Imagine falling into a Jusenkyo spring, and never finding out how to release the curse…
River Wind
By Dan Stickney
Based on concepts and characters created by Rumiko Takahashi
*****
Chapter 4 - Homecoming
I would have never imagined the reception I got when I returned to Japan.
I mean, who would have imagined that all of those people would have gotten up in the middle of the night (and why is always the middle of the night?) to greet a horse at the airport.
Oh, all right, so it wasn't that many people. It was maybe twenty or thirty horse fanatics. Still, that's more people than I would have expected to come. I'm only an animal, after all.
However, the really big thing happened the next day, back at the stable. Halfway through the morning, a group of unsmiling men in suits arrived and took up station all around the barn. They all had the same sort of "ready for the monster" body language that used to unnerve me as a school horse. Only Keiko's constant presence kept me from getting really agitated. I had no idea what was happening (all together now: why tell me? I'm just an animal) when a tall man with iron grey hair was escorted down the stable aisle, and everyone bowed. And suddenly, I knew who it was, and I realized with a start just how big we'd made it. He put Keiko at ease with a few quiet sentences, gave me a carrot, and stroked my nose gently. I couldn't help but warm up to him, because he was obviously a horseman from way back.
They say a cat can look at a king. I guess a horse can look at an emperor, too.
****
Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit.
I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead. And all I can do is stand here suffering until someone comes to euthanize me
We were just coming up on the middle oxer when I felt a horrible stabbing pain in my right front hoof. I made the takeoff all right but the leg folded on landing and I went down, squealing in terror. Instinctively, I rolled with the fall and came back up my feet, ready to bolt, only to be brought up short when I couldn't put any weight on that leg. The best I could do was move in a hopping circle. I'd only completed one circuit around myself when an insanely brave course worker caught my bridle.
Shit shit shit. I think my leg is broken. I shouldn't have to tell you what that means.
Dimly, I wonder if it's going to be a bullet or a syringe, fast or slow, and how much it's going to hurt. I'd be screaming if I weren't in shock.
Unfortunately, I'm not the only one hurt --the boyfriend hasn't gotten up. I think I might have rolled over him. God, I hope not. I must weigh more than half a ton.
Suddenly, I catch a familiar scent. It's my lady. I scan the crowd, hoping to catch some glimpse of her. Oh why did she allow her boyfriend to enter me in this charity grand prix? I didn't trust him enough. It was a tragedy waiting to happen.
Still, I'm glad my lady is here. At least she'll be able to hold my head until the end comes.
There she is, rushing out of the crowd... rushing right past me, as if I wasn't there... rushing to him.
And all I can do is stand there, waiting to be killed, while my lady Keiko rushes off with another, not sparing me so much as a backwards glance. And why should she? I'm only an animal, after all.
****
I'm home finally, back in my own familiar stall, though it doesn't comfort me. I feel worse than I did when they broke me back in China, so long ago.
My injury, while painful, didn't turn out to be serious. A hoof puncture, from some stray bit of metal I suppose, and a sprained pastern. Still, those hours spent thinking I was about to die were the most frightening experience of my whole life, Jusenkyo included.
From what I've overheard (as usual, no one ever tells me anything directly) Keiko's boyfriend wasn't badly hurt, and we're both expected to make a full recovery, though no one can say if I'll ever be fit enough to event again.
My body is recovering, my soul is another matter.
Do animals even have souls? Because that's all I am, an animal; I know that now
I know I've had that thought many times before, but that was different. Before, I was always being ironic.
I'm not being ironic any more. Irony is, after all, a human trait.
I thought I was a human once, merely cursed to assume this shape.
I was wrong.
Oh, it was true once. When I first climbed out of that pool at Jusenkyo, I was a man in a horse's body. But over the years my humanity seems to have evaporated leaving... a mare with delusions of grandeur.
My lady Keiko comes to soak my foot every night. Despite it all, I can't think of her any other way; she is still my lady. If she asked me to, I would run until I dropped dead from exhaustion. What horse wouldn't? But no animal has the right to expect such loyalty in return.
I shouldn't have been surprised that she went to him instead of me. She's a woman now. Girls may love horses, but women love men. She does love me, I'm sure of it. But he's her mate. I'm just… a pet.
The sound of my lady's voice disturbs my thoughts. She went to get more hot water for my foot. I look up, just in time to see her trip....
And raise my hands to my face in shock, as I stand there with a halter draped stupidly around my neck.
*****
Keiko is crying, and why shouldn't she be? It's not every day that the horse of your dreams turns into a naked gaijin.
It's funny, but up until now I never really knew what she looked like. Horses identify people by smell as much as anything else.
And to think that a splash of hot water was all it took to reverse the curse, and make me a man again. It's too awful to be funny. If only I'd stayed and listened to the guide, I'd have been cured years ago.
But horses run. It's our only defense. Maybe I was already more horse than I thought.
Quickly I dash into the tack room, and grab the first grooming smock I can get my hands on. Then I'm out the door, and gone.
****
Man, it's cold out here.
I've decided that I'm going to go directly to the nearest police station, and tell them exactly what happened to me. They're bound to think I'm crazy, and commit me somewhere, but I don't care. In fact, I'm sure that's exactly what I need right now.
Of course, that assumes that I can even get to the end of this street. I'm too scared to move at the moment.
I'm scared to move because I can't make much sense of what's going on around me. Try as I might I can't smell hardly anything, and I'm practically deaf to boot. It feels like my head's been wrapped in something I can't take off. And the eyes...
The eyes are horrible, with permanent tunnel vision, little ability to discriminate motion, no night vision to speak of, and these awful, garish colors that obscure as much as they reveal.
Worst of all, I can only see in one direction. What if something were to sneak up on me from the other side?
It doesn't help that I feel like I'm constantly on the verge of toppling over. What a horrible body this is, all awful angles and dangling things. Nothing like the sleek beauty I used to have.
How do humans stand living this way?
Suddenly, I hear a noise behind me, and I bolt. I don't know why I'm running, or where, and I can't look back without losing track of where I'm going...
*****
Thank God the nightmare is over, and I'm finally home.
Thank god I fell in the puddle before I got too far. The cold water restored me to normal, and here I am, back in my old familiar stall. I can't help but sigh contentedly as my lady brushes my flanks.
I guess I caused quite a stir there for a while. It's not every day that you find a world-class event horse quietly grazing in a city park.
Amazingly, no one even questioned how I got there. With my reputation as a scamp, I guess everyone just assumed that I'd once again let myself out of my stall. It's just as well. Keiko sure as heck wasn't going to tell them the truth. Who'd believe her?
Keiko and I have experimented with hot and cold water. I've found that I can stand being human for a little while, as long as I have my back to something, but I don't like it much. Thankfully, we can do most of our communicating without it, as long as she sticks to yes-no questions, and remembers not to cue my answers.
Between my pidgin Japanese and her schoolgirl English, we've come to an understanding. She's promised me I'll never be sold. In exchange, I've agreed to be bred when my eventing career is over. I never realized just how expensive horses are in Japan. Her family has sacrificed a lot to support me, and a few foals would go a long way towards paying that back. Of course, I did insist on getting final approval on any stud. After all, I do have a better eye (and nose) for horseflesh than she does.
Besides, I have my own reasons to want babies. Aren't we all programmed to reproduce ourselves? If I'm lucky, some of the finest horses of the next century will carry my name in their pedigree. It's the closest thing to immortality I'll ever get.
I even managed to get her to promise me one of those misting fans.
Keiko's been in contact with the Jusenkyo guide. She says he told her about someone here in Japan who may be able to help me fix this curse, so I don't have to be afraid someone will accidentally change me into a human anymore. She giggled when she told me about this guy; apparently, his name means "wild horse."
I never told her what my human name was, and I never will. I earned my name. I am the river wind. Nothing outruns the river wind.
Why would I wish to remain a horse? Simple, it's what I am. It's what I've been for years now; I just didn't want to admit it.
Besides, as a man, I was nobody's prize. Overfed, undertall, and ugly to boot. As a horse, I'm exceptional; an international champion.
I imagine you think I'm an idiot, but I'm not. In fact, for a horse, I'm a genius.
*****
The short-haired girl sighed, and dropped the dipper back into the ornate pail at her feet. Moving carefully, she carefully emptied the larger vessel onto the ground; taking such care that one would think she was disarming a bomb instead of merely emptying a bucket. Only when the odd bucket was safely emptied and sealed inside a larger container did she dare return to where the pigtailed boy waited, sitting on a hay bail and hugging himself as if he were cold. "Are you going to be OK?" She asked him quietly.
"Yeah, I guess." He muttered, sounding unconvinced. "It's just that…" he trailed off, gesturing to where a young woman was leading a horse back to its stall.
"Yeah, I know." The girl sat down next to him and patted his knee gently. He was taking this rather harder than she'd expected, but then she wasn't the one who was being forced to confront her worst nightmare. "Ranma… I really think it's better this way. At least she's happy now."
"Yeah, I guess," the boy repeated. He looked up at the retreating pair one last time, and shuddered.
*****
River Wind
By Dan Stickney
Based on concepts and characters created by Rumiko Takahashi
*****
Chapter 4 - Homecoming
I would have never imagined the reception I got when I returned to Japan.
I mean, who would have imagined that all of those people would have gotten up in the middle of the night (and why is always the middle of the night?) to greet a horse at the airport.
Oh, all right, so it wasn't that many people. It was maybe twenty or thirty horse fanatics. Still, that's more people than I would have expected to come. I'm only an animal, after all.
However, the really big thing happened the next day, back at the stable. Halfway through the morning, a group of unsmiling men in suits arrived and took up station all around the barn. They all had the same sort of "ready for the monster" body language that used to unnerve me as a school horse. Only Keiko's constant presence kept me from getting really agitated. I had no idea what was happening (all together now: why tell me? I'm just an animal) when a tall man with iron grey hair was escorted down the stable aisle, and everyone bowed. And suddenly, I knew who it was, and I realized with a start just how big we'd made it. He put Keiko at ease with a few quiet sentences, gave me a carrot, and stroked my nose gently. I couldn't help but warm up to him, because he was obviously a horseman from way back.
They say a cat can look at a king. I guess a horse can look at an emperor, too.
****
Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit.
I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead. And all I can do is stand here suffering until someone comes to euthanize me
We were just coming up on the middle oxer when I felt a horrible stabbing pain in my right front hoof. I made the takeoff all right but the leg folded on landing and I went down, squealing in terror. Instinctively, I rolled with the fall and came back up my feet, ready to bolt, only to be brought up short when I couldn't put any weight on that leg. The best I could do was move in a hopping circle. I'd only completed one circuit around myself when an insanely brave course worker caught my bridle.
Shit shit shit. I think my leg is broken. I shouldn't have to tell you what that means.
Dimly, I wonder if it's going to be a bullet or a syringe, fast or slow, and how much it's going to hurt. I'd be screaming if I weren't in shock.
Unfortunately, I'm not the only one hurt --the boyfriend hasn't gotten up. I think I might have rolled over him. God, I hope not. I must weigh more than half a ton.
Suddenly, I catch a familiar scent. It's my lady. I scan the crowd, hoping to catch some glimpse of her. Oh why did she allow her boyfriend to enter me in this charity grand prix? I didn't trust him enough. It was a tragedy waiting to happen.
Still, I'm glad my lady is here. At least she'll be able to hold my head until the end comes.
There she is, rushing out of the crowd... rushing right past me, as if I wasn't there... rushing to him.
And all I can do is stand there, waiting to be killed, while my lady Keiko rushes off with another, not sparing me so much as a backwards glance. And why should she? I'm only an animal, after all.
****
I'm home finally, back in my own familiar stall, though it doesn't comfort me. I feel worse than I did when they broke me back in China, so long ago.
My injury, while painful, didn't turn out to be serious. A hoof puncture, from some stray bit of metal I suppose, and a sprained pastern. Still, those hours spent thinking I was about to die were the most frightening experience of my whole life, Jusenkyo included.
From what I've overheard (as usual, no one ever tells me anything directly) Keiko's boyfriend wasn't badly hurt, and we're both expected to make a full recovery, though no one can say if I'll ever be fit enough to event again.
My body is recovering, my soul is another matter.
Do animals even have souls? Because that's all I am, an animal; I know that now
I know I've had that thought many times before, but that was different. Before, I was always being ironic.
I'm not being ironic any more. Irony is, after all, a human trait.
I thought I was a human once, merely cursed to assume this shape.
I was wrong.
Oh, it was true once. When I first climbed out of that pool at Jusenkyo, I was a man in a horse's body. But over the years my humanity seems to have evaporated leaving... a mare with delusions of grandeur.
My lady Keiko comes to soak my foot every night. Despite it all, I can't think of her any other way; she is still my lady. If she asked me to, I would run until I dropped dead from exhaustion. What horse wouldn't? But no animal has the right to expect such loyalty in return.
I shouldn't have been surprised that she went to him instead of me. She's a woman now. Girls may love horses, but women love men. She does love me, I'm sure of it. But he's her mate. I'm just… a pet.
The sound of my lady's voice disturbs my thoughts. She went to get more hot water for my foot. I look up, just in time to see her trip....
And raise my hands to my face in shock, as I stand there with a halter draped stupidly around my neck.
*****
Keiko is crying, and why shouldn't she be? It's not every day that the horse of your dreams turns into a naked gaijin.
It's funny, but up until now I never really knew what she looked like. Horses identify people by smell as much as anything else.
And to think that a splash of hot water was all it took to reverse the curse, and make me a man again. It's too awful to be funny. If only I'd stayed and listened to the guide, I'd have been cured years ago.
But horses run. It's our only defense. Maybe I was already more horse than I thought.
Quickly I dash into the tack room, and grab the first grooming smock I can get my hands on. Then I'm out the door, and gone.
****
Man, it's cold out here.
I've decided that I'm going to go directly to the nearest police station, and tell them exactly what happened to me. They're bound to think I'm crazy, and commit me somewhere, but I don't care. In fact, I'm sure that's exactly what I need right now.
Of course, that assumes that I can even get to the end of this street. I'm too scared to move at the moment.
I'm scared to move because I can't make much sense of what's going on around me. Try as I might I can't smell hardly anything, and I'm practically deaf to boot. It feels like my head's been wrapped in something I can't take off. And the eyes...
The eyes are horrible, with permanent tunnel vision, little ability to discriminate motion, no night vision to speak of, and these awful, garish colors that obscure as much as they reveal.
Worst of all, I can only see in one direction. What if something were to sneak up on me from the other side?
It doesn't help that I feel like I'm constantly on the verge of toppling over. What a horrible body this is, all awful angles and dangling things. Nothing like the sleek beauty I used to have.
How do humans stand living this way?
Suddenly, I hear a noise behind me, and I bolt. I don't know why I'm running, or where, and I can't look back without losing track of where I'm going...
*****
Thank God the nightmare is over, and I'm finally home.
Thank god I fell in the puddle before I got too far. The cold water restored me to normal, and here I am, back in my old familiar stall. I can't help but sigh contentedly as my lady brushes my flanks.
I guess I caused quite a stir there for a while. It's not every day that you find a world-class event horse quietly grazing in a city park.
Amazingly, no one even questioned how I got there. With my reputation as a scamp, I guess everyone just assumed that I'd once again let myself out of my stall. It's just as well. Keiko sure as heck wasn't going to tell them the truth. Who'd believe her?
Keiko and I have experimented with hot and cold water. I've found that I can stand being human for a little while, as long as I have my back to something, but I don't like it much. Thankfully, we can do most of our communicating without it, as long as she sticks to yes-no questions, and remembers not to cue my answers.
Between my pidgin Japanese and her schoolgirl English, we've come to an understanding. She's promised me I'll never be sold. In exchange, I've agreed to be bred when my eventing career is over. I never realized just how expensive horses are in Japan. Her family has sacrificed a lot to support me, and a few foals would go a long way towards paying that back. Of course, I did insist on getting final approval on any stud. After all, I do have a better eye (and nose) for horseflesh than she does.
Besides, I have my own reasons to want babies. Aren't we all programmed to reproduce ourselves? If I'm lucky, some of the finest horses of the next century will carry my name in their pedigree. It's the closest thing to immortality I'll ever get.
I even managed to get her to promise me one of those misting fans.
Keiko's been in contact with the Jusenkyo guide. She says he told her about someone here in Japan who may be able to help me fix this curse, so I don't have to be afraid someone will accidentally change me into a human anymore. She giggled when she told me about this guy; apparently, his name means "wild horse."
I never told her what my human name was, and I never will. I earned my name. I am the river wind. Nothing outruns the river wind.
Why would I wish to remain a horse? Simple, it's what I am. It's what I've been for years now; I just didn't want to admit it.
Besides, as a man, I was nobody's prize. Overfed, undertall, and ugly to boot. As a horse, I'm exceptional; an international champion.
I imagine you think I'm an idiot, but I'm not. In fact, for a horse, I'm a genius.
*****
The short-haired girl sighed, and dropped the dipper back into the ornate pail at her feet. Moving carefully, she carefully emptied the larger vessel onto the ground; taking such care that one would think she was disarming a bomb instead of merely emptying a bucket. Only when the odd bucket was safely emptied and sealed inside a larger container did she dare return to where the pigtailed boy waited, sitting on a hay bail and hugging himself as if he were cold. "Are you going to be OK?" She asked him quietly.
"Yeah, I guess." He muttered, sounding unconvinced. "It's just that…" he trailed off, gesturing to where a young woman was leading a horse back to its stall.
"Yeah, I know." The girl sat down next to him and patted his knee gently. He was taking this rather harder than she'd expected, but then she wasn't the one who was being forced to confront her worst nightmare. "Ranma… I really think it's better this way. At least she's happy now."
"Yeah, I guess," the boy repeated. He looked up at the retreating pair one last time, and shuddered.
*****