The end [C]

[Corowa]

The wind moved through the topmost branches of the snowgums, roaring up near the steep granite spur and tearing at the few gnarled trees that lined the ridge. The mare stood, sheltered by a rough outcrop of rock and sapling gum, alone but for the sound of the wind and the restless throbbing of her blood.

Myrrina felt a profound sense of loss. Something told her that he was lost to her for always, that stallion to whom she had promised life itself. A terrible longing ran hot in her blood, and the mare could feel herself listening suddenly, for the call that would surely come in the stillness of the night, a call for her and her alone. Then her hide prickled, and she felt something stir deep within, every part of her compelled by this sudden feeling of urgency.

The mare dropped her nose to the pale heap at her feet. Her nostrils quivered with a soft nicker, and she gently nudged it. It was a queer tiny foal, pure white, seemingly born of the snow-driven wind itself. The foal stirred with a faint cry. It struggled to stand, sheltering beneath the mare’s wide belly as it stood, looking nervously out into the blackness of the night.

A deep sigh ran through the mare, and she dropped suddenly to the ground. The foal whinnied shrilly, frightened by the roaring, tearing winds and of that cold, fierce rain that stung its hide. Everything seemed menacing in the strangeness of the night, and then from somewhere nearby, there came a gentle neigh. The foal stumbled blindly out into the fierceness of the storm. The force of the wind nearly knocked it off its feet, but then suddenly there was someone there in the darkness, a shadowy mare who led the foal away into the night.

Myrrina lay half-dreaming, no longer aware of the rising gale or drenching rain. The branches of the snowgums shifted, becoming the ghost of a noble black stallion. He stood with proud head upflung, waiting for his mate to return, if only she could gather the strength to go to him. The mare sunk closer to the ground, drifting towards oblivion with each breath. She quivered a little as the terrible pounding of her heart slowed, then finally it stilled, and it was ended.