A Month of Midnights

III

His face I did not recognize, but I felt I knew everything about him. I knew every feeling that passed through his heart. I knew his every thought, and I felt somehow connected to his presence. His face had first appeared in a sort of haze. It had been so dark, but then it began to lighten, and his features came into focus. He looked young and strong, perhaps my age or slightly older. His midnight colored hair curled perfectly and neatly, providing a nice frame for his warm, chocolate eyes. His eyebrows were dark too, just like his large, beautiful eyelashes. Mother had warned me about love, how it often is deceiving and confused with physical attraction, but in that moment I forgot it all. The man's face was gentle and soothing, and I knew if I was standing, I would just as soon sway and fall over again. As the background crisped into view behind the man, I noticed it was one I did not recognize. There were small houses and people bustling about. It was a Chorio village, but it was not my own. I realized the man was looking past me in anxious excitement. He walked forward hurriedly, and somehow I followed along. The man walked to a large crowd in the village's town square. One by one, I saw people leave the crowd and come back in either tears or in triumph. An odd feeling washed over me.

Was I in the past?

The man shook his hands nervously. He looked behind him and stared at the large trees that surrounded the village. He looked at it curiously, and I could feel the chill as it ran up his spine. I could hear his thoughts, but they were terribly quiet. I could tell he felt something was wrong. I felt his urge to go help, but he put it away immediately. I heard him remind himself that he couldn't help the entire world. Still, though he turned back to the crowd, I could sense him longing to go. His inner battle between his urge to run and help whoever needed it and staying for the Day of the Choosing raged on persistently in his head. I wanted to speak to him, but I found that I couldn't. The colors from his eyes began to fade, and soon everything I saw was in shades of black and white. The man's face began to blur, and it melted away into the same blackness I had grown accustomed to.

The sounds of an early forest morning became louder in my ears. Disappointment heavied my awakening soul as I accepted the fact that the handsome man had been but a dream. For the first time since last night, I felt enough strength to lift my eyelids. The light seemed unusually bright, but perhaps that was normal in Istoria? As my eyes adjusted to the daylight, I saw that all that was in front of me was pure white. Shoot, am I dead? I wondered. Well, that didn't take long. My sight grew stronger and detected quickly that the white had a texture to it. It looked like hair, very thin and very short hair. I scooted my body backwards, and an unanticipated soreness clutched at my muscles. I now saw that the whiteness was indeed hair, and it was on a face of some sort, an animal face. Slowly, I raised my head and met two large eyes that stared at me wildy. I idiotically screamed. The face moved back, just as surprised as I was. At least now I was fully conscious and aware of where I was. I was still in Istoria's forest, right where I had collapsed at midnight. Expect now, a large white horse was in front of me, looking at me as if I was the strange creature out of the two of us.
I tried to stand up too quickly, and my weak limbs gave way. I slammed back down on my butt and yelped in surprise. The horse whinnied gleefully. Great, he's laughing at me. I scowled at the horse. The animal silenced.
"You think I'm funny, huh?" I asked almost expecting an answer. The horse shook his head up and down slowly. "I guess that's a yes," I said with a sigh. It was then that reality hit me, and my curiosity heightened.

"Wait, you understood me?" I asked leaning forward. The horse did not move. I saw its knees tense and lock. I slowly got on my own knees and inched forward. The horse stepped back. "No, no I won't hurt you," I said quickly. The horse looked at me carefully but did not come closer. In a last ditch effort to befriend the creature, I grabbed my basket and pulled out a small slice of crusty bread. I broke it into crumbs and held them out in my palm. The horse warily stepped closer. It gave in to its gnawing sense of hunger and nibbled from my hand. Its tail swished in delight. A small giggle escaped my lips as its tonge tickled my hand. The horse whinnied again in laughter. As it licked the last crumbs, I slowly placed my free hand on its forehead. As I did so, my world blackened again. I saw blurs of a village and people rush past my eyes. I felt the horse pull away from my hand, and the village disappeared. I opened my eyes and gasped. I hadn't realized that I had been holding my breath. I saw distress in the horse's eyes as it backed up away from me. He looked behind him at the forest before him.