The one sunset that starts as a bright, red ray of light which then turns to a calm and peaceful canvas, painted with care and attention by our Lord and Creator. As the sunset does, she gave me this mix of a million feelings. As I carefully watched her, she gave me a feeling of strength, courage, motivation, fear, happiness, peace and so many more. She gave me this one feeling I can't quite describe with words. It is a feeling only the privilege of experiencing in their lives. Her colours, moods and goals went from a piercing red to a soft purple to then fade into a smooth blue. Like the sunset, as she went through all of these colours, she gave me invincible and inexplicable feelings. But as the lights went out and the quietness of the night filled the sky, the smoke trails of the agonizing fires bled in despair. These drops and trails or red paint in the beautiful canvas He created stayed for the longest. Only the ones who stayed close to her and loved her got to see the bleeding smoke trails of her shattered soul.
As she quickly walked through the big crowd of rodeo fans to meet me, her eyes filled with passion, staring at me with a huge relieved smile, she seemed in such a small world, as if she had forgotten everyone but me. As I observed her passionately, I thanked God for the beautiful canvas he had created as he made her. As she tripped over a little step and caught herself on a retired rodeo star, she smiled her attractive smile and without meaning it caught his attention. As she sat down next to him, I carefully watched her lips, the way she talked, was mesmerizing. After a little while, she stood up again and came to see me. As she sat there so close to me and leaned in for a kiss, I dodged it and tried hard not to smile, or feel anything. I cleared my throat.
“Hey, how are you doing?”
“I am alright. What’s going on with you?”
“Autumn, our love was quite an art, but we grew apart. I wish you didn’t have to be, but you're dead to me.”
She was still gazing at me, her eyes filled with darkness and tears as that unique spark that filled them instantly ceased. As I took off my lucky wooden ring she had given me so long ago, she looked away at the arena seeking peace. Her sigh sounded like she wished she was the one getting pounded in the ground by that giant furious bull. Without a word, without a beg nor a touch, she hastily left. Her heart was crushed, yet numb, her mind was dead, her goals were never to be accomplished. As she climbed up the stairs as fast as she could, I saw Ciara come down. With a seductive look, she scrutinized me and in a second I forgot all about Autumn. But as she turned around and grabbed Autumn’s arm, I understood shit was about to go down. Autumn’s cold soul turned as she fiercely punched Ciara to release her arm. She glanced at me. With anger, disappointment and disgust she left before Ciara could even speak her words. Furious and bruised, Ciara yelled over the crowd: “guess you weren’t that good after all, you slut.”
With anger and disappointment in myself, I ran to Ciara, tried to help her before telling her to not be so mean. With a funny look on her face she retorted: “Little Albert, you can blame me as much as you want and lose me too, but deep down in that sexy heart of yours, you know this is your own making. So shut your mouth and kiss me before I kiss your best friend.”