It had been such a long year. Winter sighed and closed her eyes. She could feel a headache brewing just behind her eyes. She was so very tired. Ironically, her sclera had begun to match her ruby pupils. The stress was getting to her. At another time in her life she might have gone out on adventures, but lately she didn’t want to leave her meadow, her home. The few times she did it wasn’t pleasant.
Winter braced herself, for today it would be another unpleasant trip. She glanced down at her sleeping foals. In sleep they were perfect, absolutely perfect. In waking hours…well they were your typical highly active youths. In their meadow, everything was fine. Tiring, mostly because she no longer had that burst of youth like they did - but everything was fine. Things were only problematic with her youngest, Winter Skye, when he was away from home. And that’s where they were headed, away from home to a nearby meadow for a foal play group.
What should have been a totally normal and even fun time often ended in tears and a quick trip home. At this point, she was really beginning to wonder why they were still going if the only thing that happened was that they were sent away again. Winter Skye, who also looked like a younger version of his mother, wasn’t learning nor was he able to spend time with his friends. That was the whole point of this play group, to learn and play with friends. Instead, he’d throw a fit if lessons changed suddenly or he wasn’t ready to stop playing. The other foals had no issue transitioning from play to learning, but her son did.
With each play group the behaviors grew worse. One time he was even mean to the other foals, his friends! They were promptly sent home and did not return for a few days. But Winter wasn’t giving up just yet on this play group. It was important that Winter Skye got to be around other foals, not just herself and his brother, and learn things that she couldn’t teach him all on her own. Despite his previous actions the young foals all seemed to welcome him back, even excited to see and play with him. Maybe his behavior wasn’t that bad? Or perhaps they were just little and didn’t see his behavior as abnormal? Though it was a different story with the adults. Winter could feel the tension every single time. She would try to stay positive around her boys, she didn’t want that feeling to influence their experience.
The last straw had been when he had run off from the play group. How? Adult soquili were there. The whole time, the leader had added. Winter had done a mental eye roll at that. The way things were…were not working. Today, she’d be telling them just that. She could feel the dread filling her as she woke her sleepy colts from their slumber. She smiled at them and told them it was time to get ready. They would be going to the other meadow to play. They were going to have a good day, she told them. She could hardly eat but she made certain that her little ones were fed with some grains from their stores.
Her boys appeared to be in good spirits, but she was determined to set her hoof down this time. In her mind she had been preparing all night as to what she would say, how the scenario would go. The trek was quick but once they arrived the leader of the play group was not there. It seemed her plan would be easier then. She spoke briefly with another parent and they agreed to send the message along, they were taking a break from the play group. All seemed well, and Winter Skye seemed quite happy to come home with his family. It wasn’t until the next day that Winter had any inkling that something was wrong. A songbird was sent to deliver the message. The blue bird announced that Winter and family needed to return and pick up some things. The young mother agreed.
Another short trip and they were back in the play group’s meadow. Something felt off. The day before, Winter had been prepared and today she was not. The leader and her sister pulled her and her colts aside. They insisted that Winter Skye was to stay in the group. They bombarded Winter with empty promises and ridiculous claims. The two kept speaking over the young mother. She was growing more frustrated with each passing moment, her heart thumped loudly in her chest. She tried to interject with logic and her view of things, but every single time it was ignored and brushed away as nonsense. Finally, Winter had enough. She let that frustration boil into anger. She put her hoof down and told them, “No, we’re done here.”
Word Count: 825
