Common

as I wandered the forest, the green leaves among, i heard a wild flower singing a song

the times between night and day, the in-between minutes, where the sun had bid the day adieu but darkness was still lazily creeping in, or pre dawn when the black night fought valiantly to hold on but those first awkward rays of light seeped in, those were her favorite times. past sunset and before sunrise. when all the world seemed to exhale, or inhale, and prepare for night and day. they held the most anticipation, the greatest possibilities….this night, particularly, suddenly seemed to blossom with possibility. the prospect of someone, a mare for that matter, seeking her company and converse kindly, seemed almost shocking. but maybe this was the adventure she had been looking for all along.

she stood very still, her submissive posture making her appear smaller yet than the larger ash colored vita nova. as her gaze remained fixed on her acquaintance, blue eyes absorbing all that stood before her, she couldn’t help but notice the mare’s attention drift momentarily to her small stature and gleaming coat. her own voice spoke quietly in her mind, you can’t help who you are…slowly the self-consciousness seemed to dissipate as the vita nova began to reply.

a small pang of something, sadness, bitterness, caused her to shift uncomfortably at the mention of vita nova’s mother. she wished her own mother would have drug her anywhere but the truth of it was she was much too caught up in the politics and social life of the herd to care much about petal…she could only send her daughter into the woods when she felt her own status threatened by the jealous petty squabbles that would take place. as nova continued to tell her story petal listened intently, genuinely interested in the background and story of the mare who had approached her just to offer company. she spoke fast as she talked about which islands she lived on but petal was sure she wasn’t mistaken in hearing mention of the only place she had spent a significant amount of time while among the islands.

she considers nova’s question momentarily, her eyes still resting on the larger mare. she isn’t really sure why she came back. she doesn’t really belong here. but the fact is she really doesn’t belong anywhere else either. her voice is small, insecure when she answers. how could it not be when finally she puts into words the feeling that caused her to leave in the first place.

i don’t really know why i came back… i don’t really know why i left either i guess. i just…i’m not… i’m not cut out for herd life maybe. and i couldn’t take being along either i guess.

she doesn’t know if any of her words are making sense….it’s hard to tell a stranger point blank that you feel like you don’t belong in the world. her mind drifts across these thoughts and then she remembers nova’s mention of the prairie and her voice sounds again in the night, this time a little less lost.

you mentioned the prairie? i lived there a short time when before i left the islands…a stallion named shamwari offered me a home there…he was kind to me. to be honest i feel a little ashamed for leaving.

it was after those words were spoken she finally let her blue eyes wander back out to the sea….

p e t a l

mare : 5 : perlino dun : arabian mustang mutt : 13.3 : kafkaesque

s t o c k ~ c a l i t h a - l e n a @ d e v i a n t a r t