The Roar of the Falls: My Journey with Kaya

Suddenly, there’s a loud sound and the colt jumps to one side, flinching under me. I lose hold of the reins, and before I can grab them again, the colt starts running. He’s galloping away from the noise at full speed across the open land, hooves pounding against the packed dirt.

My mind can only think about not falling. The wind roars past my ears, and the ground blurs beneath us in a streak of brown and green. I cling to the colt’s mane with my eyes screwed shut, my heart slamming against my ribs. Then, from somewhere inside me, I tell myself to get ahold of myself. No one can stop the horse but me. I open my eyes and grit my teeth, and inch forward, just managing to grab the reins flapping loosely around the colt’s neck. Clinging with my legs, I lean back and pull the reins as hard as I can.

The colt slows down a little. I continue pulling back on the reins until the colt is walking again, his sides heaving with every breath. Then, I hear a breathless voice calling out to me. Kaya, mounted on the gray horse, canters up next to me. She says she came to help, but it seems like I don’t need her help after all. I was very courageous.

We stop the horses and I slide off, my legs barely holding me up. I tell Kaya I don’t feel courageous. I feel shaky. She says it takes great courage to stop a spooked horse. Maybe we shouldn’t have raced. I shake my head. She was challenging me. That’s what friends do. They encourage each other.

As we walk back to camp, my mind turns over what Kaya said. She said I have courage. I didn’t think I had any when this adventure began, but maybe I’m ready to face some new experiences at home. I tell Kaya that it’s time for me to go home. I remember where I was going when I fell in the river in the first place.

Kaya says she won’t forget me. I just need to remember that I am courageous. Strength is silent until I need it. I watch Kaya head back toward the sound of the drumming, her figure growing smaller in the dark. When she’s gone, I melt into the shadows of the night and reach for my bracelet.