fate depends on want
She was born under the shade of date trees. At first, that was the only world she knew. Anything beyond the shade was unknown and unsafe, at least until mother took a look at the sky, saw the purple and pink streaks that began to flow into the previous cloudless blue, and poked her muzzle out from the shadow. That was when Kav noticed her white nose. Maybe she had already noticed it before, maybe she had already forgotten about it as she explored everything inside the shadow, but her eyes widened to think mother's coloring changed as she left the shade. She stood, quivering, as mother stepped further out from the shadow. Her coat still stayed just as black, and her nose just as white. The evening light glinted over her hide and Kav stood for a second longer in the shade.
Then she chased after mother, and her world expanded from the shadow.
Her world became sand, and greenery, and insects and birds and snakes that ignored her except when she tried to run after them. Mother put a stop to that right away. So instead she poked her nose into plants and kicked at the loose sand under her hooves. Her white, spindly legs were no match for mother's. That was her first lesson of exploring. Mother wouldn't leave her behind per se, but she also wouldn't wait for Kav to explore every single leaf and branch of all the small bushes surrounding the oasis. So the splashed filly followed dutifully. Her bay hide glinted almost as magnificently as mother's as the sun sank lower and lower in the sky. Hues of red and orange started to overpower the meek blues and purples and pinks that had signaled the arrival of dusk. Kav watched it all.
True dusk found them at the edge of the oasis, mother resting after her tiring day of bringing Kav into the world, and the bay splashed filly playing at the edge of the water. She was mesmerized by the ripples. She thought she could watch the rings forever, traveling across the oasis uninterrupted until they merged back into the otherwise still surface. A stray gust of wind or a bird landing for a quick drink might stir the water every once in a while, but otherwise it was perfectly still. Kav couldn't decide if she liked it or not. Every time she pawed at the water, she missed being able to stare at the white mask on her face and her blue eyes. Mother had brown eyes and a fairly small white patch compared to her.
She paused, one leg raised to create more ripples, but waited a moment to stare at her face a little longer as the light continued to fade.
|