💜Snippets💜 - The Gorge

The Gorge

PRESENT  DAY

She used her fork to pick up another piece of her favorite fluffy, banana-flavored pancake and gazed out of the large kitchen window as the cinnamon syrup burst with flavor in her mouth. Yet, she stopped chewing her breakfast when she got a glimpse of the massive gorge that lay in the distance. She pushed her plate away, despite having tasted the delicious pancake and the juicy, red, hand-picked strawberries from her grandma's garden that lay in a pretty china dish beside the plate. 

"What's wrong sweetheart? Is the flavor too strong?", her mother asked. She immediately understood, with a quick glance at the quite unreadable expression plastered across Natalie's face. "It's been 17 months, Natalie. I think you're ready to face it now."

"MOM!! Are you out of your mind?!! I almost died. Nutmeg died. I loved her beyond comparison. Are you asking me to risk Chestnut now?!!", Natalie screamed, as she leapt up from her seat and stormed towards the stables, the only place she could be without being pressurized or judged. 

She sat outside the stable and cried for a while, but upon hearing Chestnut whinnying, she furiously brushed away her tears and ran inside. She walked Chestnut out and onto the lush green pasture they had for the horses to enjoy some leisure time. She positioned her boot into the stirrup and hoisted herself onto the saddle. Stroking his white mane, she sighed to herself. The date of the age-old tradition of mounting a horse to leap over the fated gorge was approaching quickly and Natalie was in a vulnerable position. "If only I had listened", she said to no one in particular.

She spent the next few hours alternatively walking and riding Chestnut. Natalie then let Chestnut graze and chase squirrels for a while as she ate her simple lunch of French toast with ketchup and watched the playful side of him with twinkling eyes. 

The sunset outside was a brilliant hue of red mixed with orange and pink with slights tints of dull yellow. Back in the stable, Natalie brushed Chestnut's coat softly but firmly, ensuring that after just a few repetitive strokes, his coat shone. She checked his hooves to ensure his horseshoes were firm and not loose. That's how she lost Nutmeg. 

17 MONTHS AGO

"You look smart. Dressed in your classic checked maroon shirt, white jeans and shiny black boots. But are you ready is the question."

"And Tan may I ask you, WHY do you ask such things?"

"Nothing Natalie..."

"Show some respect Tanaya. I'm older than you."

Clearly flustered, Tanaya retorted, "Oh alright sis, it's just that, since today's the big day, you might be forgetting something in your nervousness or excited state. Have you made all the precautionary checks?"

"Don't you worry Tanaya. EVERYTHING will go smooth. Just you see. Anyway, Dad's calling. He's probably gonna rocket on about his first time in the Rocky Road Rangers again. See ya later Tan!" Natalie ran down the stairs and slid into the living room.

"Bye sis! You show those old ranch folks what you've got!!", she yelled.  As Tanaya followed her older sister Natalie down the spiraled stairway, she quietly muttered, "why do I feel like something will go horribly wrong?". 

"Nats, I know you're not hungry, but it's better to eat a little. The last thing I need is you fainting out of exhaustion. The sun's scorching heat won't do you any good today, so eat up and drink plenty of water." 

"I know dad, you don't have to worry about me. Mom's made my favorite fluffy banana-flavored pancakes with cinnamon syrup, so how could I NOT be hungry?!!"

"That's my girl", Brandon said as he patted his daughter's head. He turned to his wife, "I'll be out in the field Miranda. Ask Natalie to meet me there with Nutmeg." And with those words, he ventured out the back door.

Natalie gulped down her breakfast and dashed to the stables, mindful of the few lines of advice her mother gave her. She kissed the side of Nutmeg's head, ran her hand through the young horse's mane, and took hold of the reins, leading the mare out and into the field. Nutmeg was truly a beauty. She was young, powerful, a wonderful companion and her shiny coat was an intoxicatingly rich shade of brown. Nutmeg's brown eyes were soft, yet ready for adventure and they complimented her looks as well. In other words, Nutmeg was Natalie's Black Beauty.

They walked in silence to where Natalie's dad stood, Nutmeg whinnying every two minutes or so. Folks from all over their humble town were there at the gorge to witness the spectacular event. It was an old family tradition, but now it was more like a friendly competition. Her cousins Ada and Adrien were there to cheer her on while she was up against her older cousins Margaret and her Quarter horse Abigail , Dennis and his Tennessee Walker Jennie, and Blake with his impressive black stallion Thunder. The scene itself was quite a sight, the gorge massive, and a symbol of determination and strength, with townsfolk gathered all around the edges. At the very bottom, say at least five-hundred meters deep, was a rushing creek that supplied water all across the town. Little green plants grew in-between the cracks and crevices that lay on either side of the gorge. The competition was about to begin. The line up was about two-hundred feet away from the gorge so that the horses and their riders would have enough time to gear up for jumping over the gorge. Whoever made it to the finish line two-hundred feet on the other side of the gorge, would be declared the 'Winner of the Generation'. Each jockey was very, very excited. They had been preparing for this day for endless weeks. Training, and training some more.

Being the winner of the previous generation, Mrs. Sierra was the host, referee and award presenter for the ongoing competition. The countdown began. Five, four, three, two, one. The entire crowd chanted in unison as Mrs. Sierra blew her blue whistle. Each horse ran like the wind, while each rider urged their horse on, to be faster than the others. Nutmeg was in the lead. That's when the catastrophe began. 

Nutmeg started losing speed. It wasn't a drastic change, so Natalie chose to ignore it. But just a few feet away from the gorge, Natalie realized that something wasn't right. Nutmeg was close to limping as she ran, trying to overtake the other horses. The horseshoe on Nutmeg's hoof was almost dangling every time she lifted her leg to sprint forward. This was bad, bad news. It meant that Nutmeg was in pain. As a fast horse, Nutmeg needed her horseshoes to be tightened every once in a while to ensure that she could run quickly and over any landscape at ease, without damaging her legs or hooves. But if not tightened and cleaned properly, it was sure to cause harm to both the horse and rider. It was too late to stop now. If Natalie turned around with a fashioned U-turn, she was sure to collide with another rider, and if she immediately halted Nutmeg, the severe change in speed would be enough to throw Natalie over the edge and into the gorge in a split second. Natalie hoped for the best. Just as Nutmeg was about to fly over the edge, her horseshoe fell off. The width of the valley was seven feet. Everything went smooth until Nutmeg hit the other side. She landed on the hoof that left the horseshoe behind. A tremendous jolt of pain coursed through Nutmeg's body at the sudden impact and she toppled backwards. Into the gorge. It was a freefall and a blur from there. 

Natalie only faintly remembered falling onto a cluster of branches from a tree that had been growing upwards from the cracks on the side of the gorge. Nutmeg hadn't been as lucky. She plunged all the way down to the bottom. Five-hundred meters, and then her body was swept away by the current of the creek. Nutmeg's body was soon found and cremated with due respect at the very bottom of the gorge. She was a powerful mare, no doubt. But even she could not withstand the power of the gorge. 

Natalie was rescued and treated for her wounds, but the trauma affected her all day and all night. She had lost her horse. No, she had lost her best friend. Nutmeg was the first to cross the gap. If Nutmeg hadn't fallen, then Nutmeg and Natalie would have been the Winners of the Generation. It didn't matter anymore. Only Natalie knew how many hours she spent crying over the edge of the cliff, all along hoping it was just a nightmare and that she would once again hear Nutmeg whinnying. It was pointless. The silence was her only companion.

BACK TO PRESENT DAY

She felt like it all happened just yesterday, the memory still as crystal clear as it was a year ago. Tears fell from her soft amber eyes as she remembered Nutmeg's favorite comb and horseshoes. She was warned, but she was too overwhelmed, over the top with overconfidence, It was all her fault. Every single day, for the past 17 months, she was never able to forgive herself for the biggest mistake she made in her life, and she never would. She fed Chestnut his oats, lay his hay bedding for him and made sure he was comfy. She then read a little bed-time story for him and returned to the coziness of the covers in her own bedroom. She looked around. All around her soft-green shaded bedroom, were paintings and trophies.

Covering the vast canvas were pictures of Natalie and Nutmeg growing up side by side, each one a different phase of the timeline. She opened her desk-drawer and pulled out the horseshoe with trembling hands. She held it tightly and shivered as the cold metal came in contact with her warm skin. It was Nutmeg's horseshoe. The horseshoe that she forgot to check and tighten. The very horseshoe that symbolized her carelessness and Nutmeg's death. "I'm so so sorry Nutmeg. I won't make the same mistake again", she whispered. She left the horseshoe on top of the drawers and turned around so that her back was now facing the desk. She sighed deeply and closed her eyes, inviting sleep to take over her.

Even in her dreams, Natalie had to battle with her subconscious mind.

"You'll never know if you never try. You know what to do this time."

"But what if I make the same mistake? What if I lose Chestnut?"

"Do you want the nightmares to haunt you forever?"

"No...But I'm not ready!"

"In that case Natalie, you'll NEVER be ready. You MUST face your fears this time. It's the only way you'll ever be able to move on. This is what Nutmeg would have wanted and you know that. She may not have understood what a family tradition or a trophy meant, but she would have wanted you to be happy, and that's all that matters."

"Do you think I'll be okay after this? Do you really think I have it in me?"

"As I said, you'll never know if you never try. There's only one way to find out. So BE PREPARED."

And with those words ringing in her brain, Natalie woke up to the morning rays.

She rubbed her eyes and stretched, grateful for the new day and for what it was to bring. She showered quickly and raced to breakfast after a quick glance at the horseshoe that lay quietly on her desk, oblivious to the world. She still loathed herself, but this time she was determined. She struggled to eat her breakfast for she was far too excited. Her mother raised an eyebrow but didn't ask. After breakfast, Natalie raced outside and then back inside to give her mom and younger sister each a big bear hug. Not wanting to disturb her dad who was reading his newspaper, she simply kissed his forehead and then made her way to the stables. She cheerfully petted the other horses. Her mother Miranda used to ride Balto Celtic, a fearless white stallion that she had managed to tame while her father Brandon still went on morning walks with his white mare Rosette. Tanaya and Natalie each had two horses of their own. Tanaya had a filly named Izzy and a colt named Marc, while Natalie had a Quarter horse named Nutmeg and a Tennessee Walker named Chestnut, of which only Chestnut remained. She stroked Chestnut gently and then took hold of his reins, leading him in the direction of her favorite tree-house.

"Chestnut", she said, "I love you as much as I loved Nutmeg. Losing you, will be as devastating a blow to me and I will NEVER EVER EVER let that happen. Do you trust me?" She glanced into Chestnut's sparkling eyes. He was happy. Did she really need to do this? But, her dream. Was it really possible to change her perception of the gorge? She feared it. Would overcoming that fear help her escape the cruelties she sometimes imposed upon herself? There was no point in just thinking about it. She would really have to give it a try. Thinking in this way, she mounted Chestnut and rode against the wind.

Natalie practiced every day over the next few days to enhance her mind and body control. She checked on Chestnut regularly, ensuring that he too was physically and mentally stable. Even her parents were surprised, for they thought that Natalie had surely given up on training once she lost Nutmeg. This time, Natalie had to be precise. Even the smallest flaw could lead to the biggest of fatalities, death. Natalie could only hope that she was right.

The day arrived. Natalie felt jittery yet confident. Confident. Not over-confident. She quickly showered, got dressed and ran to the dining hall for breakfast, where everyone was already gathered. She was prepared. She had already written down a list of all the precautionary checks to be made and showed them to her sister and dad, gotten approval, and then went to tick off the items from the list. She finished up her oats and ran to the stable to make the final checks, among which was to make sure that Chestnut's horseshoes were firmly secured. 

She climbed onto her beautiful Tennessee Walker and let Chestnut trot all the way to the line-up. Since the winner hadn't been declared the last time, this was the final chance for the generation, after which a winner would be decided for sure. Mrs. Sierra took the lead again, remaining the host, referee and award presenter, and Natalie was up against her former contestants. The countdown soon began. Five, four, three, two, one. The entire, lively crowd of townsfolk chanted in unison as Mrs. Sierra blew her blue whistle. 

Each horse ran with a speed almost equivalent to that of the wind, while each rider excitedly urged their horse on, to be faster than the others. Sure Chestnut was fast, but he was never as fast as Nutmeg. His legs were mighty strong and he was an able horse with a very high level of endurance. That's what set him apart from the other horses. Covering the two-hundred feet distance seemed to take forever, but the gap was nearing. Over the last few days, Natalie had trained Chestnut to not fear the gorge by repeatedly bringing him over, so that even if she became mentally unstable due to the memories, Chestnut would still be able to make it across. 

Three, Two, One. Chestnut kicked off from the ground and almost literally flew over the gap. He was quite a bit shorter than Nutmeg, so the strong power packed in his smaller body was the only thing keeping him up in the air. Natalie closed her eyes throughout, afraid she would pass out from fear, but at last she opened her amber eyes and was amazed at what she saw. She saw the creek and the lush greenery all around it, while the sand-colored gorge stood with an authority of its own. She no longer feared it. She embraced it now. Chestnut landed on the other side with a mighty thud and ran all the way to the finish line. Blake bagged the Winner of the Generation while Natalie stood as Runner-up. Margaret came in third while Dennis stood fourth. Even though Natalie didn't win the competition, she was the happiest one that day as she retired to pat Chestnut and feed him heartily. All in all, she was the winner.