Hylonome

by Jack deMule

The moment that I saw her was the end of everything ordinary in my life. A short stroll from my claustrophobic hotel room, I found the park. She was waiting there for me, cold as death, and perfect as a dream...carved in serpentine, and ornamented with brass. At first sight the centauress stunned me. I stood there looking at her, my mouth agape, as her image burned itself into my mind.

From a distance she was imposing, rearing into the air, with her arms outstretched as if to embrace her lover. Then I noticed that her head was turned, as if she looked back at something she was fleeing, and her expression was so very sad. The flowing waves of her long mane and tail, and the tension in her haunches, captured the moment just before she would have cleared the earth.

Without knowing it I had drawn closer to her. I touched her withers, and felt her body grow warmer under my hand. The tiny white veins throughout the dark green stone began to spread and expand. I thought I could feel her stirring beneath the stone. Startled, I withdrew my hand, and I retreated to my room.

I tried to think of other things, turned the TV on, then off, and attempted to finish some of the endless stream of paperwork that was my life. Sleep was no respite, I saw her beckoning to me in my dreams. The next day I immersed myself in my work, but she invaded all my private moments. I became determined to avoid the park, and drive the statue from my thoughts.

It was late, 2AM, when my will power failed me, and I returned to the park. No hesitation now, I boldly approached, and wrapped my arms around her waist. I pressed my cheek to her equine nature, and reveled at feeling the cool smooth stone that entrapped her warming beneath my touch. I heard a sigh as her chest expanded in my embrace.

She surged forward and upward, springing up into the dark night sky. I still held her waist, now fearing for my life as we continued to travel upward. I looked down the circle of illumination that was the park as it grew dim and small. Just as I felt my grip failing, her forelegs seized me, and held me fast to her equine chest as we continued on our journey.

Our eerie flight was without sound, it was as if we were carried in a bubble, and then it burst. An explosion of light and thunderous crash of sound, I felt myself falling and screamed with fright. I didn't fall far, a few feet at most, before landing on a carpet of lush vegetation and springy moss. She looked down at me and giggled. Then she spoke to me in a soft, lilting voice, but in a language I didn't understand.

A few yards away, a disturbance in the bushes now caught her attention. Her equine ears swiveled to track it, before she turned to look. The bushes shook wildly, and the centauress drew back in fright. I stood up, boldly placing myself between the unseen danger and the object of my obsession.

With a blood curdling scream a tiny faun jumped out of the brush...I turned to run, and rushed headlong into the fragile creature that I was determined to protect. The impact set me reeling, and I fell in a tangled heap before her. Far from being frightened a look of recognition, and then of joy, appeared on her face. She pranced in place, and I knew she had found a long lost friend. She ruffled his fur, and he smiled, gazing at her with boyish admiration.

The faun turned to leave, and pausing before he disappeared into the brush he motioned for her to follow. As she started off I felt my heart sinking. I told myself that she had carried me into my dream world, and that should be enough. I closed my eyes, expecting find that when I opened them that once more I was in my room. After all this could only be a dream.

Several minutes passed, but I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes. I was sure the vibrant greens of my otherworld would be replaced by the drab interior of my hotel room. Reality would intrude, striping this bittersweet moment, and leave me feeling hollow once more. I sighed, knowing that it was inevitable.

A hand took me by the elbow, gently lifting me to my feet. I opened my eyes...and it was real. My obsession had not left me, she had returned to take me with her. She lead me through the brush, and as we stepped out onto a grassy plain all of Thessaly stretched out before us.

While I stood in awe at the sight, she slipped her arms around my waist. She spoke to me, and although I didn't understand a single word, I knew what she had said. She rested her head on my shoulder, and smiled. As I pressed my cheek against her head I happened to look down. I was astonished, and jumped at the shock of seeing a horse's hooves where my human feet had been. Four legs felt so natural, I hadn't even noticed the change occurring.

My centauress jumped too, and looked for the source of my surprise, her eyes darting about, searching for the hidden danger. I took her hand and pressed it to my withers, laughing. She smiled, reared and wheeled, then galloped off towards a village in the distance. I have to follow.

Hylonome copyright 1998 by Jack deMule.