BE MY FRIEND, HOLD ME
WRAP ME UP, UNFOLD ME Priya closed her eyes for a long moment, basking in the cool air which blew from the running water, and the soothing feeling of it lapping around her legs. Back in the deserts she had grown up in, it was rare to encounter enough water that you could actually bathe in, and to the feeling was quite novel indeed. It felt almost dreamlike. She sighed, the smile clinging to her lips, and opened her eyes. It was then that she noticed that face staring back at her, peering out from the treeline just past the bank of the water’s edge. She started, taking a step back, the water splashing up against her belly. How long had he been stood there, watching her? She couldn’t be sure, but she didn’t think that she could make it across the water and away from him should he start to approach her, so she merely stood, frozen still, staring back at the stranger. He was a stallion, his coat grey and pale against the shadows which he had been hiding in, a little bigger than herself. Yet it was not these differences about him which made Priya stare back in bewilderment, but their similarities – and not just the wide-eyed expressions on their faces. Her eyes focused on his ears – curved, like hers! Priya had not been on these islands long, but one of the few things that she had learnt so far was that hardly any of the horses looked the same, and even fewer looked like her. For a moment, despite all the green and water that surrounded her, she felt as if she had come home. Perhaps it was foolish, but she suddenly did not feel as afraid. Tentatively, she lowered her head, bobbing it slowly in silent greeting as she tried to summon up the courage to speak aloud. “Hello?” she said at last, looking towards the stranger in the bushes. Her voice was quiet, gentle yet inquisitive. “Who are you?” priya
marwari . blue roan . 13.2hh |