show them the joy and the pain and the ending
It’s hard to imagine a time when she was so innocent. So wide-eyed and young and full of wondrous joy. Sometimes she feels as though she has always been so worldly and cynical. A quiet thief in the night, stealing memories and secrets others had thought long buried. Of course, it is not always just memories and secrets she spies. Sometimes it is innocent scenes of playful young fillies awakening in the dawn to chase after a rodent whose eyesight she had temporarily borrowed. Normally she might have simply withdrawn, might have gone on to more lucrative pursuits. But there is something in the purity of this child that reminds her of her young daughter. A brightness that is as hard to match as it is to find.
Instead she finds her feet carrying her to the field. With her unique abilities, it is not difficult to follow the young girl’s path, to find where she had halted so abruptly in the midst of the new spring grasses sprouting eagerly in the bright sunlight.
Such a jaded soul rarely has reason to pause and wonder at the beauty of nature. For her, the passing of seasons have become routine, just a backdrop to the much more interesting and intriguing affairs that run rampant through Beqanna. It is odd, in an almost refreshing way, to see the world from the eyes of the carefree youth rather than her generally indifferent ones. But today is unusually fair, the sky vibrant, ancient and new all at once, the grass fresh and green, tickling fetlocks and filling nostrils with the scent of growing things. For a moment, she can almost pretend that she is not herself. That she is not Heartfire, a world weary woman who has seen too much of the worst walks of life.
And perhaps for those reasons, she finds herself protective of such innocence. So, as she nears, she reminds herself that even she has not seen all the world has to offer. That there is so much more out there.
She pauses a moment as the other mare nears, a small thing, black and white and as boisterous as the filly. She is nothing like these two. Her body is young enough, the black coat dotted with white is sleek and shiny with health, her curves full and feminine, her features refined and elegant. A lovely enough picture, though no true beauty. But those bright blue eyes of her’s are ancient, filled with memories and lifetimes that few could ever hope to comprehend.
It is not often she feels out of place, but in this moment, she does.
Still, she is not a shy horse, and she continues her path. Her lips curve in the faintest of smiles, hardly discernable but pleasant nonetheless. “Hello there,” she says, a soft echo of the spotted mare’s more energetic greeting. “Looks as though you are having quite a time here.” Her smile hitches up a bit more, her eyes softening as her gaze lands upon the filly. “I suppose I should have brought my daughter. She would have been much more fun than I, I’m sure. I am Heartfire, by the way.”
heartfire
i filled up my senses with thoughts from the ghosts