i've been long gone, couldn't you tell, velkan

[Velkan]

Do you guys know how wonderful it is to be missed by someone you adore? Because, until this very moment I sure didn’t and I gotta tell you – it’s a pretty wonderful feeling. Honestly, everyone should experience this! Lilian says those four words I’m sent to the moon and then I just suffocate and die on happiness. Is this what it’s like to have friends? Can you get addicted to this feeling? “I missed you too.” I say back without hesitation, because of course it’s true! Because I want to offer Lilian even a sliver of the warmth her words have given to me. You know, after the whole suffocating part. When she asks me to tell her everything, I am very happy to oblige. “Well now! Let’s see. I made some more friends. Did you know that scales are in fashion? I’ve met so many other horses with them.” I pretend to seriously consider her for a second before I continue, my tone light and teasing. “I think you’d look good with some scales – maybe crawling up your neck. Bright yellow ones!” I laugh then, reaching out to tickle her neck with the almost-sharp point of my nose. My brain continues to flip flop around my recent memories, trying to find something else to tell Lilian, my smile brightening with each piece of nonsense I discover. “Oh my god AND I saw the most beautiful butterfly, it was almost as big as my face.” Or, at least, that’s how big it is in my memory. “Did you know butterflies eat flowers?” Or, at least, that's what I'm pretty sure was happening. Such are the ways in which I pass my busy, busy days. The laughter in my eyes dies in a flash when another memory resurfaces though and my all-black eyes shift away from the dear friend before me. But hey, I said I was going to tell her everything, right? If she'll let me, I rest my muzzle lightly in her mane before I keep talking - my voice softer now. Barely enough of a whisper to move the hairs of her mane. “One of my moms is back in the area, I caught her scent in the forest a little while ago.” Along with the scent of one of her kills, but even though I’m going to tell Lilian everything there’s limits. I’m not going to say that the scent of the blood made my stomach rumble. That I had to go find a rabbit to eat to settle it. A soft sigh escapes me before I finish this particular story with a simpler ending. “But I left before I saw her.”

photo from unsplash

@[lilian]