Today was the big day.  Batya and her friend have finally saved up enough money to go see the circus, the first time she and her friend had been so excited for something in awhile. When it first rolled into town a few days ago, nobody knew what to expect. Nobody had even wanted anything to do with it at first, and had even tried to get the owner of the circus to leave. It was the first time this town saw anything like it. But, when the first few people had mustered up the desire to go look, word quickly spread, and soon it was the talk of the town. She could feel the excitement in her bones while she thought about it; she was trembling from all of the energy, barely able to contain it. Everywhere she went, she heard people tell stories about their experience after they had entered the large tent.<br/><br/>They spoke of people eating fire, and even people who wore funny clothes. Apparently the latter appealed to younger audiences. There were dancers and magicians, people wearing fancy clothes, lions and bears, and even some mythical beasts! Apparently the man who owned the circus was able to tame savage beasts, and make them do all sorts of tricks, and tonight he planned to bring out one of his prized beasts, according to some of those stories she has heard through the town’s grapevine. That was probably what sealed the deal for her and her friend. They had to see the circus now, come Hell or high water as they say. It was the main reason she wanted to see the circus so badly. Her curiosity was getting the best of her, and the fact that she had to keep quiet about it, as he father did not know, was eating at her.<br/><br/>Before she could go out, there were chores to be done.<br/><br/>Batya quickly pushed the wheelbarrow outside, dumping the filthy manure and hay into the pile that has been accumulating in the garden. Her mother used the manure for fertilizer, so she always made sure to save it. The perks of living on a farm, a lot of things were cheaper, especially in times like these where money was short.<br/><br/>All of her life, she had not known what it was like to have a lot of money. The flowers that her mother grew were one of the small luxuries she had been allowed to enjoy. She would often sell them, but the amount was barely enough to keep food on the table. Her father tended to these stables, and that brought some money in, when people were feeling generous, but even that was barely enough. When she was a kid she had been offered a lot of money for a dragon that she and her friend had found, but turned it down. That friendship had meant more to her than any amount of money would. Well, it had for awhile at least. One day, out of nowhere, her mother and father had handed the dragon over to authorities. As much as it hurt her, she did have some understanding.<br/><br/>Her family was poor, desperate times called for desperate measures, they had to make money any way they could, but that did not shake away the loss of her friend. Some day she still thought of him. She knew her friend did, too. If only she knew what happened to him… Wherever he was, she hoped that he was happy.<br/><br/>“Batya! It’s your turn to clean hooves and groom today. Don’t forget.” A voice called out to her, taking her out of her thoughts.<br/><br/>She looked up to see her father passing by. “I won’t, dad!” Her response didn’t seem to please him. Her tendency to become lost in her thinking, which was pretty common, was starting to show. Working in the stables was not only hard work but boring, she had to keep entertained somehow; having many things on her mind was her way of keeping motivated. It wasn’t always ideal, and her father was one of those people who did not like her going off into her own world, he has always found it to cause her to become slightly disorganized, but it did work for her.<br/><br/>“I mean it. You’ve been doing your chores half-assed this lately…”<br/><br/>“I know, I know. I’m sorry… I’ll get it done, no funny business.”<br/><br/>“And I don’t want you disappearing in the middle of your chores either. We’re busy today. There are about three new horses coming in. And, we’ve even managed to sell a few so I want those stalls cleaned out as well.”<br/><br/>“I know, I know.” Batya repeated, rolling her eyes. “You don’t need to tell me twice, I’ll get it done…” She was twenty years old and still taking shit from her father. It annoyed her whenever he got into one of these moods. That eye roll would have usually earned her a slap across the face. Her father must have been too tired. He did have that look in his eye. Or in a hurry; he did seem like he was in a hurry, probably because of how busy this place was today.<br/><br/>It was just her luck that out of all the days for the stables to be this busy, it had to be this day specifically that was the busiest. Normally, she could just slack off. There were plenty of things around that she could get away cutting-corners as long as she didn’t make it too obvious. Unfortunately, even though he was just as busy as everyone else, her father was watching her like a hawk. Every now and then, she’d catch a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye, or he’d manage to find something for her to do that would keep her in his sights. For the past few days, she has tried, and would often succeed, sneaking away from her chores around home to head into town. Her father had caught on the day after she had done it the first time, not surprisingly.<br/><br/>Batya rushed around the stables, trying to get everything done as quickly as possible. Every task thrown at her was done in haste. Despite her promise to not half-ass, she had done it anyway, though she had not forgotten about the horses’ hooves, before she slipped into town to go meet her friend. She hoped that her friend was not too mad at her for being late.