You have been warm and cozy for a few months now, but things have been getting tight lately. There's nowhere to move your legs no matter which way you turn. Today is the day, you just know it! You feel the walls begin closing in around you, even tighter than before. Then everything goes black. You feel yourself land on a hard surface and the space around you is suddenly cold. You snap your eyes open and quickly try to stand on shaky legs. It doesn't go so well, you'll have to practice. There are so many new sights and sounds. It's all so overwhelming. You turn towards the only source of heat in the area, it's your mother. You don't know how you know it's her, but she nuzzles you as you drink some milk from her.
The years pass rather uneventfully. You live a good life in a clean stable. The farmer and his family treat you well, and the youngest daughter likes to sneak you extra carrots in the evening. Then all of a sudden things change. A large group of men surround the outside of your stall one day. They argue with the farmer for some time, though you cannot understand what is being said. You are after all, just a horse. They keep motioning to you as they talk, so you turn around in your stall and ignore them. Later that night, the whole family comes out to see you, and one by one they give you a big hug and a treat. You're not sure what that group of men said to the farmer earlier, but it seems to have upset your family. Not matter, you'll just give them a good swift kick if you see that group again.
Sure enough, the men return a few days later. The farmer places your lead on and hands it to one of them.
This is my chance! you think to yourself.
I saw the farmer's eldest daughter kick a boy in between his legs once and he fell right to the ground, so that's where I'll aim! As soon as the man leads you out of the stall you start bucking. No way are you gonna let these crazies take you away from your family! You spin and your lead slips out of the stranger's hand.
Now's my chance! You rear back and kick as hard as you can in his direction.
Bullseye! The poor man collapses and you whinny in excitement. You then turn your ahead to see a look of pure horror and shock on the farmer's face. He grabs your lead rope and hands it off to his wife before rushing to help the man to his feet. The farmer's wife comes up to you and you think,
she's here thank me, I bet. After that nasty man made everyone so sad yesterday I think I should get extra treats with dinner toni- wait, why does she sound angry? I just did this family a favor! So you soon discover that the farmer was intentionally giving you away. The audacity! Your new home had better have an all you can eat apple bar!
While your new owner's stable did not, afterall, have an all you can eat apple bar (what a shame), they did let you roam free after only two nights.
You are led out into the field behind the barn. There are hundreds of people all standing around staring at you. The same man who brought you here ties a golden plaque to your head.
Well it's not too heavy, and won't come off when I shake my head, so I guess it can stay. The man holding your lead unclips it and step back. The crowd goes silent. You take two steps forward, and as a group they follow you, shuffling forward ever so slightly.
Okay, now this is weird, why in Vishnu's name are these crazy people following me? Or are they? What if I go over to that hay bale? As you walk towards the tasty snack, the people all follow you, always maintaining enough distance to be out of kicking range.
What a shame.
You wander towards the river at the end of the field.
Surely they'll stop me if I try to cross the river. They always have before! You step forward and feel the cold water rush over your hooves and ankles, but no one makes a move to bring you back. You plunge across the river and... the crowd follows?
Well this is odd. Let's see how far these silly people will follow me...
With that thought, you begin to walk...
Author's Note:
The idea behind this story was to write the first half of
King Yudhishthira's Horse (David A. Mackenzie) as if the reader had been reincarnated as the horse to be used in the sacrifice. This will hopefully be the first part of the story uploaded to my project (finally). If all goes well, it will be accompanied by the second half of this story as well as
Horse Sacrifice to be one of the three lives the reader will go through before reaching heaven.
