Blind Essie and Her Horse, Iz

By Susan Hart

The parents of a young blind girl do everything for her except let her roam outside on her own. One day she is able to sneak out and in a field below the mountains, she meets a gentle mare. Together they learn how to be free, learn how to ride together, and learn about an unbounded love. After a year Essie feels confident enough to show off her riding skills. Her parents finally accept the pair and it's all love until a terrible accident happens. Essie is drawn inward for years until a kind neighbor eventually solves the problem. This is a wonderful novella about the power of belief and kindness and emotions. It's for all ages.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Susan Hart
• Release date: Dec 13, 2013
• ISBN: 9781310997983

Susan Hart

I was born in England, but have lived in Southern California for many years. I m now retired and live in the Pacific NW in a little seaside city amongst the giant redwoods and wonderful harbor, almost at the Oregon border. My husband and I have one cat, called Midnight and she is featured in two of my latest Sci-Fi short stories. I love Science Fiction, animals, and trying to help others. I publish under Doreen Milstead as well as my own name. My photo was taken right before the coronation of QE II in the UK.

Book preview

Blind Essie and Her Horse, Iz

by

Susan Hart

Copyright 2022 Susan Hart

Chapter 1

Synopsis: The parents of a young blind girl do everything for her except let her roam outside on her own. One day she is able to sneak out and in a field below the mountains, she meets a gentle mare. Together they learn how to be free, learn how to ride together, and learn out an unbounded love. After a year Essie feels confident enough to show off her riding skills. Her parents finally accept the pair and it's all love until a terrible accident happens. Essie is drawn inward for years until a kind neighbor eventually solves the problem. This is a wonderful novella about the power of belief and kindness and emotions. It's for all ages.

Being born blind usually provides limits to an unfortunate child, but limits to Essie Lander are not something she handles too well. Almost as stubborn as the dear Helen Keller, she has her own ways of thinking. From a young age, she at once began learning not only how to take care of herself, but how to get her way, as well.

That’s where she took after the infamous Helen. Born in 1961 she was a baby with no disfiguration anywhere. She was said to have been the most beautiful baby girl ever born to Wind & Comfort Hospital in West Central Wyoming. Her parents had agreed that they didn’t care whether the child was boy or girl, just as long as it was healthy.

Just like many other parents, this is all that mattered. Even the Doctors were not able to catch the fact that Essie was blind before she went home from the hospital. The tiny baby seemed to find ways to see even as a newborn and no one suspected a thing. It wasn’t until months later when her mother would realize that Essie was completely blind.

As she sat holding her in her arms, a bright light had been turned on just over the child’s head, and it didn’t affect her in any way. The child didn’t squint or even move to the brightness of the light. As her mother crept closer to her daughter, she at once began moving her hands and arms in front of the child and soon, to her horror, she knew that the baby couldn’t even see her.

All those moments before when the baby would coo and laugh at her mother and father’s facial expressions had not meant that she had seen those funny faces. She had only heard their squeals of delight when she would react. Essie’s mother and father took her immediately to a doctor who then sent her on to a specialist, and trip after trip; they came back with no answers.

With hope being dashed away when her mother asked the doctors if there was a surgery that could restore her sight, her parents Frank and Veronica Lander returned home, ready and willing to accept her blindness. The surgery could have the dear baby more harm than good and death was even a possibility, so of course, it was