At first it was a mistake. I was supposed to ride a horse named Levi. I was about 7 years old and ready to have my first riding lesson. It was a hot summer day, but it was only 8 am. I was at summer camp. I went to this camp for years until i was 12. I rode maple everyday. i learned how to ride on him, i loved him from first sight. I stopped the riding camp when i was 12 because all of the people wouldnt let me show them that i was a good rider, they wouldnt let me try. Any hard time i had, Maple was my shoulder to cry on, my only love, my sunshine. He belonged to the owners son, but he only cared about sports, I always felt that maple should have been mine. My last memory of him was kissing him on the nose on my way out of the barn. that was my last goodbye. it was last week. the first day was hard, i cried through two boxes of tissues. My whole family knew about this before me. they told me over the dinner table, i was so angry at first that i wasnt warned that they were putting him down, but then i thought about how sad the family must be, i thought about how maple wasnt suffering anymore. People commented im sorry on my facebook page. And when i started to feel the least bit better, i saw something that reminded me of him, and broke down all over again. I dont know how i possibly went to school the next day, after crying myself to sleep the night before, and being so depressed, but i did. My eyes wouldnt stop watering, more people said im sorry, and after a few periods i was just focusing on getting through the day without breaking down. I have cried every night since, and i dont know when i will be ok again.i had known him for longer than any friend. i knew him for 8 years, he was my best friend.