I Just Need A Little Time
“I need to think about that,” I said walking out the door. My friend protested, but I ignored him. This was a big decision.
I closed the door to the house I’ve lived in my whole life, trotted down the sidewalk I had hundreds of times, and went down the hill I rolled down as a filly. This time, it seemed so different.
“He wants so much of me, but I don’t know,” I was muttering to myself. That only happened when I felt stressed, and my shaking palms, heavy breathing and wish to tear up, told me it was true.
I crossed the street, the well worn path in sight, calling me like a siren.
I saw something.
A child, a filly with a blue coat and misty mane. “Don’t go in there,” I said, but the filly didn’t listen.
Making my way through the overhanging trees, past the weeping willow whips, I felt the air around me change. A calm washed over me, familiar and welcome.
The filly ran into the first obstacle, a trench hidden by a layer of typha, and fell in. She screamed and I felt my heart race.
I didn’t run, I knew what was happening.
The filly panicked, thrashing blades of grass, minimal pain pulsing through her leg.
A shadow.
“Help is on the way little one,” I said, chuckling as the pegasus colt landed next to her, laughing.
“You’re in quite a pickle aren’t cha, Girly,” his red coat and brazen attitude only served to enrage the filly. A flash of blue and the colt was on the ground. “I’ll help, just, don’t kill me” He pulled off his saddlebags and took out some disinfectant and a few bandages. “Hold still why don’t cha.”
Hopping over the trench, I watched the colt tenderly bandage the filly’s wound.
“Thanks,” I mouthed her words, “You’re… kinda nice,” even with his red fur the blush came out clear as day, “you want to come over to my house for lunch? My mommy is making veggie shish kebabs, and I think there’s some peach pie left over from last night. You could have some?”
The pegasus took to the sky, “no thanks.”
He had three servings of kabab and half a piece of pie.
I moved on, noticing the sprinkle of light filtering down on the switchgrass and followed the beaten path. I knew every divet, every twist, every turn by heart. This time it felt colder.
I passed a row of elm trees, gnats buzzing around my head, and saw the same red and blue pegasi, only this time they were a few years older.
“Ruby Heart, you’re a good flyer, right?” Again, I mouthed the filly’s words.
“The best in Fillydelphia,” Ruby stated, giving a tight loop before landing back on the tree branch. “Why do you ask?”
The filly put on a bright puppy dog face, “Teach me, please.”
Ruby crossed his hooves, “What about your mother? She flies doesn’t she?”
“Yeah, my mom’s a pretty good flyer, but I want you to teach me!”
“No thanks.” Ruby immediately gathered leaves and set them at the base of the tree. “Watch me, Saph,” he unfurled his wings, twice the width of his body and took off with a rather weak push, “My wings flap in sync, that’s the key.” He landed on the branch. “Your turn.”
The filly nervously looked down, “But, Ruby, what if I fall?”
“That’s what the leaves are for, they’ll catch you.”
I took a deep breath right as the filly did. She unfurled her wings just like Ruby had, but didn’t jump. “I’m scared Ruby.”
Ruby sighed before pushing the filly off. I screamed along side the filly as her wings flapped highly out of sync, before being sprayed with leaves.
“Did that hurt?” Ruby said before breaking out in laughter.
“Why did you do that!” the filly said, trembling.
Ruby’s laughter only rose and he started to shake the tree branch. He fell backwards into a pile of downed branches.
“Serves you right,” I said.
The filly got up and rushed to Ruby’s side, “Ruby!” Her eyes were full of tears.
“I think I broke my wing, ow,” though he tried to hide it, Ruby cried as well, “I think I need to go to the hospital, Saph”
“I’ll take you there” I mouthed again, “You’ll need to be bandaged and grounded for a few days. If you have to stay in the hospital I’ll come and read to you every day!”
“You care too much,” Ruby said, leaning on the filly.
I watched them leave before heading deeper.
Images of Ruby and Saph flying up and down trees popped up left and right. In one of them, they held ice cream.
I watched.
“You want some of my ice cream?” Saph said.
The two had gone to Ignola’s shack, he sold the best ice cream for only three bits a scoop, cone free of charge. I went there earlier today.
Ruby took a lick of his Tootie Fruity double scoop. “No thanks,” he said.
Moments later he stole an entire bite, half a scoop, of Saph’s mint chocolate chip. Then fell out of the tree trying to get away from the resulting brain freeze, only this time he landed in a pile of leaves.
I walked on, hearing the filly’s giggles.
The tree line broke out into a clearing. Short zoysia grass lay out like a mat. I saw Ruby, a young stallion now, mowing it with a push mower. Saph, a young mare watched from the safety of a picnic blanket, honey daisy sandwiches from the shack, a gallon of lemonade from Saph’s mother and half a peach pie from Ruby’s father sitting to her left.
Ruby was halfway through the clearing before he threw the push mower to the ground and let out a groan. Saph laughed, but I could see the blush on her face. He moved back to the blanket, “That should be good enough, right Saph?”
Saph said nothing. She rested her head on Ruby’s lap. It was a sign of trust Ruby didn’t see coming and he tensed up, blushing profusely. “Uh, Saph? You called me out to The Field because you said there was something important you needed to ask me?”
“Ruby, will you be…” I mouthed the words, “my colt friend?”
Slience, then Ruby spoke, “What would that change?”
“Nothing,” I mouthed, “It’s just a title.”
“Then no thank you.”
Saph turned, tears falling at the thought of rejection only to be met by a surprise kiss.
“I knew you’d show up here.”
I jumped, memories fading into the past. I looked across the clearing and saw Ruby Heart, the real Ruby Heart. He had finished setting up a picnic. White wine, honey daisy sandwiches and half a peach pie sitting patiently. I couldn’t hold back my tears.
Ruby walked up. The colt I had met after taking a fall, the colt that taught me how to fly, my first and only colt friend, now grown up and wearing a wavering smile.
I felt myself tremble.
He went down on one knee and opened a box to reveal a rather small diamond ring. “Sapphire Stone, we have been friends in these woods for twenty years, would take my hoof in marriage?”
I shuddered, then smiled “No thanks.”