“Enjoying the party, Ryan?”
The girl being addressed looked up to the smiling face of her parent. Ryan, as she was named, was just a young child. The message didn’t arrive, or more likely, was never sent, to her mind as she was quite mature for her age and lacking the signature childhood sense of humor. It was no wonder her mother came to question her as she sat alone at a chair with a stone-cold face while the kids around her buzzed through the air and free-for-all atmosphere, having a ball at the birthday celebration.
“Yeah,” she said, her unchanged face telling a different, although incorrect story, “It’s fun.” Ryan wasn’t lying, but her standards for fun tended to be different than the others in her age group.
Her mother actually did believe her, though, despite the blunt monotone that came to her ears, but knew better than to simply leave it at that. “Why don’t you go play with your friends?” she asked hopefully.
“I only have one and she’s not here,” came the reply. She wasn’t actually friends with the birthday kid. He had just invited everyone he knew following the golden rule of more people equals more presents.
Points for brutal honesty, her mother thought, there must be something around here she’ll like. She glanced around at the sugar-fueled mess that was once a house until she found an answer. The party happened to belong to one of the more wealthy children on the block, and as things tend to go, the eager-to please parents went all out in the attractions. In a corner was a clown, delighting the faces of his young audience with his gags and balloons that always ended up as an animal of some sorts, the exception being a snake. Balloons already came in that shape when you blew them up. In the living room was a few rows of chairs set up, most occupied, as an entire wall was turned into a personal silver screen by a ceiling-mounted projector. What the mother set her sights on, however, wasn’t any of these. She had something bigger in mind. Instead, there was a sign pointing out to the field the owners called a back yard. It directed the many children to more various centers of entertainment outside such as the pool and bouncy castle with matching slide, but on the top, in blocky, noticeable letters, were the words “HORSEBACK RIDES!!!”
Ryan’s mother figured this would be the best choice if her daughter was reluctant to get really involved with all the usual activities. “Want to try horseback riding? They have it in the backyard,” she asked. She got an indifferent shrug. “It will be fun,” she said toned in a sing-song voice. However, it wasn’t an appeal this time, as indicated by the hand that was offered to Ryan.
Ryan merely took the hand, allowing herself to be lead away from the table and chair she had become so acquainted with. They made a move for the door, but were cut off by a large group of screaming and hollering kids darting by in an organized clump of limbs, all of them covered in or carrying some kind of party token, whether it be face paint or sugar-filled cake their parents would have to deal with later. Ryan’s mother took a glance at the passing crows before shifting her gaze to Ryan. Ryan, herself, was just staring ahead, waiting to get a move on.
Once the path was clear, the two walked out into the grassy turf, pool to the left, fence to the right, and a football field’s worth of space in front, which is where the four-legged animals were. Even from the some-distance-away spot she was in, Ryan could see the horses trotting calmly though the makeshift pasture with a young, overenthusiastic child along for the ride. There were at least three of them, each with their own attendant to lead them in their circular path and to make sure everything went smoothly.
“That looks fun,” her mother attempted, but she might as well have been talking to herself. Her daughter had already made the observation. Ryan gazed off towards the equines with interest. Never before had she actually seen a horse. Sure, there had been pictures and incredibly childish drawings in her coloring books, but the real, living thing was in its own league altogether. While any other girl her age would likely be running with a delightful squeal, their poor mother in her heels being dragged along the grass, Ryan was passively fascinated. For the first time since arriving at the party, she found herself being drawn to something. She subconsciously increased her speed, not acknowledging her own movement. Her mother however, did notice. That must be a good sign, she figured.
They soon found themselves at the line for it, if it could be called that. In truth, it was really a spot in the grass where at least one attendant and a horse were waiting for someone to come for the attraction. The attendant was talking to the only other child in line, a boy of frizzy red hair that had a twinkle in his eyes that spelled mischief. He was in the process of being explained by the attendant why he can’t have firecrackers go off near and definitely not on the horse. It sounded silly to the outsiders that were Ryan and her mom. Surely it was common sense? The boy however, wasn’t dumb. He knew full well when and when not to use the sparky rockets. He just wanted to annoy the man with his absurd ideas.
Ryan briefly wondered where he had even gotten the things that were currently stuffed into his pockets but figured they were probably lying around here somewhere, only to be set off for some time during the birthday celebration to add fun dramatics and effects to the show. She paid the boy no more mind, even if her mother was giving him a look of suspicion.
The man broke his lecture long enough to notice the newcomers. He quickly changed his exasperated demeanor into that of a happy I’m-being-paid-to-do-this one. “Looking to take a fun horseback ride?” he said in a rehearsed tone, each word more bright than the previous.
Ryan nodded.
“Okay, but first let’s go over some safety tips for Henry here,” he said, gesturing with a thumb over his shoulder to the chestnut-colored horse lazily grazing behind him a few steps. At receiving another nod, he went on in a monologue of safety and why they were important to take heed to. Ryan didn’t pay too much attention, though. It was all rules she would expect such as to treat the animal how you would want to be treated. They were really just versions of the ones she was used to in school, so she knew it was smart to smile and nod in “understanding” as he finished up.
Under the watchful eye of her mother, she was lifted up onto Henry the Horse, as she found herself somewhat affectionately calling it. Once up, she couldn’t help but gawk at the view from on top of the saddle. She could see the whole world! she thought. Even normally her much taller mother was but a tiny speck in the greenery. This is going to be amazing! she thought as she clutched the reins as instructed. She smiled an eager glance at her mother who, in turn, shot one back happily. Looks like her plan was working, even if there weren’t any other children around. Save for one trouble-making boy sitting in the grass while fiddling with toys he shouldn’t have.
Ryan was caught off guard as the beast of burden suddenly started a slow, guided trot with the aid by its side, causing her to momentarily almost lose her balance, but she recovered just fine. With that, she was off!
The girl was lead around the small field, enjoying every single moment. She would describe it, insisting she wasn’t exaggerating, that it was a wild rush of wind and speed as she and Henry the Horse dashed across the field, her hair billowing in the wake of the air they sliced that so foolishly got in their way. Ryan was sure her steed was enjoying the ride as well, judging from the sidelong glances it would occasionally throw at its unfamiliar passenger from its long face. Overall, it was a truly ecstatic experience.
…which meant that it was a shame that everything afterwards was the direct, terrifying opposite.
From the pocket of grass that they had started at came a sudden, quick shriek. Ryan knew that voice. It was her mother’s. Already facing the direction it came from, she craned her neck around the horse’s head to see what could have caused her mom to become frightened, but the answer came to her quickly. As in it literally came to her.
She let loose of her own as a loud, screeching blur of sparkling red blasted past her face. Her head darted backwards in pursuit, catching sight of the missile as it crashed into the ground, flares still shooting out. Maybe not a missile, but a rocket, it seemed. It didn’t take her long to put two and two together as she realized the boy had probably sent one off by mistake. She calmed herself down from her scare once knowing there wasn’t any reason to be alarmed and tried to set her mind back to the happy place it had been in.
Unfortunately, the horse did not share the same recovery. Horses tend to be higher strung animals, susceptible to sudden scares, and it just so happened that this particular one was feeling antsy as is in the unfamiliar environment infested with small, screaming children. With a fear-induced whinny, it reared up its entire mass, rider and all, up onto its two hind legs, its now-airborne legs held out in front and pining the empty space, as a bright and faster moving firecracker flew by its head, playing a shrill note many octaves too high.
Ryan felt the sudden change before all else. One moment she was fine on top of her friend Henry the Horse, the next she was facing the odd sensation of gaining altitude at a rather awkward angle, then finally ending up in the actually familiar yet unlikeable feeling of falling. She’d fallen off of things an embarrassedly large amount of times before, usually at the playground at school, but it was always a heart-skipping experience. She yelled out in an unpleasant mixture of surprise and fear as she fell towards the unforgiving ground, completely at the nonexistent mercy of gravity. This was much worse than the usual falling sensation, though. Between the nasty surprise and whinnying horse, it was made even less desirable by the extra-long distance from the animal’s back to the ground. It only lasted seconds, but time was rendered irrelevant.
She landed on the ground hard, her head taking a nasty hit from the resulting whiplash. Tears sprang to her eyes and gave no indication of stopping their flow. It only was at this time that her mother saw the situation, her imminent scolding to the boy interrupted by the cry from her daughter. It took only a moment before instinct took over. She darted out to the rearing animal that once held Ryan, kicking off her heels and not caring where they ended up. All that mattered was her child and protecting her. She screamed Ryan’s name all the way.
Meanwhile, the attendant, who was supposed to be preventing this exact kind of situation, was still recovering from the shock of the sudden turn of events. Only moments too late did he come back to reality after Ryan’s fall. However, there was no time to ponder what could have been prevented. There was a horse that needed to be calmed down. He turned to the animal, the thought I am so fired running through his mind. In most situations, he would have had the problem sorted out in a jiffy, but, once again, horses are timid creatures. This is especially the case when a woman runs towards one screaming. By a bad sense of humor, Ryan’s mother’s concern only lead to making things worse as the horse became startled at the perceived threat. Acting on the latter portion of fight or flight, it turned in a hurry, trying to gallop off, while ignoring the dismayed response from its trainer.
Unfortunately, there happened to be a child in the way.
Ryan, back against the ground and vision blurred, shrieked as the massive form of the horse came over her, its size blacking out the sun and giving it a terrifying silhouette. The horse paid her no mind, however, as it only seemed content on becoming the horrible monster that whinnied an unearthly sound at its victim. This wasn’t Henry the Horse, as Ryan knew, but a big angry beast that sought nothing more than to take sadistic pleasure in its poor and helpless prey. Tears flowed like a broken dam as the girl could only scream as the monster rushed over her, relentlessly tearing up the earth it shook in its wake.
The poor girl didn’t even see it when a hoof came at her, straight for her face.
Ah, nothing like a concussion to induce an instant overpowering phobia of whatever whacked you in the head.
....soccer balls.......
Well other than the punctuation, the only problem I see is near the end where 'damn' is used when it should be 'dam'. Besides that its a very good start.
That stupid boy.
Seems interesting.
4971015
......
Frisbees.
Cobwebs.
SAND.
And, [insert religious concept one adheres to here] forbid, NEEDLES.
I haven't necessarily been hit in the head with all of these, nor am I afraid of most of them. Except for the last two, due to trauma. I did once obtain a concussion when I fell out of a chair in middle school and have been food poisoned several times. Still, I became used to those experiences. I've fallen down stairs before and overworked myself into illness, yet I have yet to develop an aversion for stairs, chairs, or books. In fact, I rather like them. However, due to several traumas, I have an intense hatred of sand, I dislike being unable to rely on my senses or being deprived of them, I have an aversion to football (American), strong sunlight, heat, and mushrooms, heights make me feel uncomfortable and even dizzy, and I am gripped by light nausea and panic whenever I am made aware that a needle within my vicinity will soon penetrate my body. Thus, I can say that I can grasp what you speak of, but cannot fully empathize with your statement, nor attest to its complete, infallible accuracy.
I have a fear of clowns because one was juggling at ACTUAL BOWLING PINS at my birthday party. One hit me in the temple, while another cracked a rib, and the last fractured my arm.
5034273
You think you hate needles? Well how about being HGH deficient and having to get a shot EVERY SINGLE NIGHT FOR TWO YEARS!!! AND HAVING A FEAR OF NEEDLES BEFORE THAT!!! AND MOST OF THE TIME I HAD TO GIVE MYSELF THE SHOT!!!
*Comes out of fetal position*
Point is *shutters*, you don't know fear until something that would normally make someone immune to said fear only intensifies it...
5064538
Listen, for I will only explain myself once. The reason I specifically said fearful of, and NOT "phobic", is because I no longer have a needle phobia. I simply have an intense hatred of them. After a traumatic event that occurred during a blood drawing, I developed a needle phobia. However, as I have a medical history a mile wide, I eventually grew desensitized to needles. True, I do have small panic attacks whenever I get my blood drawn, but I no longer need to have 3 nurses hold me down every time I need to go get an allergy shot or a vaccine. I no longer freak out when I see a needle near me, and no longer get nervous sewing or when having to use a needle for some purpose. It took me almost 10 YEARS to get this desensitized, and I probably won't get any better. It first happened when I was six. I am now 16, almost 17. I am sure that you are certainly worse off than me. I am sure that since you have not been susceptible to desensitization, that you are likely not going to be able to move past your fear as well I could. That is unfortunate, but that doesn't mean you can crucify me for being able to MOVE ON. You DO have a point, and a fair one at that. But let me tell you something about SAND. To this day, after having been unable to sleep, move, eat, or go the bathroom for nearly 50 consecutive hours after having been completely sunburned EVERYWHERE (I mean this quite literally, with exception to the area protected by my shorts, as even my EYELIDS peeled dead skin off), while being covered in sand and dried salt water, that I still have an intense hatred for heat, strong sunlight, and beaches. I still have a fear of sand. Specifically dry beach sand. Sand elsewhere just makes me nervous. However, on a beach, ever since that day, I have been unable to move or go into the water. My mother always has to drag onto the shore. Once there, I cannot set foot in the water, and usually spend the majority of my time standing stock still on the wet sand, covered in sunscreen, until I am either forcefully dragged on a walk, or I am allowed to leave. While traversing the dry sand, I keep a snail's pace, kicking up no sand, and ensuring that I get as little sand on me as possible. I freak out if I do. The worst part is, since I have asthma, if I spiral into a full blown panic attack , I could actually die from an asthma attack. You, at worst, may stick yourself with a needle and bleed. I could be choked to death by my own lungs. Now, I have not taken offense to your statement. I simply wish to point out that you cannot say that I can't state something when I don't know your situation, when you have also done the same. I know nothing about you other than what you have told me. The same is true for you. I didn't make any assumptions. I didn't try to make a point or disprove one. I simply tried to say, in my earlier comment, that based on the contents of the comment I replied to,
Do you understand? Your accusation does not stand. Yet, if I were to make the same claim, mine would. That being said, I make no such claim. Instead, I'll just offer a bit of friendly, somewhat miffed advice: Look before you leap. Think before you talk.
Have a nice day.
Every childhood has that one asshole who would do stuff like this. More often than not, though, it's not just one. I've had to deal with at least 50 of them, and I'm not even 15!
5098222
You have my sympathies. I've managed to avoid people like that, but only by having virtually no social life.
5098222 Only 50?
You got a long life ahead of ya kid.
I think "I am so fired" should be in quotation marks.
please tell me the parents of that boy as well as the parents of other children at the party took turns tanning his hide.
Jesus, falling off is terrible enough, but getting trampled on the face is a pretty awful. She'll probably face something similar, only she'll know be old enough to get out of the way.
Oh, mega ouch.
Horses are mostly friendly to humans but they are big animals, and they can be skittish, and you do not want to be in the way of a terrified horse. Perfectly plausible accident. People die from falling off horses, or being trampled by them. Even by docile horses, since they can still get scared, or make a mistake.
5128824
Or a short one depending on how unlucky they are.
I reckon this would have served better as a flash back later in the story, after first. Building up the mystery of her fear of horses.
The prose, she is an itsy-witsy bit purple.
Ah, there's nothing like childhood traumas to leave you scarred for life.
In my case?
1. Cynophobia: Fear of Dogs - I was too young to remember, but when I was about 2, I got tackled to the ground and exuberantly licked by a dog 3 times bigger than I was. I was subconsciously terrified of dogs until I was 17 when I met and befriended a therapy dog at a ranch I was volunteering at. I still won't let dogs lick my face, though, not even my Chihuahua mix (only dog I've ever owned).
2. Chinaphobia: Fear of Geese - Barely recall this one, but when I was 3 or 4, I was feeding bread to a flock of geese. Apparently, I wasn't feeding them fast enough for their tastes, and one of them bit my thumb. Plus, everyone knows geese are evil. You've seen the videos.
3. Apiphobia & Spheksophobia: Fear of Bees & Fear of Wasps - Probably my most intense phobia. When I was in... 5th or 6th grade, I think?... I went into the backyard to play on the swingset. Unbeknownst to me, however, a yellowjacket had built a nest under the swing I was on. I started swinging, and she started stinging (lol, wordplay). She chased me, still stinging, all the way to the back door. I ended up getting stung 27 times in the ass. And to top it all off, turns out I'm allergic (though not deathly so)! I ended up bedridden, ass-up, for 3 days straight with my ass swollen to a size that would make Nicki Minaj jealous.
4. Coulrophobia: Fear of Clowns - Once again, I was too young to remember, but my mom hired a clown for my 3rd birthday. Apparently, I wasn't interested, and went to go play on the slide. He got angry, and yelled at me until my mom told him off. Then, when I was about 11 or 12, in a haunted house I was in, at one point there was a pneumatic cylinder (or, to be less technical, a metal pipe that shoots out due to air pressure) with a clown head attached to it that shot out of the wall to scare you. Problem was, I was hugging the wall like my life depended on it, so when it shot out, it hit me in the kneecap.
5. ???: Fear of Balls Heading Towards My Face - In 7th grade, during gym class, we had a substitute teacher who simply unlocked the closet where all the balls were, then went off into his own world while he read a book. The numerous bullies in the class decided it would be great fun to continuously throw balls at me. Eventually, one kid threw a basketball at my face, breaking my glasses and knocking me unconscious. I think, like, 9 kids got suspended for that little incident. Then in high school, in my 'infinite wisdom', I joined the soccer team. I couldn't do a header to save my life, because whenever the ball headed towards my head, I'd flinch away. Then, the ONE TIME I got past the fear and went for it, another kid went for it at the same time, and I busted my head open on his braces.
6. Acrophobia: Fear of Heights - No childhood trauma involved, I have vertigo. 'nuff said.
5302916 Damn, that's really unfortunate. I have a fear of heights as well, but not because of any childhood experience. I just like having the feeling of solid ground under my feet, I can't climb worth crap (Yet somehow I have fantasies about becoming a mountain climber, logic right?). I'm no stranger to anxiety, but I can't even imagine what it's like to have a phobia that you have to face consistently, it must be crippling, to say the least.
5302916 For number 6 is it fear of the actual heights or is it of falling? Slight bit of difference there as I am perfectly fine in an airplane or behind most windows, but if there is a chance of me falling my legs go weak, even with falling threats in video games.
...huh. That reminds me of when I was attacked by a dog when I was five...twelve years later and I still can't stand the damn things.
My phobia was bees. Multiple bad experiences with angry hornets and wasps, including:
-Mistaking a hornet nest in a dead log for firewood, and chopping it up as such.
-Being chased for a hundred yards by the resulting swarm
-Being stung on the playground when I was little
-Discovering I am allergic to wasps while doing yard work.
My phobia is mostly subsided now, but when I was little, I was terrified of bees. I refused to go within 15 feet of a flower bed because of them, and froze like a deer on the highway whenever one would come near me. To this day, I duck and run if one starts buzzing me (pun intended).
Reminds me of an old classmate that was very involved in horse riding and care. She happened to be behind a horse that got spooked and got kicked right in the face. Everything turned alright in the end, she still rode, and the facial scars actually looked kinda cute once they were finished healing. Though, I do believea small amount of reconstructive surgery was involved so it might not have looked as good without it.
Phobias, hmm... I can't say that I have as impressive a repertoire as the other posters but I have a few. I have a strong fear of spiders, thought I've trained myself to the point that I won't freak out if a spider smaller than three millimeters or so is near or even on me anymore. Unless it's a jumping spider, those fuckers still freak me the fuck out even when they are positively miniscule.
Then there's a pretty strong fear of falling that I can manage with rigid discipline, though I still tend to get jelly legs and latch onto any railing or similar support with a white-knuckled grip.
Some mild claustrophobia and fear of the dark as well, but nothing to write home about.
GGRRrr
[It kind of throws me off when the main character's name is mostly a guy's name.]
GGRRrr
[Since some of the other comments are talking about phobias, I want to say mine!]
GGRRrr
[My biggest fear are needles. I absolutely HATE it.]
GGRRrr
[Another fear is spiders, though I can handle them as long as I have something to smack them with.]
Liking this so far, but there does seem to be something... mechanical about it, like it clinked and clanked from one sentence to the next.
Thingsi'm afraid of:
Spiders, snakes, clowns, knives, social interaction, being forgotten, falling.
Damn... I'd be terrified too if that happened to me!
What am I afraid of?
Most horror games (With FNaF and White Noise being the only two exceptions so far), The feeling I'm not alone (in the bad way. More like I feel like I'm being stalked), Nighttime and super dark areas (I watch way too many horror games), and bees and wasps (I have been stung over ten times by them, almost all in my right hand). I'm not really scared of bees or wasps, just being around wasps scares me since they'll sting for no reason (I got stung by one when I picked up my cat, and I wasn't even anywhere near the nest!), but I am pretty cautious around bees. Luckily, I know how to not get stung by bees. Just watch them. That's all. I even once picked up a flower and held it still. Sure enough, I got too see three bees up close and I survived without getting stung.
5684956 my sister pet a bee once while it was distracted with a flower, a whole lotta nope from me!
5551873 The average person gets forgotten in about 80 years after death.
5398219
5684956
Bees don't bother me. I find it interesting to observe at close range the variety if species that swarm my property in the summer.
Wasps, though, that's another matter. Bumble into a guinea wasp nest in my chicken pen. Entire right side of my body was stung over a dozen times. Days before that, a red wasp latched onto my face and stung my nose. Nose swelled up like a cartoon.
5398219 You and I share the same phobia. *shivers.*
I don't understand the mechanics here. If Ryan is sitting on the horse, and then falls off, she's going to hit the ground within a meter or so of the horse, and probably towards its rear. How can the horse then 'rush towards her'? Is there a second horse? Does the horse move away, see the mother, and then reverse course? I fear (haha) that there is a chunk of text missing here.
This is also the reason why the attendants would normally have their hands constantly holding a guide rope attached to the bridle. It won't completely stop a frightened horse from rearing, but the weight of a human attached to their front end usually brings them down again quickly, if it doesn't stop the rear half way through. So not only 'so fired' but 'big fat lawsuit' for the company involved.
6652956 I have quite a lot of phobias, but cynicism helps me to overcome them. The hardest one to overcome, however, is claustrophobia.
7282344 and here I thought people liked things being tight, bow chicka wow wow.
ooooh nooo... I know where is this going...