Dahnaz and the Equestrian Dream

When I was a little girl, I had dreams. I wanted to be a mother, but my family thought that was silly, and why would a woman want to do such a manly job?

I wanted to be an artist, but my family said only boys could draw.

I wanted to ride horses, but my family said girls were too weak for such things.

So I grew up, and did as I was told. I married the man of my parents' choosing, and bore many children until I no longer could. And in that time, I never quite forgot those dreams of mine. But it was easy to let them fade away in the background of everyday life.

Until the day when the three horses appeared on our mountain. They seemed so strange and out of place; they were beautiful in their strangeness though. Brown and white bodies with black manes and tails, each one different from the next; their coats glistened in the sunlight as they stepped delicately over the snow-drifts towards us. They smelled of cinnamon and rain, and their eyes shone like stars.

My husband's reaction was typical: he turned his back on them and returned to chopping wood. My son stood nearby with an almost reverent awe on his face; he'd set down his own axe and watched the horses with wide eyes as they approached him. My daughter hummed quietly under her breath as she continued sweeping the dirt floor of our yurt. The horses made their way around the structure without hesitation, pausing occasionally to nuzzle each other or scratch at their backsides before resuming forward progress. It wasn't until my daughter glanced at them that they changed direction; she took a step forward but then paused herself after meeting my gaze.

The horses stopped in front of us all, turning slightly to face me directly. After a moment's hesitation, I stepped forward as well - what else could I do? Then one horse lowered its head to rest upon my shoulders; it felt heavy against me but somehow reassuring at the same time. The others followed suit with my husband and sons, until all three horses were standing before me with their heads resting on mine or another member of my family's shoulders. Then suddenly there was a burning sensation in our chests - like a hot stone placed there - that grew more intense by the second until we couldn't stand it anymore! We cried out in pain, but even through our tears we saw that something had changed within us: natural light surrounded us now instead of gloomy shadows; mountains stretched up into forever instead of up into the sky above us; deep forests loomed around us full of unknown wonders instead of bare grey rocks touched by bitter cold wind! Our eyes had been opened! Everything was different! We were changed! We were... *free!*

I hardly noticed when the three horses withdrew from us again; when they looked at us once last time, briefly closing their eyes before disappearing into thin air. The forest remained though, stretching out for miles around us and up into forever above our heads; it seemed to call me onward... *we are not meant for this place* it said without words or sound, *we are meant for so much more!* So I gathered my family together - which now included new addition born just this morning - and we walked into the forest, leaving behind everything we knew behind us forevermore...