Why it never ends

Chapter 1033 Missing
That evening, Eucalyptus woke up.

It was another day of doing nothing. When she woke up, the day was about to end. She turned over lazily and heard a commotion outside the window. She looked out and saw that it was Tiexi leading two horses passing by in the distance. Some children gathered around her, laughing from time to time.

Eucalyptus stood by the window for a while, until Tiexi disappeared behind several haystacks. Then she came to her senses and started to wash.

The stables were far from the main house chosen by Hesta, but very close to Trion's mansion in the plantation. She had heard from Lei Lin that there were some palace servants living there permanently, responsible for taking care of and guarding the animals and belongings left there by the emperor.

Eucalyptus put on her boots and opened the door. Rico, who was walking towards her, reminded her that it was almost time for dinner and asked her where she was going. Eucalyptus answered vaguely that she was going out for a walk and quickly stepped into the night of the farm.

As soon as she stepped onto the main road, she saw the backs of Tiexi and his horse, who was standing by the road chatting with a few farmers. Eucalyptus tried to catch up with him, but she could hardly feel the distance between them shorten. She breathed a sigh of relief and resumed her original pace. However, for some reason, Tiexi in front of her suddenly turned his head.

Now Eucalyptus had to speed up.

When the two were about ten meters apart, Tiexi took the initiative to wave to Eucalyptus.

"Hello." Yugali spoke in the language of District 14.

"Good evening." Tiexi also replied in District 14's language, "Have you finished your meal?"

Eucalyptus shook her head, and she finally walked to Tiexi's side, her eyes always on the two horses.

"This is Cinnamon," Tiexi touched the neck of one of the chestnut horses, and then looked at the other smaller black horse, "This is Zephyr."

Tiexi took out Cinnamon's reins and handed them to Eucalyptus.

The two walked side by side and entered the horse farm. Several men in red and white uniforms were riding horses on the oval track. Tiexi had memorized the names of most of the horses here. The two white horses trotting were named Diamond and Pearl, the black and brown horse resting on the side of the road was called Naughty, and the black horse being combed was called Curious. Next to it stood Ludwig III, who was as old as he could be - a taciturn spotted horse. Two foals were being driven back to the stable by the trainer. They were named Breeze and Coin.

"There are usually a few ways to name a horse," Tiexi said, "either based on color or personality."

Eucalyptus looked at the black horse beside Tiexi: "...What does Xifeng mean?"

"Because her personality is as unpredictable as the west wind." Tiexi said, "Let's send them back to the stable now."

Eucalyptus followed Tiexi and followed suit. Cinnamon was a very docile mare, ten years old this year. According to the average life expectancy of a horse of twenty-five, she was in her prime. With the help of the stable workers, Cinnamon entered her compartment smoothly. Eucalyptus stood at the door and watched for a while, then turned to look for Tiexi not far away - Xifeng didn't seem to be so successful, and Eucalyptus could already hear the pony's anxious neighing.

Sure enough, in another compartment, Xifeng retreated backwards in resistance, trying to break free from the reins in Tiexi's hand. No matter what Tiexi did, the young black horse refused to cooperate. It kept stamping its feet and neighing threateningly, as if it was on the verge of anger.

In the end, Tiexi had no choice but to retreat and lock the door tightly.

"Is this also a horse used for treatment?" asked Eucalyptus.

"Not yet," Tiexi said, "It's a horse that a friend asked me to take care of..."

“It looks so thin.”

Tiexi sighed: "Yeah, he doesn't really want to eat."

"Why?" "It's probably because the sisters who grew up with her have all become racehorses and companion horses, and she feels a little lonely."

"What is... a companion horse?"

"They are used to calm racehorses," Tiexi said. "For example, if we want to transport a horse to District 1, we have to transfer trucks, trains, and planes along the way. It will be very bumpy, and racehorses are easily stressed. In order to calm them, the stable will equip some gentle companion horses to accompany the racehorses on the road."

Tiexi looked at Xifeng's single stable and took out cigarettes and lighter from his waist.

"Her last sister left for District 1 half a month ago...Originally, we shouldn't do this, after all, horses are social animals, but..." Tiexi shrugged lightly, "She has no talent for training, and her personality is not docile, so my friend can't really take care of her."

"How old is it?"

"Four years old." Tiexi said, "Very young."

"...He's my age." Eucalyptus murmured.

"what?"

"Nothing..." Eucalyptus shook his head, "I just feel sorry for her. It must be painful to be separated from her familiar sisters, and now she has to live in an unfamiliar environment..."

"Yes, it is always painful to leave a familiar environment. Separation itself can be a trauma," Tiexi looked at Xifeng who was still moving around in the stable. "It is true for people, and even more so for horses."

"The person is fine," Eucalyptus whispered, "After all, the person's departure was his own choice..."

"Just because it's my own choice doesn't mean there's no burden." Tiexi said softly, "I still occasionally dream about the grassland I stayed in Liangtouwang when I was a child."

Eucalyptus opened her mouth slightly, and at this moment, she suddenly thought of Spotted Leaf. She had hardly ever thought of her mother in these days, but at this moment, she suddenly burst into tears.

If her mother knew what she had been going through, what would she say and do? Eucalyptus was sure that Spotted Leaf would be silent for a while, then start to tell her that she deserved it and urge her to go back. If Spotted Leaf was standing here at this moment, she might come over and pull her ears after she said a few words.

But even so, Yujiali still missed her. At this moment, she missed her mother so much that she couldn't say a word except crying. Yujiali didn't want Tiexi to see her abnormality, so she calmed her breathing and tried not to make any sound.

A gust of night wind blew by, and in the dim light, the two heard the restless hooves of Xifeng gradually calm down. The pony, which had just passed its childhood, stopped at the edge of the stable and looked out from the gap in the wooden fence.

Looking at the young black horse, Eucalyptus suddenly realized that maybe what she was missing at the moment was not Spotted Leaf, but an abstract mother.

Tiexi stood up to leave, but Eucalyptus remained squatting there.

"Aren't you leaving?"

"...Stay a little longer," Eucalyptus said softly, "Can you?"

Tiexi was about to say no, but suddenly saw the tears on Yujiali's face. She picked up the cigarette she hadn't lit yet and said, "Then I'll go out and smoke for a while."