Chapter 9

She passed her days idyllically in the countryside, getting accustomed to her new life. However, her everyday routine was somewhat disrupted by the unannounced arrival of her supposed childhood friend, a young boy aptly named Finch who you guessed it, descended from the Finch family! Very creative naming on the parent's part! Apparently, there was a system of naming your first born child after whatever the totem animal of your house was (although slight variations and different spellings of the name were acceptable), so I guess it can be somewhat overlooked...

Her father and Finch's father were apparently good friends that went to school together. Since they come from the same branch she suspected that they might be distantly related in some way.

Finch looked a lot like his father who was accompanying him, as they shared the same hazel eyes that were the colour of fall leaves, hidden beneath masses of overgrown light brown hair. He seemed to be the rather reserved type who would rather play by himself quietly than with a friend. Despite this, he still came over to play occasionally. Perhaps he was lonely? From what she had heard he didn't have any siblings. Chinessa had only just recently learnt that she had an elder brother whom she hadn't met since before her accident.

I wonder what he's like...

***

Meanwhile, she was genuinely enjoying being a child again. With no bills or assignments to worry about, she could be her happiest self. Even the staff around the house noticed her change in behaviour. The old Chinessa was spoilt and didn't think much about the feelings other others, although this could be attributed to her young age. She used to drag Finch around everywhere and force him to be a part of her devious schemes involving the pranking of staff. For this reason, he would dread coming over, but now that Chinessa had become more mature, he didn't mind it so much. He liked this new Chinessa much more, although he didn't tell her that...

***

Their mansion was built on a farm quite similar to the one on which she had died. To keep herself busy, she took it upon herself to tend to the animals every day, from feeding the chickens to helping the servants milk the cows. However, she made sure to avoid the horse stables at all costs. She was still not quite over the manner in which she died yet. To be honest she was still quite traumatised by the whole experience and sometimes had nightmares about it.

"Sorry horses, it's me, not you. It's just that I'm not ready to get back with you yet. Sorry..."

It was now spring and all of the flowers were in bloom. The colourful flower-filled fields on their farm reminded her of those she saw in animal heaven. The eggs that she had been watching over had since hatched into little baby chicks. Out of all of the birds, the chicken was by far her favourite. While it wasn't grand as a peacock or playful as a parrot, it was its plainness and nurturing nature that she liked about it the most. Her 5th birthday was approaching in the coming days, meaning that she herself was a spring chicken!

Her parents had been acting suspiciously lately and she had a strange feeling that they were up to something. Let's just pray that whatever it is, it's something sensible, she thought to herself. When the big day arrived, her parents made a big deal out of everything, making sure to shower her with gifts, one of them being a fluffy light-orange party dress that she was forced to change into. They then blindfolded her and led her outside, saying that they had one last present for her.

Maybe it was a bicycle! Those existed 200 years ago, right?

But what greeted her instead was none other than a Shetland pony!

"You've got to be kidding me!"