Back and forth we go, until I am tired and stand above the tideline to take a break. I am breathing hard, but FatherSound never stops moving, never seems to grow weary of our game. I decide then that I love him, and with a grin leap back to the damp portion of the beach as the water recedes again. This time I plant both front hooves in the damp sand and hod myself there, trembling, as the water rushes forward. "Forever!" I shout, terrified and exhilarated. FatherSound is cold, and the shock of it makes me shut my eyes, but I am smiling so widely my face hurts and I can’t help but laugh to feel him swirl around my ankles. It tickles, like kisses, and I splash my feet in the water as it’s sucked back into the big black frothy mouth of the creature eating the beach.
My splashing continues even after my feet have stilled and the water is gone, and sounds far too big to be me. I look up and see a horse in FatherSound’s mouth. My jaw drops. He is the color of sunlight, muted by both the dark of the night and the wet of the water, yet somehow still bright under the eyes of the Stars, and he runs through FatherSound like his limbs are heavy. But he is smiling and unafraid, and I keep one ear on him as I look out over the water and wonder what might be under the waves.
Then the cold kiss of FatherSound shocks me again and I leap away with a delighted shriek. When I plant my hooves in dry sand, I am facing the stranger as he asks me to dance. "Yes!" I buck in a circle and stop abruptly, neck twisted to look at him over my shoulder. "What’s dance? How do I do it? Show me," I say— but I don’t talk like the red mare does. She’s mean about everything. I say it with a smile, and turn my body to face the stranger with a ready willingness to learn whatever he can teach me, patient but excited. |