the sound of silence

[sphinx]

sharp like an edge of a samurai sword
the mental blade cut through flesh and bone

A light breeze sweeps through the willows at the water's edge causing the leaves to whisper softly of things long forgotten. Making my way along the stream that has cut its way through the landscape, I find my thoughts being interrupted by images of memories I had thought long forgotten. An image of a mare, gentle and sweet, standing at the edge of the horizon. Her laughter cutting across the hills, carefree and beautiful in its purity. For some reason I have trouble remembering her features exactly. Perhaps it has been so long? Or perhaps it is that any images I see in my mind are always haunted by the pale image of death.

How many years has it been since I left this place? Since I left behind those in my care to a fate that I would likely never know? I had answered the call to battle, as any warrior would have. I had assumed that the summons I had received from those higher up had been to serve on the field as a weapon of death. I could not have been more wrong.

It had not taken long for me to realize that the request for my appearance had not been in order for me to take my rightful place on the battlefield. Instead, it had been to inform those stallions with claims to the lands of the South that some strange illness was tearing through the Weaklands and posing an imminent threat to us as well.

In mere weeks, the plague had torn it's way past every border that we equines had ignorantly believed separated us from each other. It's devastating touch ripped apart herds from the furthest reaches of the northern mountains down to the southernmost peninsula that bordered the Seventh Sea. The disease managed to wipe out innumerable lives, proving more destructive than the war that had waged for so long between those of the North and South. The smell of rot and decay seemed to have permeated the very landscape itself. Inescapable, and a constant reminder of the sheer horror surrounding them. Those that remained were left with scars that were not always visible.

though my mind's at peace, the world out of order
missing the inner heat, life gets colder

A sudden hacking cough abruptly escaped my lips, causing my sides to heave violently. Each barking expulsion of air is met with an increasing desperation for air. I feel as if I was drowning. I cannot help the desperate wheezing that escapes as my hunger for oxygen becomes more demanding. Finally, with a final immense heave, I feel the rush of air into my burning lungs. It is several minutes before my pulse stops racing and my breathing becomes normal once more. Sighing heavily, I glanced at the ground at my feet, noting the bright spray of crimson blood that stains the sprigs of clover. This is my penance, I think. A small price to pay for surviving the illness that had taken so many.

The sun was just beginning its slow descent beyond the horizon when I begin to hear the telltale rolling thunder of the falls ahead. It had always been such a comforting sound. Picking up my pace, I duck through the branches of a final copse of thick willows and suddenly find myself at the edge of the pool that sits at the feet of the falls above me. The sun's final rays of light dance on the deluge that leaps continuously from the cliff above me, creating a rainbow that shimmers in the mists below.

Shutting my eyes tight against the perfect scene before me, a flurry of emotions whipped through my body. It is just as beautiful as I remembered. However, the joy that threatens to overwhelm me at finally finding my way home once more is short lived. Opening my eyes, I call out tentatively, knowing already what I will hear. It is obvious that the place has been untouched for years. The wildness of my surroundings is obvious, the grasses unbelievably lush and overgrown. The silence that greets my call is expected, but tears through my heart nonetheless. I am alone.

oh yes, I have to find my path
no less, walk on earth, water, and fire

claiming back Amaryllis Falls