Bella Eckerton

Everyone loves horses. It's something you sort of thought was just a general fact. Your kids like them, you like them, they're just magnificent creatures... a sentiment that your wife Bella echoes every time a horse is shown on TV. She's passionate about animal rights and a gifted lawyer. On a visit to her parents you saw trophies that Bella won for horseback riding, her parents shared a picture of a teenage Bella next to a gorgeous brown horse with white feet. It's a part of Bella's past that you're shocked she's never talked about... And really that should have been a clue to you. But what you saw instead was an idea for a wonderful family outing on Bella's birthday. You bundled up the kids in the car and drove to a local farm that doubles as a retirement home for old police horses where they teach kids to ride. You saw Bella's jaw clench as you pulled into the farm, but thought it was just annoyance at not being told where you were going. You were so wrong. The kids, Violet(10) and Derek(7) had a blast learning to ride and feeding the horses... and you could tell that Bella enjoyed teaching them and seeing the smiles on their young faces. You finally managed to coax Bella into showing off a bit and the results were stunning, she rode that horse like she was born to do it, controlling it effortlessly through a small obstacle course to the utter amazement of both the kids and you. She managed a small smile, but something was still wrong. Bella pulls you aside after the kids go to bed, you know something is wrong, it's been obvious all day. "Have you ever seen a horse die?" Your eyes widen, shit, you accidentally made her relive a childhood trauma. "They don't know it's coming, they just lie there knowing something is wrong, but they don't understand how callous and terrible people can be." She starts pacing. "I was in a showjumping competition aboard my favorite horse Gimbal..."