Author's Note

Miss Don's POV

Extended, the Rare Moment: 23

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I watch the curtains fall, just after the final act of the play had come to an end.

Service is extended, to the guests in the VIP lounge in which I stand; the guests then file out, one by one in awed fashion. I had watched this procession before, on the rare occasion; when the play had been outstanding, and the actors had performed beyond the expectation of the once watching in the room.

I had been among them, breath-taken and in awe. Even after all these years, play after play; there is the one girl standing out, in the increasingly rare occasion. The girl, the Ballerina; is this one girl whose sister I had just met.

While I require neither drink, nor feed I may still require the sustenance of a different kind.

I am still a living and breathing entity, conscious of what goes on around me. Just that I can’t move around, talk to the first person before me. I very much do see everything, mostly the way a horse would have.

Some persons become special to me, and not because they are Russians, I don’t connect with everyone entering the room, even if they are evident opera aficionado. Most people entering the lounge are here to see the opera, even if some clearly are marked Companions.

The girl I know as Maй, is special; she and her sister April, that is. There is something to them, something I can’t quite put a hoof on; even if I had been free to move as I please, that is. Maybe it is less tangible, and more of an esoteric feeling I have?

Just having the girl in the room, made me feel warm all over; giving me the exquisite sense of my heart quickening to the crescendo of rapid breathing. Is this, how it feels to be excited; amongst those, still counted amongst the living and being a human?

She spoke to me, first with worry and concern; but then with more confidence, as she recognized me as a person she could talk to. She had recognized me, for who and what I had truly been. A rare gift, all by itself; these days, as the equine statue I had been guised as. Truly, a curse to be reckoned with and feared.

Being a horse, and a Don no-less; isn’t the problem here. It’s a magnificent creature to behold; one to be proud, and one to be proud of.

Easily to be compared in stature, to the fabled Arabs; but maybe I am a bit partial or biased, being Russian.

Seems neither the stone, nor the equine nature imposed upon me had robbed me; of being Russian and what it entails, in the least.

Time may take its toll on everyone and everything, but I remain unchanged and ever unchanging. Is this a curse, or a blessing?

I am, what I was; just as Russia is, just as grand as ever. It is not in who leads, or who is led; it is the country, known as Russia. The grand scale, of things; the nature.

I am a part of the heritage, where I stand; I can not escape it, I missed the chance when I still had it. I can but enjoy; what is presented to me, where I stand.

If I am timeless, it may be a blessing; if I am immortal, it is a curse. Watching the actors and actresses perform is a privilege I can not give up, if I wanted to; but seeing the stage wither, as the audience and the actors are growing cold is not something I had asked for.

I stand, and fall with mother Russia. I share in the joy, the glory and the honour of her stage.

Yet, what warms my heart; is the fleeting moments, of blessed union.

Each play, performed over and over. I have seen them all; there is very little new, for me to see here.

What I praise, is my time with the girl known as Maй. She warms my heart, makes me feel alive; like I never had before, and maybe never will.

To one such as me, all friends are short-lived and transient. If it takes her a year or a decade; to me, it is all the same. I know she may, or may never return; but I enjoy this one moment, for as long as I have it. It is all I have. Maybe it is all, I can ever have?

It is not a performance, either for her or for me. It just is. She is here, with me. She saw me, made me feel alive in a manner I had never been expecting to experience again. Ever.

To be seen, is important to one such as me.

Time momentarily stops. I feel my heart, as it makes an extra beat. I feel my heart, like I had never felt it before. Just for this one girl. Maй.

Why her, I may never know. Could she tell me? Did I want to know? Truly.
I have the moment.

She once more turns to me, looking at me.

As she is turning towards me, I am feeling warm inside. She looks at me; somewhere in between the girl I had been and the horse I am now. Just that it isn’t that she has a problem with looking at me, meeting my gaze; it is in the respect, of who I am.

She did not really have to say anything.

“Will I ever see you?” she whispers, to me directly.

While it is not in Russian by any stretch, I am still understanding what she had asked me.

It is a bit eerie, even to me. It is just, in how she said it; that just can not escape me, I understand her. Her.

“Yes..” I respond, falling silent for a long while.

“If you can get to Moskva, that is..” I point out; “It isn’t, as if I am going anywhere!” I conclude.

“Oh!!” she mouths, and stops cold; “That may be a bit of a problem for me..” she then continues.

“Yes, I was fearing that, but I had to be blunt and can’t lie about it..” I offer her.

“Thank you..” she responds; “but..” she starts; “but, but.. isn’t it lonely here?” she inquires, almost as if she had understood more than she should have.

“Is my Sister packed up, and ready for transport?” Maj ponders; realizing the time is short, growing shorter by the instant.

There is no escaping it, and time does not stops. Time stop for no-one and does not even slow down in the least. Not that it would raise, or raise hell either of course. Time just is. Unchanging, unchangeable.

I follow her escort with my eyes, knowing what is to come next. I can do nothing. I can but stand still; absorbing what I have, as I am enjoying the final moment. My moment with Maй.

Then.. and then the inevitable happens. I know I could not stop or delay it.

Maybe I did not want to, but it is still tearing my heart. The time comes to an end, as the escort is stepping up on the side of the girl.

“It is time!” the Escort simply explains.

“Yes, of course..” Maй responds, simply; “Just, give me one final moment?” she then continues.

“One moment, I can give you..” the Escort whispers, understanding; even if there is nothing left, and not a single person in the room.

“Thank you..” Maй responds, patting me on the side of my head as she is turning around.

I watch her, as she is walking slowly towards the door.

The doors open and she is stepping out.

The doors close, and there is nothing.

I am alone.

Alone.

There is nothing, no-one; and I am more alone than I thought I could ever be.

But that is that.

It is okay.

I had that one fleeting moment, with Maй.

How could I possibly ask for more? Ever.

But alas, I can still sense the scent.

Her scent, the scent of Maй.

Maybe it could persist, linger in the room for just a moment?

Just as she is still with me, in spirit as I remember her. The short moment she had been granted to offer me.