The Return

Eagle sun?

Slowly opening her eyes and stretching, Mae saw the morning sun rays breaking through the trees above her, she laid there for a while, listening to the birds singing their morning songs then stood up slowly, her body was greeted by the cool, crisp air, she saw the position of the sun and realised that she had slept longer than she wanted to.

Quickly walking over to the river and splashing her face with water, she panicked and hurried to gather her belongings, packing them back into her bag. She put her hair in a ponytail and mounted her horse. Taking one last look at the river, she knew she would somewhat miss the place. Looking at the reflections to memorise it, it had been a peaceful night whilst staying there and she almost didn’t want to leave but she enjoyed travelling and seeing different things, she never liked to be in one spot.

Squeezing the horses sides with her legs, the  horse began to walk, the undergrowth rustling under it’s feet as it sped up to a trot, Mae looked around, she wasn’t sure exactly where she was heading to, but of course she didn’t mind, she was used to it, knowing that she would eventually recognise certain places on her travels.

The sun was now at its highest point, the beams shining through the trees, Mae could see tiny fruit flies circling, their wings reflecting the sunlight, making it look almost like glitter sparking under the sun’s rays.

Mae brought the horse to a gallop, quickly travelling through the forest. Birds sang from the tree tops, creating a calming ambience with the sound of hooves thudding on the ground.
To her right, Mae could see some old weathered buildings. She wondered what the world was like before the apes took over, visualising different scenarios in her head, did humans still travel by horse? How did they live?

Her fantasy was cut short when the sound of an Eagle could be heard from above her, gasping, Mae slowed her horse down to a slow walk and looked up trying to see where it was as she felt slight excitement, the thickness of the leaves in the trees made it impossible to see where the call came from so she felt it necessary to just shrug it off as an Eagle passing over her head, she sighed and continued on her way.

A while passed before Mae saw another old weathered building up ahead, she squinted her eyes to see it better. As she got closer, she realised what it was, the old observatory where her and Noa saw the strange thing in the sky. The memories came flooding back. She felt the guilt coming back again, although it never fully left.

“Woah girl” Mae said, slowing her horse to a stop.

She stared at the building, seeing the plants growing all over it as though it was being swallowed up by nature. She felt the sadness growing inside of he as she thought about Noa. She began to frown slightly and scoffed, steering the horse slightly to the left of the building and pushing her feelings aside as she squeezed the horses' sides.

Heading away from the observatory , she heard the eagle call again, but this time it was closer, Mae stopped her horse abruptly, her eyes darting around rapidly as she once again looked for where the call came from. She looked back at the observatory and saw the eagle sitting on top of what used to be a roof pillar.
“what do you want?” Mae asked, a slight chuckle to her voice as she raised an eyebrow “you’ve got my attention now”
The eagle sat there for a minute, then flew down towards her.

In a panic, Mae put out her arm in hopes to protect herself if the bird was aiming to attack her, but to her surprise, the eagle landed on her wrist, Mae winced in pain for a moment as the eagles' talons dug into her skin through natural instinct to grip onto it's perch. The eagle stood completely calm. Mae couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She managed to smile as she looked at the bird, admiring it’s colours.

“you’re Noa’s eagle?” she murmured as she gently stroked the bird's golden feathers on its breast with the back of her hand.

The eagle stayed there for a few moments before taking off again and letting out calls. Mae’s eyes widened, she didn’t move, stunned as she figured that it wanted her to follow, she quickly came back to her senses and brought the horse to a gallop, hoping to keep up with the bird flying above the trees ahead of her.

Not long passed before Mae approached the place where she first got to meet Noa and Raka properly around the campfire, but she didn’t have time to reminisce about it for long, she sped past it and glanced back as it faded out of sight.

As Mae continued to direct her horse to follow the eagle's calls, she wondered why the bird wanted her to follow, she began to feel worried for the eagle clan as she repeatedly glanced up trying to see through the trees, then back down to the forest floor, keeping an eye out for obstacles.
The eagle continued to call, seeming to be letting Mae know that it wasn’t too far ahead of her and that it could still hear the horses hooves travelling closely behind it.
Mae continued to feel worried. Why did Noa’s bird want her to follow? Why did it choose her? If Noa was okay, then will Noa even want her around him? So many questions whirred around Mae’s mind, but she tried to ignore them.

Not long passed before the dark ‘world beyond’ tunnel came into view, Mae coaxed her horse to speed up through it, an eerie feeling washing over her as it went almost completely dark until she got to the other side.

Continuing to gallop through the trees, a while passed as the sun began to dip lower in the sky, she looked up and listened out for the eagle calls but she didn’t hear it anymore, it had stopped, she slowed her horse down to a walk as the trees began to thin, seeing a break in the tangled branches ahead of her, she saw the eagle at the exit of the forest, it let out small sounds, almost seeming to say “come on” but Mae stopped her horse, knowing that what was not to far behind those trees was Noa’s village.