Author's Note

I know it's taking forever but we are slowly closing towards the end here.
This was meant to be the final chapter but it will take at least one more to tie up all the loose ends. There's just too much stuff that I didn't get to include in the previous version.

This chapter was sub consciously inspired by the tragedy of Hanč and Vrbata

Come to me again

***

I didn’t tell my parents about the interview we had, nor about meeting Stacy; the pony who had already mastered the art of speaking fluently. It wasn’t exactly a taboo topic but I figured that trying to convince them about Suzzane’s sentient mind was just wasting my energy and stirring the waters of possible conflict. After all, I didn’t even record a video of Stacy and Suzzane together or anything so I didn’t have proof. I was soon to be leaving too.

I figured that the best kind of proof would be when we return after a year and they would see for themselves just how much would Suzzane progress. Or, in the best case, they might even hear about the whole affair of sentient ponies from the news; if Michelle and Stacy succeed.

So, the things stayed pretty much the same at home until it was the time to leave.

And eventually, the day of our departure back to the middle of nowhere, where time seems to flow differently, where my phone doesn’t have any signal and where and where troubled souls come to recover, has come.

Okay, when I say it like that, it does sound a little more mysterious than Sasha’s hotel actually was but each of the points are still true.

And I gotta admit, I was really looking forward to showing Suzzane something more than the city and its weak fauna and flora. Just as much as I was looking forward to being there myself: Avoiding school, hanging out with my beloved wife, making some money and exploring nature? Heck yeah, that’s what Anon likes.

This time Sasha agreed to pick me up by the house, so that I wouldn’t have to walk with all the luggage. I also had everything packed up the day before, so, all that we had to do that morning was to pick ourselves up and go outside.

The morning breakfast before my departure was somewhat silent and for some reason a little bit awkward. As if no one knew what to talk about. As if everything important has already been said.

I used to think that it’s just how it always goes. Turns out it isn’t always true. There usually is something more to say and oftentimes it can be very important.

I said my goodbyes to mom, my sister and lastly, my dad. As I did, he handed me Suzzane’s ownership papers, already legally changed to my name. Sadly, it was the only way to do things because legally, she was still a mere property. In return, I took out my wallet to give him the money. To my surprise though, he just counted the stack of banknotes and returned them back to me.

“...What does that mean?” I asked, a bit puzzled about what he did. After all, I already had the papers which I wanted in my hand.

“I told you before it was not about money, Anon. And I did mean it. You’ll need these more than I do.” He patted my shoulder. “But know that I’m proud of you, for being able to take care of yourself out there in the world.”

His behaviour definitely caught me off guard, so it took me a second just to process it.

“You actually mean all that?” I said eventually, finding it hard to believe.

“I do, son. It’s true that I imagined a slightly different future for you but in the end, I just hope you’ll be happy out there.” He offered me a handshake.

“T-Thanks dad.” I hesitantly took his hand but when I did, he pulled me into a short embrace. That was when I was sure that he meant it. “...I really appreciate this dad.”

If there was any grudge left in me towards him, I think it dissolved then. It was the day when I had to admit to myself that even with his flaws, my father was a good man at his core.

…

“So, this is that important person you needed to pick up?” Laughed Sasha when Suzzane and I sat inside his car.

“I’m Suzzan! Nice tu meet you.” The mare seemed to remember the correct way which Stacy introduced herself before. “You Sasha? Anon say much about.”

“Woah, you really CAN talk.” The russian acknowledged with just a slight visible surprise, took a small sip from his hip flask and put on his usual grin . “Yes I am Sasha. I hope he said good things about me.”

“Only the best.” I grinned back.

“Said Sasha look scary but he very nice.” Suzzane continued in her conversation. “Not think look scary. Think look like pirate.” She smiled. (I should probably point out that the term “pirate” meant “a funny man that sails on the sea with his friends” to Suzzane back then.)

“Yeah well maybe I am a bit of a pirate because of the tax fraud I’m committing while employing Anon.” Sasha laughed and stepped on the gas pedal.

I barely managed to wave at my family, catching only a glimpse of my mother’s worried expression about seeing Sasha drink and drive as if he stole the car. It was kinda funny to see her but I was also glad I didn’t have to have that conversation with her later.

…

As we left, Suzzane was growing increasingly excited about the journey, seeing all the new places we passed along the way. As soon as we left the city, she had her sight glued to the outside, eagerly taking in the sights of things previously unseen. After a few minutes of her face being pressed against the glass, Sasha also had the good idea to pull the window down for her to be able to stick her head out. Needless to say, the mare greatly appreciated it.

I wasn’t sure back then whether Sasha already knew about the nature of my relationship with Suzzane but they seemed to get along just fine from the very start. I sort of guessed that he knew though, so I didn’t exactly make any hardcore attempts to hide it.

When we arrived at the hotel and parked the car, Suzzane was almost gleaming with excitement about living at a place such as this. Not the building itself though, but rather the forest. I did tell her before that it would be in the middle of nowhere but to see it for herself was something different.

“Biuuutiful!” The mare jumped out of the car as soon as she figured out how to use the handle and she rushed towards a nearest tree to have a look at it from up close. I should mention that she already knew by name most of the trees that were in the vicinity of our house. However, naming the whole, seemingly endless forest would be a different task. One that she was still up for though. Meanwhile, I went ahead and began moving our stuff from the car to the small room that was waiting for us up on the first floor.

Inside, I greeted Mary and Svetlana who already saw us coming and now they were watching Suzzane through a restaurant window. She was walking around, smelling and inspecting every piece of nature from up close, looking very much like an ordinary animal at the first sight.

Partly to shift their attention somewhere else, I struck up a short conversation with them about what was new. To my not-so-much of a surprise, I learned that while I was gone and my life was drastically changing, nothing much has really happened here. However, before I could get into details of how exactly the bus got rammed, Suzzane had barged in through the front door.

“Hello Sasha family! I’m Suzzan, nice’ t meet yuu!” She smiled at the two women, confident in her sentence; despite the pronunciation being a bit less good than the last time. And, if there was a chance that Svetlana did not tell Mary uptill then, she added proudly: “Suzzane wife to Anon.”

As it usually is when Suzzane speaks her heart out loud without any scruples, I stood there all red while both the mother and her daughter looked just a little bit baffled. Mary, slightly more than Svetlana.

“...So you’re the one who stole the heart of our fastest dishwasher?” Grinned the younger woman eventually, after a second of silence that felt longer than it actually was. “Hi, I’m Svetlana.”

“And I’m Mary. Hi.” Added her mother, processing that just a little longer.

“Yes.” Suzzane nodded. “Very pretty place here. Much trees. Much grass. Suzzane like. House pretty also.”

“Why thank you.” Mary giggled eventually. “What a polite… young lady you are!”

“Oh yeah, she’s very polite.” I chuckled, relieved that the situation went relatively smoothly. “Ya’ll can chat and I’ll move all this stuff in the meanwhile.”

After that, I left because the bag in my good hand was getting heavy and I refused to put it on the ground the whole time. Once I was in my room, I finally set it down and started unpacking. After a few minutes though, I could hear a clop of hoofsteps in the corridor behind the partially closed door.

“Anooon?” Suzzane’s voice followed soon after.

“I’m here!” I stood up and yelled back, opening the door completely. The next second, I could see the mare on the other side of the corridor so I waved at her. She smiled when she saw me and began walking a little bit faster.

“Heyyy.” I crouched back down to give her a small nuzzle and a kiss. “You didn’t tell them anything too private, right?”

“Suzzane speak about house. And trees. Good for running and baycycle with Anon.” She grinned in amusement. “But Anon always shy if Suzzane speak about love. Think is cute.”

“What? Are you putting me in these situations on purpose?” I laughed.

“No… Sometime.” Suzzane bit her lip and grinned a little bit wider.

“You little devil!” I lifted the mare up and threw her on the bed.

Before she could get up, I blew a raspberry on her belly. She laughed and giggled, trying to wiggle away from me but it was of no use. Not even my temporary handicap could stop me. She was then mercilessly tickled till she could barely speak.

Such is the grim fate of those with loose lips…

Anyway, after what could have been like 20 minutes of intense playfighthing, I returned downstairs for the rest of our stuff. It was only then, when I realised that hearing all that noise from upstairs and seeing Suzzane all dishevelled might have given everyone the wrong ideas of what we were doing. However, I was in too good of a mood to care and since no one brought it up, I carried on.

I still had to unpack all those things that I brought and find a place for them in the cramped up space. Suzzane helped me with the arrangement of course, actually showing a surprisingly good aesthetic feeling while keeping it practical. The rest of what we couldn’t fit anywhere, we had to hide under the bed and take it out only when we needed it.

Then we finally went down to have a proper chat with everyone and maybe a beer too. At least I did.

All three housemates were curious about what I have to share, partly because nothing ever happens around where they live, so they never get a lot of gossip outside of the season. As cool as they were though, I did notice that none of them were too sure about how exactly they should treat Suzzane; whether like an animal or a person. In the end, they sort of just settled for treating her like something in between, or a child.

To be fair, since Suzzane was kind of clumsy with her hooves, stupidly cute, easy to excite with so many new things around and because of her far-from-perfect grammar, she was giving out that kind of vibes to someone who doesn't know her well enough.

It was not exactly a perfect situation, but it was a good start. I considered asking everyone to talk to her normally, without all the lisping and stuff but it simply needed some time for them to get to know her more and see that she’s an actual person underneath that cute exterior. At least they couldn’t care less about what we do together.

And boy, we did a lot of things together throughout that year. And I’m not speaking about the lewd things, although we had a fair share of those as well. I’m talking about getting the most out of our situation, being basically stranded in the middle of nowhere.

We went for lengthy walks (with me on a bicycle, duh) almost every single day, when it wasn’t raining, slowly but steadily mapping the area. While inside, we also continued with all the activities that we started doing at home. You know, reading, playing games together and most of all: learning languages. Never before was Suzzane more motivated to learn than after seeing Stacy. She even began correcting herself sometimes after referring to me and herself in the third person! However, this way of talking was so rooted in her, that it was going to be a very long run for her. We had time though, nothing was pressing us anymore; no worries about anything or anyone, and my little horse-wife indeed thrived like never before.

…

On the weekends, when I actually had to work, Suzzane would either watch or try to help me (which wasn’t always that helpful but she did her best).

Of course though, we couldn’t always be together and I guess that for the health of the relationship, we also shouldn’t. So, she’d often depart into the woods on her own while I was busy. When I asked her about what she does there all day, she simply stated: “Making friends. Exploring.”

At first I thought that she meant the random people that seemed to pop up from the forest all the time to get a beer or something to eat but later on, she began talking about horns, wings, scales and such.

At first I was a little worried about her mental health but later I’ve come to accept that maybe, just maybe she can see things that humans can’t. After all, there was some kind of a magical element to her that nobody could exactly put a finger on. She could have been seeing fairies, spirits of the forest or maybe even speaking to the dead. That, or she just had a very vivid imagination.

While I wasn’t sure which stance I should take, when she was eagerly telling me about the strange creatures she met, about the sacred rites they keep, how they live and about the history of this forest, I at least listened. Because of how important it was to her, I’d say I even wanted to believe her, if only for the sake that she believed it and I wanted to share that reality with her. However, when she tried to introduce me to some of them, I couldn’t see anything.

I didn’t lie to her about it and admitted I can’t see what she does, which puzzled her but did not destroy her enthusiasm. Even more she began pointing out when there was one of her friends nearby and occasionally, I caught myself feeling some sort of presence around, which I couldn’t exactly explain. That was the most though and I never could see any of those things with my own eyes.

…

After my hand healed enough for the cast to be taken off, I could finally begin with what I had in mind some time ago, which was learning to play an instrument. It was actually Sasha who gave me the “final push”, because I mentioned it to him one night and he told me that he can lend me his old guitar. It was an old hunk of junk that was stashed away somewhere in the attic but it was enough to ignite a passion inside me for the instrument. Sasha himself was not a very skilled guitarist but he knew the very basics, which he was happy to pass on.

It was the start of a very long, basically a never ending journey; one that I never regret taking. You see, if there is a God, (which I personally believe there is, because when I look back at my life, I feel kinda blessed.) then playing an instrument is the closest thing you can have to talking with him.

It might sound cliché but I feel it to be true. Besides, a good feeling isn’t the only good thing that the guitar gave me but more about that later.

***

Eventually, the summer and even the colourful fall ended and the winter season started. My work schedule changed from the weekends to every single day and suddenly, I barely had time for Suzzane throughout the day. While she did visit me in the kitchen sometimes, to have an occasional chat or a quick cuddle, often she just departed outside on her own throughout my shifts.

I couldn’t keep her around me all the time, that much was obvious. After all, she had a love for freedom and I would never want to take it from her. So, I never objected or feared that she might not return. I knew that she was able to take care of herself out there.

However, one particular day was different.

Those winter days were cold and short and as soon as the sun set, it began freezing even more. As much as Suzzane’s natural winter coat seemed to protect her, she almost always returned before, or shortly after it got dark. That fateful day though, after I kissed her goodbye at the start of my shift, a terrible wind broke out outside. The kind that usually leaves most of the old and weak trees broken or torn out. I was a little worried to see it through the window but I suspected that my beloved would be back soon. After all, why would anyone want to willingly stay outside in such weather?

She wasn’t returning though. Hours passed and she was still gone, even after the wind partly subsided. Then it got dark and when she still wasn’t anywhere in sight, I was beginning to get really worried.

It wasn’t the end of my shift yet but because of the weather, there weren't too many people that day. So, naturally, I asked Sasha to let me go look for her. He had no problems with it, even lent me his head lamp and his old coat that was big enough for the two of us, in case I needed to warm her up. I didn’t actually realise I might need such a thing, so kudos to him. Determined to find and bring my wife back home, I put on some of my own warm clothes too and rushed outside.

However, I quickly realised it was like looking for a grain of glass in the sea. Even after the wind, the snow had a frozen crust on top, so it was possible that I might find Suzzane’s hoofprints, yet, she wasn’t the only one who walked there. There were many footprints of people from the day before and also some of those few who ventured outside on that day as well. Many tracks were also incomplete, destroyed by wind or fallen branches.

When I realised that I had no actual lead to even start with, dark thoughts slowly began taking over my mind. Fear, regret, hopelessness. After all, I did promise to always be at her side when she needed me.

I didn’t give up though, I walked in continually bigger circles around the hotel, yelling her name and hoping for some kind of an answer or any kind of lead on her. I walked like that for more than an hour but eventually, I was beginning to get desperate.

Everything that I’ve done, everything that we’ve archived, just be together, all the progress that Suzzane made with the language: It all suddenly felt like it was slipping away. Done in vain, just to be lost and turned into nothingness. After all, life in this material form is such a fragile thing and it can be destroyed so very easily.

With my throat sore from yelling and my will crumbling, I eventually sat down and succumbed to the hopelessness. I wasn’t even sure where I was anymore. Even though I knew those forests when they were green and sunlit, in the darkness that enveloped the world and in my desperation, all the trees looked similar. Even if I could recognise certain places before, after the rampage of the wild wind, with all the branches and trees laying around, everything seemed unfamiliar.

I started to feel like that not only I would never find Suzzane but I might never even find my way back either. A fitting end for such a fool you might say, but since I’m telling you this, you can guess that I somehow survived after all. However, I pretty much stopped hoping that I alone could do it myself at that point.

That’s when I started to beg: Anyone who could help me, God, angels, even the fairies and spirits which Suzzane sometimes talked about, anyone who would aid me find her. I wasn’t sure what to expect though. Even if they were real, I was never able to interact with them anyhow.

As I sort of expected, no one answered my prayers. I felt alone.

In my last desperate attempt, I picked myself up and continued walking to generate some heat because I was starting to freeze. I walked pretty much aimlessly at that point, just randomly picked a direction and followed it.

However, after a few metres, I suddenly felt as if someone tapped on my shoulder. Gently, so gently that you could question whether it was even real. In that moment though, it was enough for me to turn around and that’s when I saw it.

Hoofprints, actual hoofprints which I recognised. I hastily began following them, calling out Suzzane’s name but there was no response yet. At least there was finally some kind of hope though, a thing that I already lost and when I found it again, I clung to it like a drowning man to anything in his vicinity.

Then, after a few minutes of walking, I finally saw the scene:

An unmoving pony body in the snow, blood dried on her head and a big fallen branch nearby.

“Suzzane!” I yelled and rushed towards her, picking the cold mare in my arms. “Come on, wake up! Please, be alive!”

I absolutely refused the very idea that she might already be dead, I just couldn’t ever deal with losing her that way. I didn’t know how to check the pulse on her though and putting a wet finger in front of her nose didn’t work because of the wind. If she really was breathing, it was only very faintly.

I wanted to believe that the slight movement which I saw on her chest was real, so I stuffed the frail pony underneath my coat, so that she could get warm from my own body; Not even her head was sticking out. It was like putting a furry ice cube in there though.

Motivated to get us both warm and back to the hotel, I started following my own footsteps in the snow but as I progressed further, they started getting chaotic. After all, I was just as lost in the woods as Suzzane was.

I tried going the opposite straight from the direction where I found her but it didn’t really seem to lead anywhere either. After a few minutes of walking, I actually felt more lost than I was before with no clue of which direction to go. I cursed myself for not taking my phone so I could at least use a compass on it.

The joy from finally finding Suzzane began slowly slipping away as I started to fear that we both might eventually freeze there together. Eventually, I had to sit down on a tree stump and rest because I was tired from walking with the extra weight on me.

I pulled the large coat over my head and withdrew my hands from my sleeves so I could hide in it and wrap my hands around Suzzane. The mare was finally getting just a bit warmer and in my embrace, I hoped that I could speed up the process.

I sat there for merely a while when I realised that the pony had shifted just a tiny bit and then even sighed a faint:

“A-..Anon..?”

“Yes. Yes it’s me, little darling.” I whispered into the dark, feeling a smile growing on my face, even though I was getting completely desperate just a few seconds before that. I was just so incredibly happy that she was alive. That I could actually hear her voice. “You’re going to be okay.”

“You come. For Suzzane?” Her face moved a little bit and brushed against mine.

“How could I possibly leave you out here?” I laughed over how absurd it felt in my head. “You mean everything to me, silly.”

“Where… we?” She continued, still faintly but a tad more presently. Presently enough to recall that she can use the word “we”, instead of quoting both our names. “Outside, still?”

“Yes… We’re still outside.” I admitted, partly losing my smile. “I did find you but I couldn’t find my way back. We might have to make it till morning because I got us both lost. It’s just too dark, I can’t recognise anything.”

“Suzzane stupid… Should come back… sooner. But wind start… All my fault.” Her face brushed against and withdrew from mine, as if she turned away in shame.

“Don’t say that sweetie, you’re not stupid. Don’t ever say that! Okay?” I reached with my hand from her back to where her head was, so I could guide her to face me again.

The mare made a pause, probably swallowing the sentence that she was constructing in her head. I could feel her breath on my cheek as she turned towards me again. Her nose, slightly poking my own in the cramped up space of the large winter coat.

Then, after a few more seconds, she said instead: “Anon. You always nice to Suzzane. Even when not deserve…”

“I would be happier to die here with you than live on without you.” I replied immediately, without even thinking about it. From the cold, slowly creeping up on my back though, I realised it might actually be the case if we won’t start moving again. “I love you.” I added nonetheless and kissed her.

After the kiss, I closed my eyes and gently rubbed my cheek against hers. Suddenly I felt a liquid, brushing off her onto me. For a split second, I was worried it might be blood from the wound on Suzzane’s head. The next second however, from the gentle sob I heard, I realised those were tears.

“Are you crying..?” I asked.

“Yes. Because Anon might die because me.” She sobbed again. I wasn’t sure if she somehow read my mind about how I felt or if she was just being emotional.

“No way, Suzie.” I actually felt a chuckle coming. “No way it’s gonna be like that. We’ll get moving and we’ll find our way back. Or at least some place where we can hide from the wind until morning but we are not going to die here. Neither of us. Okay?”

“Okay…” She sobbed one last time, as if forcing herself to stop.

“Now let’s get moving again. Together, we have a better chance.” I withdrew my head from inside the coat and slowly stood up. My legs and feet were freezing and I needed to make the blood circulate again. I still had no idea where I was going but at least I was walking.

Soon, Suzzane’s head stuck out from the coat as well and she was trying to orient herself about where we were. However, she had no idea either. It was dark as an abyss and even though the wind had subsided, compared to what it was a few hours ago, it was still making a mess of the forest. The tree crowns were shaking and everywhere on the ground were fallen branches; from tiny small ones to occasional ones which were as big as a small tree. Some actual trees have been ripped from the ground as well.

The biggest carnage was already over though, so that was a good thing.

I was hoping to find something, anything that I might recognise. A tree stump I sat on in the past, a hill, a land art we made with Suzzane, an actual damn road for cars or at least a path, made by animals… However, we must have unknowingly strayed too far and deep into the woods.

After what could have been like 20 minutes, just when I felt like I was slowly losing hope again, Suzzane suddenly stopped me.

“Wait!” she yelped out of a sudden and stuck out her hoof, even though she was barely conscious. She pointed me towards one especially large and old tree. “There…”

“What do you mean?” I asked as I was already making my way there.

“Come there. Ask!”

When I approached the immense tree trunk, the mare stared at it from up close and after a little while, she leaned her forehead against it. At first I feared that she might have fallen unconscious again but then it seemed as if there was a very faint glow coming from the spot where her head connected with it. I might have been just seeing things though. After all, I was also very tired.

However, after a minute of staying like that, Suzzane widely smiled, seeming a little bit energised too. She nuzzled the tree before letting go. “This way!” Her hoof pointed me in a new direction.

I didn’t question it, I just went because unlike me, she seemed to have some kind of an idea while I was completely lost. And, to our great shared joy, she was right. We have found a path, probably made by passing animals, which Suzzane told me to follow.

After a few more minutes of walking, I even started to faintly recognise certain places. We still must have been a few kilometres away from the hotel but at least we knew where to go.

Suzzane offered to walk by herself but I didn’t really want to let her. She was concussed and must have been freezing there for a few hours. Putting her back in the cold, just after she stopped feeling like an ice cube on my body, it felt like a bad idea to me. So, I carried on carrying her and I did carry her the whole rest of the way. I walked, mostly quiet but immensely motivated by finally knowing where to go.

After what could have been less than an hour, I actually saw the hotel in front of us again. It was dark because all of the residents had already gone to sleep. Only the big sign on the front was lit up and by God, was I happy to see it.

“Look Suzie, we’re back!” I laughed and sped up, finding new strength in my steps. “We’re actually back!”

The mare almost drifted into sleep in the meanwhile but my sudden jog and cheerfulness woke her up.

Soon we were at the doorstep and I was sticking keys into the backdoor, leading toward the rooms. You can not imagine the pure bliss from seeing those few square metres we’ve been calling home, from stepping in and feeling the warmth of the old radiators… As soon as we untangled ourselves from the clothes, we both went straight into the shower to regain our body heat.

It must have been like -20 outside and the wind made it ever worse, so not even the walk made us fully warm. My feet were so numb from the cold that they started to hurt when I showered them with lukewarm water at first. However, for me it was at least a sign that they are still alive and not frozen.

Then, we just sat in the shower box with Suzzane, leaning on each other’s head and letting the warm water fall on us. I only moved every few minutes to increase the heat a little bit until it was so hot that the whole shower box was filled with steam.

We were both quiet throughout the whole time, merely resting with a content smile on our faces. We didn’t really even cuddle or anything. When the water was at max heat, we merely hugged each other, enjoying the peace at last.

After what could have been half an hour, we somewhat nodded at each other in agreement that it was enough. While Sasha usually couldn’t care less about us using hot water, because the dishwashing already used up more than plenty, we couldn’t stay there forever.

I still had to dry Suzzane’s mane before we’d move to bed too. It wasn’t anything lengthy though and soon we could finally lay down. When I finally did lay my weary body down on the mattress and turned off the lights, it felt like heaven. I must have fallen asleep within a minute. Suzzane kept waking up throughout the night though.

Each time she did, I did as well because she always shifted or moaned slightly. I didn’t mind though, as I was sincerely happy that I had her back. I occasionally whispered to her to calm her down and stroked her fur. I also kept her in an embrace that whole night to keep her warm, even though she was sweating in my arms.

Sometime before the sunrise, did we finally both fall asleep long enough to call it an actual rest.

…

It’s probably a no-brainer that I didn’t go to work the next day. Sasha understood as he was happy that I made it back in the first place. There were not too many customers anyway because of the weather; Even though it was milder than the day before, it was still not something you’d usually go outside to.

My body still hurt from all the exertion and I must have caught cold too; not even the hot shower could stop the process at that point. However, Suzzane was doing a bit worse than I was. After all, she was laying there in the snow for a good few hours and since the hit from the branch was able to knock her out, it was not to be taken lightly either.

She had to stay for more than a week in bed, while I was able to return to work mere three days after the incident. However, I made sure to visit my sweet sweet, sickly poner gf on every possible occasion throughout the day. I was still a bit worried back then because I didn’t know how severely she was hurt.

Luckily, my little ladybug recovered without any permanent damage.

What happened to us…It was like a reminder that life can’t and won’t always be just rainbows and sunshine. There will always be moments that will make you touch your very low. However, surviving those moments makes you stronger and more prepared for the lesser obstacles which life throws your way.

And as they say, everything bad is good for something, yada yada…It was also because of that incident, that we learned our first song that we could both perform together. I remember that we were laying in bed two days after, still recovering, and for the time to pass a little bit quicker, I let a playlist with recommended songs quietly go on at random.

Eventually, it switched to the “In the cold cold night” from White Stripes, which was one of those songs that I’d likely skip under the normal circumstances. This time though, I let it play and it turned out to be a crucial thing for a few upcoming years.

Kinda sleepy, I listened, and as the slow melody continued, I found myself enjoying the song more and more. Maybe it was partly because of its name, which I could relate to, maybe it was just a good song. The guitar was quite easy though, like many songs from White Stripes, and because of that I decided to learn to play it.

What was even better though, was that while I was already learning the tabs throughout the next day, listening to the song many times, Suzzane was secretly memorising the lyrics. One evening after work, I thought that she was sleeping while I was quietly practising. However, at one point she started singing behind me:

“You make me feel a little older

Like a full grown woman might

But when you're gone I grow colder

Come to me again in The Cold, Cold, Night”

My jaw actually dropped a bit and I had to stop playing when I heard her singing voice for the first time. I wish you could hear it through my written words but even though she still had the cold, she actually sounded way better than Meg White, who sang the original.

I just sat there, astonished because even though I always loved the sound of her voice, I never even guessed that my Suzzane could possibly be so good at singing. It was probably because of her yet imperfect knowledge of the language that I didn’t even consider the possibility. Looking back though, it does make sense. After all, I could learn the words of a song in foreign language without actually speaking it or knowing what it means. And Suzzane was able to remember this one, even though she was not able to construct these sentences on her own yet back then.

When she finished the verse, I glanced at her with a shocked expression and she gave me back a satisfied grin.

“Oh my God, Suzzane, that was beautiful!” I finally laid down the guitar. “How did you- I didn’t even know that you could sing!”

“Song sound easy, slow and nice.” The mare gave a coy, tired smile. “Remind Suz-...Remind me how Anon come rescue me. Never forget.”

I wasn’t sure what to say to that, so I just took her hoof into my hand and lovingly caressed it, looking down to hide my blushing face. Then, I chuckled: “...You do know that the lyrics are about something a little bit different, right?”

“Suzzane know…” Suzzane grinned shamelessly, this time without correcting herself. “...But also remind of rescue.” She added a little bit more innocently.

“Do you wanna learn the whole thing then? I’ll play the guitar and you’ll sing! Soon we could perform it together, like the real White stripes! Minus the divorce.”

“Sound good.” She smiled. “But,.. later? Tired now.”

“Of course! You gotta heal up first completely…”

…