Post by S u N f r O s T ~ on Jul 6, 2012 16:56:16 GMT -5
FLASHY WINGS AND HENNA TURATH
Henna's mind was haunted. Their third place finish in the Breeders Cup Classic haunted her. That demon, Sunset Crusade, had placed ahead of them, again. They had beaten the colt but once, and he consistently placed ahead of them. It was obvious to Henna that this could mean only one thing - he was better than them on the dirt. And on the turf, Flash likely didn't stand a chance against Executioner's Apprentice. He would likely fall against him too. This would make him the second best on both surfaces, and Henna hated to put the words "second" and "Flashy Wings" in the same sentence.
The speed of her thoughts increased as they further made their way onto the abandoned dirt track. This track was away from the main hustle and bustle of The Wire, and Henna found herself liking the silence. It was calming compared to what she could only define as the agony of her everyday life right now. Flash had big expectations to live up to. He was already a champion, and Henna wanted the stallion to make his full mark on the track before retiring. They needed to work harder if they wanted to triumph on both surfaces. They needed to prove that they were still the best if they wanted the eternal success that Henna knew should be theirs.
Birdsong was oddly muted as they began to trot along. Henna took note of the track conditions. The dirt was obviously not mowed, so kicked up a lot of dust as Flash trotted, but it wasn't terrible. The footing was a bit stiffer than what you would find on a normal track, but they would just have to adapt. The track rails were not a pristine white, but instead were a bit of a light brown color. The place obviously looked like it wasn't being maintained, but that was the point. Rumor had it that ghosts haunted this abandoned track. They came out at night, and some said they had seen them in the day as well. Henna didn't care. She was too consumed in her own thoughts to care. Flash wasn't even on edge; why should she get all concerned over the rumors of others?
Cantering along, Henna found herself slowly relaxing. She knew that she stood a great chance at proving Flash this year. They had plenty of time and Flash already had great credentials. They would do fine! Henna kept telling herself that as she went along, humming as she did so. Her thoughts were slowly being uplifted. She cued Flash to gallop and the pace was glorious. It was fast and promised more speed in every stride. Being alone on the track meant Henna could focus more on why she loved riding. The sensation she got as she rode along easily, the sensation of flying - that was what she did this for.
All of a sudden, Flash lunged forward. Henna was taken aback at the stallion's sudden desire to go faster. Had he seen another horse? She looked ahead and saw a blurry gray horse tearing around the last turn maybe two hundred meters ahead. She smirked. They would just have to catch those two! She clucked to Flash and let him loose. The dirt was made into a sandstorm by his hooves and Henna just knew that that other horse would be overtaken soon. But as she kept looking, the gray horse didn't get any closer. And when she and Flash finally got off of the turn, he was gone!
Confused, she looked all over for the horse before calling it quits. Had she just seen a ghost on the haunted track? As unlikely as it was, that seemed to have just happened. Henna shook her head as she rode a steaming Flash off of the track. She couldn't wait to tell this story!
