The Mystery of Life and a Strange Dejavu
“Wh-Wh-What’s wrong, Kayou?”
Mia ran over and saw that the horse was lying on its side, breathing hard and unsteady.
“Oh no! Oh no! Anne! Get Malong! Quick!”
“Yes, I’m on it!”
She watched Anne leave before going back to Kayou and getting on her knees.
“Hold on, Kayou.” She said in a reassuring way, “Malong will be here any second now.”
“Once he gets here—”
She heard footsteps coming from behind her.
“What’s happening? What’s the matter with Kayou?”
Malong ran through the door in a hurry.
When she saw him, she was so happy that she almost felt like her legs were going to go mushy. When she tried to move out of the way to make room for him next to the horse, she waddled awkwardly.
Mia said, “Kayou looks like she is in a lot of pain. But maybe all women give birth looking like this. I’m not sure, so…”
Her words lost their power as Malong’s face became more tense.
“…Horses can usually have their babies on their own. They shouldn’t have to ask for our help.”
He sucked his teeth.
“Unless they run into trouble…”
After a short moment of silence, he could be heard gulping. He looked Mia in the eyes.
“This could be a breech delivery.”
“A breech birth?”
Malong tried to give an explanation, but Kayou cut him off with a loud, strained whine. At the same time, a small hind leg stuck out of Kayou’s behind.
“Damn it! It’s moving too quickly. I told your attendant to go get the stable master, but they won’t make it in time at this rate. We’re going to have to do this ourselves. Help me out.”
“…Eh?”
She didn’t understand what was asked of her. She turned around and looked blankly around the stable, wondering who it could have been meant for before it came back like a boomerang and hit her.
Oh, really? Huh? Me? I-Is he speaking to me?!
She couldn’t move because she was scared, but then she saw the other two girls. Citrina looked at her with a little bit of nervousness in her eyes. Bel, on the other hand, was so happy that she was almost glowing. This was a fight she couldn’t get out of.
“All right, then. Let’s get started.”
As she looked at the hurt mother horse, her face hardened like that of a warrior.
Kayou, don’t be afraid. I want to help you. We will give you all the help you need!
Not like usual, she didn’t then think about her debts and favours. Instead, it came from a place of empathy.
In the future, I will be like this poor girl.
She felt a strong bond with the horse, so she rolled up her sleeves and was ready to do whatever it took to make sure the birth was safe for both mother and child.
Everything else was a blur.
Because she was nervous and kept trying desperately to follow Malong’s instructions, her mind didn’t have much room to store memories.
She could only remember bits and pieces of what happened: waiting for Malong’s signal, pulling with all her strength on the legs that stuck out, gasping for air, and grabbing the legs again for another try.
As soon as she came to, she found herself lying on the ground, so tired that her arms and legs couldn’t hold her weight. A baby horse was lying still in front of her, in the shadow of a kneeling Malong.
His voice slowly crept into her mind.
“—not breathing!”
He cursed, then wiped the baby’s mouth with his shirt, then put his own to it. Mia just watched him do it because she was too tired to say anything.
He let out a breath.
Once, twice, three times, four…
He kept going.
Seconds and minutes ran into each other. How long had it been? How many breaths were there? She had lost track.
Malong stood up straight and looked at the young horse.
It was still.
“Damn it,” he spat, biting his lip so hard with his teeth that it was a wonder he hadn’t cut himself.
Mia heard her own voice saying, “What?”
“No… It’s not possible…”
She numbly looked at Kayou. The eyes of the horse seemed to show sadness.
“No, we’re not giving up. Something must be there. There must be more we can do.”
She was surprised by how strong her reaction was. She didn’t realise how strong and deep the bond she had formed with Kayou was.
“We must still be able to do something. Any way to help…”
Her mind raced with hopelessness, but it didn’t help. Then help came from the last place she thought it would.
“…Try it out. It could be useful.”
Citrina moved forward one step. She put her hand out. A small cloth bag was in her hand.
“What is that?” Malong asked with a frown.
“It’s a medicinal plant,” she said with more seriousness than Mia had ever seen her show.
“To be exact, a cardiotonic. It’s meant to get the heart pumping and give it back its strength.”
Malong reached for the bag, stopped for a moment, and then shook himself out of it.
“Even if we don’t do anything, this foal won’t live. Might as well give it a try,” he muttered, but he was mostly talking to himself.
After one last moment of doubt, he took the bag and dumped its contents into the mouth of the baby horse.
Then there was a long pause.
Then came a small cough.
Malong pumped his fist and whooped with happiness.
“Yes! He is breathing!”
As if on cue, the tiny foal started to shiver and move its legs to try to stand up. Mia took a deep breath in and then let it out. She felt the tension leave her body.
“We did it!”
She turned to look at Citrina.
“Thank you, Rina, very much. You saved the life of this baby horse!”
“Your Highness, there’s no need to thank Rina. I’m just glad I was able to help.”
Citrina smiled her usual sweet smile and didn’t say anything else. Mia gave her a nod of acknowledgement and then turned to kneel next to Kayou.
“You did a great job… You gave birth to a healthy little foal.”
She gently touched the animal’s neck. When it looked at her, its eyes were calm, but she thought she could see in them the confidence of someone who had just done something big.
“Mmm hm hm. Now, I think it’s time for me to give the baby a good look. Everyone wants to take a look, so it looks like you will have to wait, Kayou.”
She laughed as she walked over to the young horse. She had a thought as she was going.
So, I’m curious about who Kayou’s partner is. No matter what kind of horse he is, I’m sure he’s great…
Mia’s feelings for Kayou had grown so strong that they were almost like a spiritual connection. She felt so close to the horse that she couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began. It was as if the girl and the horse were merging into one.
When she looked at Kayou, it was like she was seeing her future self. So, she had no doubt that the mate Kayou had chosen for her was a very good horse.
Why? Because Mia knew she knew what kind of men she liked. If Kayou was her soulmate horse, then…
Her brow furrowed as she looked at the baby horse.
“Wow, something about this horse seems familiar… I still can’t put my finger on it…”
She suddenly felt like she had been there before, but she couldn’t figure out why. She leaned in and moved her face closer to get a better look.
Then she saw that its tiny nostrils were moving.
Ker-choo!
It sneezed like a cute baby. She had a big realisation after getting a little bit of baby horse snot on her. Well, she would have if her brain hadn’t shut down her ability to think logically in an effort to keep herself from understanding.
After all, Mia cared a lot about Kayou, so much so that she thought of the horse as her future self. And she chose men very well. So there was no way Kayou would have chosen that stupid, useless jackass to be his mate.
Faced with this logical problem, her subconscious took the reins and slapped the horse of her thoughts, sending them soaring over the answer and galloping into the unknown horizon.
“…Hm, I wonder why horses keep sneezing on me. It could be a curse or something.”
Sadly, it’s in people’s nature not to see what they don’t want to see.
