After Mikhail left, I rose and bathed my tired eyes and tear-stained cheeks before I slowly pulled on my work clothes. Then I saw the time and exclaimed out loud—it was already late morning, and I hadn't even started my chores. I breathed a sigh of relief when I looked out the window and saw clouds moving in as the radio announced the forecast for rain in the afternoon—at least I wouldn't need to water my garden. I hurried out to the pasture and tended to my livestock, then I checked on my hens and gathered eggs from the coop. When I was done, I hurried on into town. Kana seemed surprised by my lateness, as he asked if I was taking a day off. I shook my head and said no, I'd just gotten a late start due to circumstances beyond my control. He looked concerned then and started to say something, but I cut him off, telling him I had to run as I turned and opened the door, that I still had a million things to do and it was getting late. He still looked worried, but just then a customer walked in, so he simply nodded as I left.
After I finished my errands, I returned to my farm to saddle Lady up for the ride over the mountain. But when I walked up to her as she grazed in the pasture, I noticed she wasn't looking quite herself. She seemed lethargic, listless even, and I wondered if these daily rides over the mountain and back again were getting to be too much for her. She was starting to get up there in years, after all. I took her to Kana's, and he looked her over. When he was finished, he gave her a gentle pat to send her off to graze with his horses, and turned to me. He said she seemed to be in overall good health, just in need of a rest. He agreed that she was getting too old for the hard riding that I did, especially considering her age and size. I said she was nearing twenty years, but I was so fond of her, I'd never considered replacing her before. He suggested it was time for me to invest in a new horse, and said he had one he thought would suit me perfectly if I was interested. I agreed to take a look, although the thought of giving up Lady grieved me. Seeing my downcast expression, he assured me that he could find a great home for her, if I was willing. He knew the perfect place, a kind family down in the flatlands a little ways away from the mountains that wanted a gentle, sweet pony for their timid young daughter to learn to ride, where she'd have a much easier life. I sighed and nodded, then followed him out to the pasture.
He sent me to wait for him by the gate, and returned a few minutes later leading a small but muscular mare. She was pale grey with a darker grey mane and tail and dark eyes, reminding me of storm clouds. "Her sire was a champ at endurance riding, and her dam did endurance riding, too. So she's an ideal mount for the terrain here. She's a lot younger and stronger than your pony, and I've been working with her, both under saddle and with a harness. She's a quick learner. She can jump and everything—anything you'd expect in a good trail horse. I think she'll be perfect for you. Wanna give her a try?" I said sure, and he fetched her tack from the barn and saddled her up for me.
I mounted and walked her around the field a bit. "Hey, go ahead, give her a try on the trail. I'll wait here for you," Kana called to me. I nodded and turned her towards the fence. I urged her into a brisk canter, and we sailed over the fence with graceful ease before heading up the path out of town. I rode her as far as the bridge by the waterfall, then we returned to town.
Back at Kana's shop, I dismounted, and with a grin, I said, "Yeah, you're right, she's exactly what I need. I'll take her—what's her name?"
"Whatever you decide to call her," Kana replied with a laugh, as we headed back into his shop. "I just called her Stormy, since I like to give all my horses barn names, even if I'm intending to sell 'em. But don't feel obliged to keep using it. Give her a name you like, that you think fits her."
"In that case, I think I'll call her Nimbus."
Kana gave me an odd look. "Nimbus?"
I laughed at the look on his face, and explained, "Like the clouds—rain clouds. It came to me while I was riding her. She's that same mix of gray and white that storm clouds often have. Plus it sounds kind of like nimble, and she's certainly that!"
