EACH AND EVERY DAY
it’s the same old game
“Tolinka.” The word hung in the air, was met by silence. The tension that had risen up between them since the bay mare’s arrival in the ridge had mostly dissipated with the birth of Tolinka’s first daughter. Sinopa wanted to believe that her sister had just been stressed over her condition, and shaken by what had happened to her near the Lagoon, but sometimes… Sometimes she caught Tolinka looking at her with wounded eyes, and Sinopa, she pretended not to see. Wenonah had moved the earth beneath them when she’d been born. Tolinka had sobbed with relief – the filly looked just like her father, a patchwork of white and stone grey. Perhaps now the bay mare could forget about monsters in the dark.
Both mares had heard Asche’s call, but Tolinka had turned back to her daughter as soon as the echoes had faded. Wenonah was asleep, and anxiously Tolinka hovered over her. She had been very cautious, and had kept to herself a lot the past months, especially as her sides had swelled. It wasn’t like her to be so solitary, and it worried Sinopa that Tolinka had kept away from Asche, of all individuals. Her actions weren’t completely unjustified though, the chestnut mare knew this. “You must tell him, sister,” Sinopa had pleaded. But Tolinka had not. Why should she, she’d asked. It was in the past, and that was where she wanted to leave it. Secretly, Sinopa had resolved to speak with the dark-eared stallion – it wasn’t fair that Tolinka was keeping him at arm’s length and in the dark. “We must go, Tolinka – he’s waiting. And he’ll want to meet Wenonah properly.” Still, Tolinka would not be moved.
Sinopa left the little cave with Tolinka promising to came down from the ridge as soon as the filly had woken up. And the chestnut mare was satisfied with that. She had heard a flicker of longing in her sister’s voice, and knew that she missed their stallion’s company. Tolinka, even as careful as she was now, would step out into the light and open air. She never broke a promise. And so Sinopa hastened to Asche’s side, bearing good news. She had grown accustomed being a go-between, letting each one know how the other was. It was difficult, because, from the outside, Tolinka’s sef-imposed isolation was difficult to understand, and it had impressed Sinopa, the way Asche had respected her sister’s space and desire for privacy.
‘Even if you should choose to stay with me longer, you would always be free to go your own way.’ The words that Asche had spoken to her on her arrival lingered in Sinopa’s memory, and she found a warmth blossom within her, even as she carefully picked her way, her own body round and heavy with foal. Maybe it wasn’t just Tolinka who had been changed by him after all. And yet, still Sinopa played her games, spoke coyly and slunk away far sooner than she’d truly have liked. Something was holding her back, just as something was holding Tolinka apart. Even so, as she soon as she caught sight of him, she eagerly closed the distance between herself and Asche, and reached out to trail her muzzle up his neck.
“Hi, stranger,” she said softly, smiling as she drew back to meet his gaze. “Tolinka... She’s ready to come down from her cave – she can’t wait to see you. Wen was still sleeping when I left, so, when she wakes, you can meet her for real.” There was a hint of sadness in her voice – it must have been hard for Asche, not being able to get close to his daughter for the first few weeks of her life. A rush of admiration warmed her again, and she stepped closer to Asche, sides brushing with every other breath. “There’s things she needs to tell you, and if she can’t, or won’t… Then I will.” With these few quietly determined words, Sinopa lapsed into a comfortable silence, content to wait patiently for the other mares to show.
s i n o p a
and i play alone
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