hello, my old heart (bjorn) Posted on October 15, 2017 at 00:56:26 AM by winona
no one told me life was cruel
How long had it been since Winona had left home? Did she even remember where home was? What this place was? She had left with no real destination in mind - with nothing tying her down to her old herd, she was free to let the wind take her where it wanted. Apparently, it wanted her here (wherever "here" was). Thinking back to the last leg of her journey, the memories were... hazy, at best, if not completely gone. She had been confused (who wouldn't be? washing up on a beach with no memories wasn't an everyday experience) but had quickly managed to orient herself.
In all honesty, she originally hadn't intended to stay on the island. But after making a loop around the largest of the chain, sticking closely to the beach and scanning every mile of the horizon, she had found that leaving might not be the most feasible option. Damn. Disappointment had accompanied her for several days after, but now the time to wallow was over, and the varnished mare knew it was time to start thinking for the long term if she was going to be stuck here anyways.
So she had made her way across the island, hoping to find someone who might be willing to help her. She knew this place wasn't abandoned - no, fresh hoofprints in the dirt had quickly set her mind at ease about that. Now it was just a matter of finding where the population was and trying to make a new life for herself.
But damn, it was just her luck she'd wash up here in the middle of (what felt like) the hottest day of the year. The temperature was unbearably high, the sun beating mercilessly down upon the earth. Winona's body felt drenched with sweat, her muscles spent of each drop of energy that could possibly be provided. She groaned gently as she [slowly] blazed her way across the Meadow, leaving a messy trail of tamped-down flowers in her wake. She cared not for the life of the plants beneath her hooves, nor the tiny buzzing insects that she crushed along with them. Her only goal was to find shade and rest. The oppressive humidity almost felt like a physical weight against her sweat-slick body, each step a burden. She was so close to the treeline...
Finally, she felt the shade over her back, and the appaloosa mare swore she could have cried from pure relief. It wasn't as much of a respite as she had hoped, but she would take what she could get. As quickly as her aching muscles would allow her, Winona positioned herself under the nearest, shadiest tree, leaning her weight heavily against its thick trunk. 'I know I came here to do something,' she said inwardly, 'but I just can't be bothered right now. It's too hot to even move.' Waiting until nightfall seemed the best option. So, with a tired sigh of resignation, the spotted mare settled herself in, watching the world go by.