Soaring Higher

Chapter 7

I kick the dirt in my frustration. I've been lost for almost an hour now, and I've been trying to fight back tears, but I'm not even sure where I am. I run my fingers through my knotty hair, something I do when I'm nervous. As I look around I feel even more remote and isolated.
I sit on a rock and bury my face into my hands.
Who knows how long I'd be lost out here? What if I was never found? How would I survive- would I survive? I sit up and pace back and forth kicking the sand as if it were their fault. But it isn't their fault- it's probably mine.

A little while later I feel the presence of something else. I jerk around- have they come to save me? I don't see anyone, which adds to my unsettledness. From the rock I'm perched
on, I see a faint figure swaying in the breeze by the seaside. I squint, trying to make out this four legged creature, but fail as the wind whips my hair around my face.
Curiosity gets the better of me, as I approach it, shadowing behind the grass. As I peer closer, I realize that what I've been watching is a wild mare. I stumble back. I feel guilty for that, but truly; I'm nervous around wild animals. Especially big ones. I take deep breaths to recover from my surprise, and sit cross crossed behind the bushes and watch, trying to slow my heartbeat. I watch, finding it helps calm me.

Every feature is distinct and required; nothing less, nothing more. I can tell by slightly skimming my eyes over her body, that she is a mare, probably because I grew up with a mother as a vet and practice. She's a bay roan with a long tangly mane and tail. She's skinny, underfed and bony, to my concern. Despite her skinniness, I manage to notice a roundish bump on her stomach, which I find myself wondering what it is. She kicks the sand around, finding nothing underneath that's edible.

I quickly grow interested in this mare- it's beauty, it's survival instinct and just seeing it. I find myself admiring it for far longer than I'd promised myself. I follow from afar as she scavenges across the beach for food.

I see a seagull swoop down at an abandoned piece of bread, right in front of the mare. As anticipated, the mare bolt forward, spooked. I jump forward and the mare sees me. My heart stops and I freeze. Fortunately, instead of coming to me, she just takes it out on the beach. I stray back, and try to cover myself. I hear other noises that sound like footsteps, and hooves but I'm to stressed and dizzy to open my eyes.

I just rock myself, and then a pair of warm hands pick me up and carry me somewhere.