Chapter 4 #2
Slowly, I stood back up and scratched my head, staring after the metal object Harry had called a car. Just as he’d predicted, nothing happened, and it disappeared from view.
“Only for fun? What is this place? But then, they don’t really need you, do they?”
“They do need horses, even a humpback like me,” Harry said, but I could tell he was shaken up by my words. I felt sorry for my new friend, so I changed the subject. That usually worked with my herd, and I decided it was a good time to bring up the Firebird again.
“Harry—” I cleared my throat. “Do you, by any chance, know where I can find the Firebird? Remember, I mentioned it earlier?”
“Oh, that? I don’t think it’s real. I’d only heard about that creature from my mother.”
“Of course it’s real!” I nearly jumped. “So you have heard of it! Listen, please tell me everything you know. Any clue can help. Because I have to find it and bring it back to Zorya.”
“My mother told me all kinds of stories. She also told me I could fly,” Harry noted ruefully. We’d made it to the other side of the resort, and I saw sprawling fields with neat pathways curving up and down the hillside. Was there anything in this place that didn’t look like a work of art?
“What?” I stared at Harry in amazement. “Fly?” Was this pony playing a mean joke on me? Was he testing me to see if I’d believe him? Or was he truly crazy?
“She did,” Harry said, his expression deadpan. “My mother told me I could fly if I had the right person riding me. That’s why I’ve got two humps, for stability.”
“So, have you done it?” I asked, keeping my voice steady. I was sure now Harry was trying to see if I was a true dimwit.
“Not yet, no. The only people riding me have been those kids. But I wonder.” Harry gave me a careful stare.
“Are you saying I could be that person?” I asked, gaping at the pony.
“Perhaps.”
“So, you think we could fly?” I looked up at the sky. The idea seemed too preposterous to even consider, and I immediately looked down. But ever since my encounter with Baba Yaga, I felt like the world was much more than what it seemed.
“There’s something about you…” Harry’s neigh trailed off.
For a few moments we didn’t speak, but continued walking. The farther we got from the building, the emptier our surroundings felt. There were no people, no flowerbeds, just cut grass and the trail that led us along.
“My mother told me there will be a day when I will get a rider who’ll take me up in the air.
You see, Ivan”—Harry paused and cleared his throat—“my life is very tough. Being a humpbacked horse, most animals can’t see past my appearance.
And the people only think I’m there to give their kids rides, and that’s about it. ”
“Go on,” I said, averting my eyes. I could feel my cheeks turn crimson red from embarrassment.
There I was, mistrusting this poor horse, assuming the worst. Harry was just a dreamer—the idea of flying was just a story he wanted to believe, and why not pretend with him that the fairy tale was real? It was harmless, wasn’t it?
“Would you like to try?” I asked Harry, wondering how far he’d take the fantasy.
“I would.” He narrowed his eyes. “As long as you aren’t scared.”
“Me? Why would I be afraid?” I crossed my arms. “Of course we can try.”
“All right, let’s go. I know the perfect place. It’s just over in that faraway field, by the edge of the resort.” Harry’s neigh sounded nervous, but I ignored it. I followed his gaze, the lush field unfolding in front of us.
“Harry, look how beautiful!” I exclaimed, but Harry couldn’t hear me. He had galloped far ahead. I ran after him, feeling the rush of air. We stopped at the bottom of the hill. Harry was breathing heavily, but there was a twinkle in his eye.
“Come on, get on!” Harry ordered. Gone was his hesitation, his uncertainty. It was as if he were a new horse altogether. “You’ve got to sit between the two humps and hold on to the front hump. I saw it in a dream.”
“All right.” I shrugged and hopped on. Sitting between Harry’s two humps was surprisingly comfortable.
The back hump provided nice support and was better than any saddle I’d ever felt.
I grabbed onto the front hump, just as instructed, and was just about to make a joke about flying, but Harry moved his hooves and clicked his heels.
The next moment, we were up in the air, lifting off about a foot.
“Hold on tight!” he yelled. He didn’t need to—I grabbed onto his hump for dear life, closing my eyes at first. I felt the rush of air and cautiously opened one eye, then another.
“We’re flying!!” I yelled at the top of my lungs.
“Yes, we are!” Harry responded. We had now lifted up about five to six feet, and Harry kept moving higher.
We flew just over the treetops, so I could see everything on the ground.
What struck me the most were the roads. These weren’t the dirt roads I was used to in my village—no, these were nothing like that.
These roads were smooth, dark gray, almost black, and made of some magical material.
It looked like tar from up high, only I was sure it couldn’t be tar, since then people would get stuck on those roads.
And then I saw the metal carriages. So many of them.
The cars were moving at a high speed, and there were so many of them.
“Look, Harry, it’s the automobiles!” I screamed, but Harry didn’t respond.
His ears were pressed close to his head, a sure sign of fear, and he was moving his hooves fast, flying us forward.
His gaze was fixed ahead, and as I followed it, I saw an endless sea of emerald green.
The mountaintops were lush with vegetation, and we were heading right in that direction.
I loosened my grip on Harry’s front hump to make him feel a little more comfortable and patted him just a bit.
It worked. The muscles of his neck were no longer in a tight knot, and we continued flying.
The fields under us were a bright green, and I was happy, exhilarated, even.
But that feeling was soon replaced by dizziness and fear as I realized Harry was moving in a straight line ahead.
The mountains were getting closer and closer, but Harry didn’t stop.
“Watch out, Harry, turn back,” I screamed.
“I can’t,” the pony brayed desperately. “I don’t know how to turn. We’re going to crash.”
“No way!”
Suddenly, I knew what to do. Without a bridle, it was difficult to ride a horse, but I reached with my arm and gently but firmly patted the right side of his neck, then leaned to the right and applied pressure to his barrel with my right leg, squeezing tightly.
To my relief, Harry turned right, changing course and avoiding a sure collision.
I continued to steer us away from the mountains.
As we turned back and I eased the pressure, I wiped the beads of sweat from my forehead.
We were now heading back, and a few minutes later I could see the outlines of the Fernwood Resort forming on the horizon.
“Ready to land?” I asked Harry, anxious to put an end to our adventure.
Harry nodded, indicating his agreement, and we started our descent.
While getting up in the air was scary, at least it felt new and exciting.
But the descent was absolutely terrifying for both of us.
Poor Harry was sweating and shaking with fear, and we had several near misses where his hooves almost touched the ground, but then he was afraid to scrape them and rose back up.
I was all nerves but forced myself to sit still and not agitate the pony any more.
It took us five attempts before we finally landed, ending up on the opposite side of the Fernwood Resort from where we’d taken off.
The first thing I heard was loud screeching. Hundreds of birds were squawking at once, and I covered my ears.
“What’s happening, Harry?” I asked, dismounting and looking around. I saw large cages filled with different birds. There were birds of different colors: blue, yellow, and black with red stripes. I recognized only a few of them.
“It’s the Aviary,” Harry sighed.
“What’s that?”
“This is where the birds live, Ivan. It’s part of the resort, you see. I don’t like coming here. The birds make me nervous.”
“Wait a second, does the Firebird live here?”
“Of course not.” Harry neighed indignantly.
“But maybe they know where to find it? I’m just going to explore a bit.”
“Wait, Ivan, wait, don’t go to the fountain. That’s where the peacocks live!” Harry yelped, rushing after me. “They’re the most treacherous creatures—Ivan, stop!”
But I didn’t listen, moving ahead through the cages with the birds and toward the fountain.
I could already see the peacocks, their beautiful tails spread wide.
I’d never seen peacocks as gorgeous as these; the feathers were a rich, bluish-purple color with emerald undertones.
They looked like truly royal creatures. Surely these birds would know where to find the legendary Firebird.
They were squawking casually, but as soon as they saw us, the peacocks fell silent and stared.
“Look, look, it’s the humpback,” one of them shrieked, and I understood at once why Harry had been avoiding them.
“What are you doing here, ugly Harry?” another one chimed in. “You’re insulting us with your appearance.”
“Don’t come here, humpback, we told you to stay away,” the first peacock mocked, spreading its feathers. Their bright colors now looked sinister instead of beautiful.
“Come on, Ivan, let’s go.” Harry backed away slowly, trying his best to maintain dignity.
“Wait, wait!” The largest, scariest peacock approached, hopping toward us in quick, jerky motions. His feathers were nearly double in size of the others’, and he stood a full head taller than the rest of the flock. “Who’s this?” The lead peacock pointed its beak directly at me.