Stones and bones

❀

This time was different than the first.

Different, she keeps telling herself as the waves swallow her trembling body. Different. Not to the dusty place. Not anywhere he can reach, and… and… Despite all the differences, it is all still the same as last time, and the breath begins to hitch in Kæja’s anxious throat. She thinks about the silent stallion’s hot breath against her face and neck, the blistering dry air in her panting lungs, the press of his blunt teeth against her temples.

It’s different it’s different it’s different

Mother is here, and that helps. Kæja presses close to her in the water, trying to breathe steadily, letting herself be calmed by Mae’s encouragement and soothing words. The swim stretches on and on and on, but when they reach the shore of another land, it’s as if no time has passed at all.

This is very clearly NOT the same island as last time, Kæja decides, and her anxiety almost immediately begins to dissolve as she is solidly pulled from the memory of that early morning. Mae’s words bounce right off her as she bursts down the beach in a volley of excited bucks, her energy returning with the thrill of adventure even after the long swim. She skids to a halt on the dark beach, sand flying from her small hooves, and spins back to rejoin Mae as she picks up a trot inland.

The climb is steep and Kæja quickly begins to ache. She struggles to keep up with her mother, but against the dark sky and stones, Mae’s pale coat contrasts brightly, and she is an easy beacon to follow even when she stumbles and falls behind. When they finally stop to rest, the yearling heaves a sigh of relief and presses close to her mother. She almost asks if they’ll return home in the morning, but she thinks better of it. She isn’t sure which answer she really wants to hear.

Kæja