The moment the horse locked eyes with this girl, the animal started jumping around and just went absolutely crazy. The owner had no way to contain it and at first, did not even know what caused it. But when the horse suddenly jumped out of the enclosure and dashed towards the girl, it all became clear very quickly. When it was brought to light why the horse was doing this, the owner was utterly surprised. Matthew had no idea about what was going to happen to him that day. He was stressing out about his racehorse Phantom’s first competitive event. He was paying so much attention to talking to potential betters that he missed that a young woman had also entered the area. When Phantom, usually so calm and unaffected by the crowd on such moments before the race, was walking through the pin near the young woman, something changed in the animal. It was a change that Matthew had never seen in his life, a drastic change in the horse’s behavior. The horse, out of the blue, started to go absolutely crazy! First, he started scaring people that were close to the fence, most of which took a few steps back. Then, the other horses in a radius of ten meters around Phantom at least, began to get a bit nervous after seeing the horses reaction. They understood that the girl was causing it. The moment that the other horses started to move aside, Matthew had no idea yet what could be causing this unexpected outburst from his horse. The animal now started running around the pen as wild as could be and all Matthew thought he could do was to wait until Phantom calmed down. But Phantom was far from being done. The horse started to charge a piece of gate at full speed. By this point, most of the surrounding people were already fully spectating the sudden event. This was additionally the moment that the young girl took a few steps forward as if it were finally the planned moment to do so. Matthew’s heart dropped when he saw his horse jumping over the big fence. Everyone had always guaranteed him that the height of this fence would be a jump that racing horses should never be able to make. Matthew not only feared for his beloved horse, but also for the young girl that appeared to be in grave danger. It was now clear to everyone around that Phantom had his sights fixed on the young woman and that she was probably also the reason why this normally-so-calm horse had been acting like a wild beast. He was now dashing towards her at full speed and Matthew still had no idea why. Had he ever seen the girl before? He truly was afraid that the girl was in danger, as, in the end, it was his horse that was about to cause the harm. He could have never imagined Phantom to ever hurt somebody, but then again, who knew what the animal was capable of after spectating the never-before-seen events of today? But, to everyone’s surprise, Phantom did not attack anybody that day. The wild horse did successfully arrive in front of the young woman on the other side of the fence, but he actually stopped right next to her in anticipation. Matthew thought for a second that the madness was finally over now, but he could not be more wrong. What came after was perhaps even more shocking. The girl, still ever so calmly, jumped on the back of Phantom and together they started running out of the preparation area together. Phantom did not even have a saddle on his back, and still they were riding with such elegance. Matthew was And before he could even produce a thought about what had just happened, the young women and Phantom were gone. Matthew just stood there in shock, processing this disaster, while in the back people could still see the horse getting away further and further. One could hear screams as well, probably from people jumping out of Phantom’s way. When Matthew snapped back to reality, the horse was completely gone. He realized what had happened enough to understand that the best thing to do now was to call the police. He grabbed his phone, dialed the number and as well as he could Matthew started describing the girl’s appearance, which he luckily had a decent memory of. Meanwhile, the police tried to understand the situation. The woman that Matthew was calling with wasn’t entirely sure whether they should treat this case as Matthew’s horse being stolen. Still, this was what he wanted them to do, even though the horse had escaped himself before he approached the girl. There was still no sign of Phantom to be seen. But regardless of any mistakes being made, first priority was to make sure that the area would stay safe. The police woman explained that her team was going to put out an alert to keep an eye out for the pair as a ‘horse on the loose’. It wouldn’t be the first time in this town that such a wild animal would cause a dangerous situation. Only minutes had passed before dozens of tips and sightings began to flood the police station. A police car was already on its way close to the sight, while another team deconstructed the location of the horse, based on pinpoints where the callers came from. This way, officers were able to determine where to horse was going. Phantom, meanwhile, undisturbed and still with the young woman on his back, was running straight through the city. It became clear eventually that the horse was running in the direction of the suburbs on the other edge of town. How did this horse seemingly know without a doubt where to go, and what was their end goal there? Although the town was build entirely in a grid, meaning that it was relatively easy to follow the horse in its tracks, the pair ultimately made their way out of the city. After this, the sightings started to dry up steadily, until there were none left to report. The police search continued, although they had no idea where the two were now… Police cars investigated the area where they were last seen, but the pair had seemingly vanished into thin air. But how could a horse of that size just suddenly disappear? With no other leads or sightings, it was difficult for other police to determine the next step. They decided to go talk to some people at the races. Maybe somebody here knew who the girl was, and they could help lead them in the right direction. Or maybe they could find out more about the motivation for this girl’s actions. There were so many questions that needed answering…  Luckily for Matthew and the police, most people were still present at the racing area as the horse races still went ahead as planned. There were a couple races that phantom was not scheduled to compete in, and in the once that he was, there would just be an empty spot. But this had some unforeseen consequences… One horse escaping was not enough to cancel the whole event. Even if that horse had quickly been becoming the betters favorite. Something that Matthew had first seen as a good thing but now that he returned to the area had become a big burden… When Matthew showed his face at the area again, he was greeted by a lot of angry betters that had put a lot of money on a horse that last minute did not appear at the starting line. Most of these betters had actually gotten assurances from Matthew himself that his horse would perform incredibly… Ofcourse Matthew was upset that his good reputation had taken such a hit from this situation, but if he was being honest, he didn’t really care that much. All he wanted was Phanthom back. And maybe some of these betters had seen the girl enter the area or perhpahs someone knew who she was? Most betters, when Matthew asked around, just looked at each other confused. All they had seen was the girl riding off on Phantom. They had actually assumed that he was running a scam and that the girl was Matthew’s accomplish. That he had planned for all this to happen so that his horse would not have to race! Matthew found these accusations absolutely bizarre and assured some of the betting men he knew personally that most hurt due to today’s events was he himself. Yet it was not totally uncommon in the reading world: some notorious owners have taken in bets and disappeared with their money and their horse. He was here now to gain information, not to justify his horse’s actions. It became more and more clear that he was not going to get many answers from the betters that were still present around him. The poor horse owner started to lose hope, but then somebody suddenly bumped into Matthew. It was not just a mere bump, rather it was a full and direct impact. The hit was so hard and out of nowhere that the preoccupied Matthew could not hold his stand. He lost his balance and felt to the ground. And hereafter, before he could process what just happened, the man who bumped into him was already helping him up. Poor Matthew touched his shoulder and fortunately nothing internal seemed to be dislocated. Then, he felt something was slipping in his hand and that the other man was doing this. When they were both standing again, the unknown but mannered man apologized to Matthew, nodded at him and walked away quickly. The police officers that had been surrounding Matthew for the last hour or so were still speaking with some betters and therefore hadn’t seen the ordeal happen. This gave Matthew the opportunity to secretly look at what had just been put in his hand. It was a small note that was folded a couple of times. “Meet me behind the stables in 5 minutes. DON’T bring the police!!” It was hastily scribbled down, but the message was clear. And yet, Matthew had no idea what this man wanted from him. He hoped with all his heart that information regarding the location of Phantom could be gained, so he was willing to take every risk. The next thing Matthew did was to walk over to the police men. He told them that he had to make a couple of private calls and they reluctantly agreed while still fixed on some betters around. Matthew hurried to the backside of the stables, where he hoped that the mysterious man would already be waiting. Luckily enough, the man was there. Matthew nearly ran towards him, although he did not want to make a scene. He was so desperate for answers, but the man gestured that he needed to stay calm and be quiet. From behind the stables, Matthew realized that no one could see him anymore. The horse master had a million questions that he wanted to ask the man that had written the note. Most of all, Matthew needed to know if the man had any information about the girl that had taken Phantom a while back. He surprisingly told him that he did. He was actually the one that’d brought her to the race today! Phantom’s emotional owner could barely believe it. His jaw nearly dropped to the floor. This was the lead he had been looking for! Finally he would learn about the young girl’s motives. So many questions floated to the top of Matthew’s mind, but then the man quickly dampened his expectations. The man had been driving here via the Southern road, where he had met the girl. She was hitchhiking along the way here, and since he was coincidentally planning on coming to the races today himself, he allowed her to drive with him. They barely even spoke a word during the drive that had taken all morning. Matthew had hoped for more, he admitted. While he was still being a bit disappointed, the man did have some other crucial information for him in search for the girl. He interrupted Matthew and started telling him about his morning, and specifically: where he had picked up the young girl exactly! There were three reasons why the man did not want to get the police involved. Firstly and secondly, he did not trust the police very much and he knew that taking hitchhikers is technically illegal in these regions. Thirdly, he had no interest in becoming a person of interest in the case, as this would lead to way too much stress and trouble for him. The man had only been on the ride and his days of interaction with the cops were over, he sighed. He gave Matthew the address after he had promised him that he would not reveal to the police whom he’d gotten it from. The horse owner went immediately to the officers so that they could pursue this lead. Once reunited with the police, he shared the address that he just learned about. One of the officers asked how he received this information, but luckily they accepted his source to remain anonymous. The location was about a half hour drive away from the city in the direction that the girl had run off to, which was a very good sign. Due to the rush they were in, the officers had not checked anymore what kind of address it actually was. When they arrived, the police team, with Matthew in the back, had to check twice to see if he hadn’t made a mistake. After having done so, Matthew still thought that this could not possible be the right location. The address was, coincidentally, a beautiful-looking farm where Matthew could see dozens of horses parading around the fields. Matthew thought that this place looked like a paradise, if he ever saw one. Did the mystery girl really come from here? And more importantly, did she take Phantom to this place? Matthew and the officers stepped out of the car, knowing that they did not have much to go on and would have a tough time arguing to whoever owned this place. They were above anything else coming here to look for Phantom, a missing horse. No one had come from out of one of the houses yet to greet them. But things became much easier when they slowly made their way onto the terrain. There where a bunch of people, most probably in their twenties, walking around in the backyard and from the way they were dressed they seemed to be horse caretakers. Then, Matthew actually spotted the girl that he hoped to see here… When the girl saw that they were approaching, she looked as surprised as Matthew was by all of this. And although she was probably startled, she obviously also realized that there was no way to go escape to. That’s why she stood still, facing the men, waiting as they quickly approached her and her companions. While all three of them started immediately firing questions at the girl, behind them an older man and woman came running out of the main building of the farm. They did not appear as friendly as the girl did. Both of them started yelling what seemed to be questions regarding what they were doing to their daughter. It took a while before the situation finally calmed down enough for people to actually understand each other. One of the police men proposed for everyone to sit down at a picknick table nearby the place where they were standing. When they started to properly discuss what happened exactly, things cleared up pretty quickly. The farm appeared to be no ordinary animal ranch, but rather some sort of rescue center for horses. The older couple together with their children were looking after the animals and made sure they had a comfortable end of their life. In some cases the horses there would be sold to new owners. Without Matthew realizing it, Phantom had known this farm for many years. The racing horse had been born here after his mother was taken in as a pregnant animal. Being a healthy foal as one could be, Phantom had been sold. But, the parents admitted, maybe they should have looked into his new owner better. The man they sold the foal to was from the other side of the city where the racing culture is strong. He apparently made up a lie that the horse was born from a prima racehorse and that he therefore worth a lot of money. Matthew, as the third owner, had fallen for this scam and bought the animal for a large sum of money. During Phantom’s first years on this farm, the couple’s youngest daughter Stacy had spent a lot of time with the foal. Their strong band resulted in her immediately recognizing him at the race that morning. Even though they had both grown up in the meantime, Phantom had recognized Stacy as well. She admitted to have made a stupid decision to take off like that on Phantom’s back. But it was the horse that approached her, and he willingly went with her to get away from the racing tracks. Stacy admitted as well that she wanted the animal back at the farm, although she hadn’t been thinking about the consequences. While everyone at the table was touched by the story, especially Stacy’s parents were astonished. They did not even know that Phantom was now in one of their stables! The girl had kept her actions a secret from them. The old man and woman looked at each other and then at Matthew. Naturally he would get his racing horse back. Matthew considered pressing charges and demanding money to compensate for today’s missed profits, he admitted later. Still, in the end, he decided against this, as he felt the true love Stacy and Phantom had for each other. The girl had just made a stupid decision, that’s all. Plus, Matthew was overjoyed to finally have his horse back.