Written and Illustrated by Baobab Tree

One summer day, when all trees were dyed green, Nightingale came to Heavenly Horse as always.

Heavenly Horse’s mane was shining in green just like the color of summer.

“Hello, Heavenly Horse! How have you been? You look energetic as ever!”

“Long time no see. Thank you for visiting me as always, nightingale!”

Heavenly Horse happily greeted the friend nightingale, who certainly came this year as usual.

“Heavenly Horse, do you want to play hide-and-seek?”

“It’s no fun with just us two.”

“I’ll invite other friends over.”

Nightingale called out to friends, flying over the woods.

Deer, Antelope, Fox, Rabbit, Boar, Squirrel, and even Mallard from waterside followed Nightingale and gathered around Heavenly Horse.

 

 “Let’s play hide-and-seek!”

Nightingale was it.

“Let’s all go hide!”

Heavenly Horse galloped, flapping his green mane.

He ran towards the safest place away from the tagger.

Other friends from the woods searched for places to hide as well.

“Are you all ready? Here I go!”

Clear voice of Nightingale was heard.

Heavenly Horse still couldn’t find a place to hide and was running, flapping his green mane.

 

 Heavenly Horse found a low hilltop and leant his body against it.

The hill was as green as his green mane,

the colors were so similar; they could almost be mistaken as one hilltop.

“Nightingale would never find me here.”

Heavenly Horse muttered, leaning against the hilltop.

A small mountain bird came and gently perched on the hilltop.

“Heavenly Horse, what are you doing?”

“I’m playing hide-and-seek. Nightingale is it.”

Heavenly Horse yawned.

“I’m sleepy….”

Heavenly Horse’s eyes were gradually closing.

“I’ll wake you up when Nightingale comes. Go to sleep.”

Said the small mountain bird.

“Would you please? Thank you….”

Heavenly Horse started napping, leaning on the hilltop.

Chilly wind blew. Heavenly Horse softly opened his eyes.

“It’s so cold…. Nightingale! Deer!”

Heavenly Horse stood up, looked around and called out for friends, but there was no response.

The mane of Heavenly Horse was dyed ocher, as if white frost fell on it.

The spirit of summer was disappeared in the woods, and only bare branches greeted winter.

“I slept without knowing winter was coming….”

Heavenly Horse sighed, as he looked up at the purple sky.

 

Cold winter wind was blowing.

Heavenly Horse climbed down and down looking for friends.

Morning was gradually breaking.

Heavenly Horse reached a village before he knew it.

A cluster of houses came into Heavenly Horse’s sight.

 

 When Heavenly Horse was hesitating at the village entrance,

an old man came out to the yard.

The old man has been living in the village ever since his childhood.

“Hello, chickadees. Time for food.”

He called chickadees over with food on his palm.

Chickadees flew over to his palm as if it was promised.

Just then, the old man noticed something with his dim sight.

 “Whinny~ Whinny~”

Heavenly Horse was entering the village, flapping his mane dyed ocher by frost.

“Ah, that horse! Yes, it is that very horse…. I am certain….”

He remembered the time when he got lost as a child while playing hide-and-seek in the mountain behind the village with friends. It was the horse with green mane, who guided him back to the village.

The old man carefully went up to Heavenly Horse.

“It is you wandering around this time. Let’s go to my place. You will find your friends when warm spring comes. And there are many friends here as well.”

Heavenly Horse followed the old man, as he felt the warm stroke.

“Grandpa, a horse!”

A boy shouted as he saw grandpa stepping in to the garden with Heavenly Horse.

The boy’s heart filled with joy, seeing Heavenly Horse’s dashing figure.

“He will stay with us until spring comes.”

“I want him to live with us forever.”

Said the boy while stroking Heavenly Horse’s mane.

The boy and the old man furnished up the storehouse as barn for Heavenly Horse.

“You must be tired. Rest well.”

The old man softly brushed Heavenly Horse’s mane and neck.

 

 Spring came.

Heavenly Horse’s mane was dyed pink before anyone knew it,

as pink cherry blossoms blossomed on cherry trees.

“Grandpa, horse’s mane turned into pink!”

The old man gazed at Heavenly Horse as the boy spoke.

And muttered to himself,

“I see. Spring came….”

 The boy decided to go on a walk with Heavenly Horse.

Heavenly Horse’s pink mane was beautifully flopping like that of flowers blossoming in spring.

Heavenly Horse wanted to run.

He galloped while smelling sweet scent of flowers carried on by breeze.

“Wait for me!”

Heavenly Horse reached a small brook.

There was a small bridge.

Heavenly Horse looked back on the gasping boy running towards him.

“Don’t you go by yourself….”

said the boy as he was catching his breath.

Heavenly Horse crossed the bridge with the boy.

Then an extensive flower bed appeared.

A girl with two clear eyes was standing among beautiful flowers, holding an armful of flowers.

The girl’s two eyes were twinkling with curiosity as she noticed Heavenly Horse with pink mane.

“Hi, that is a gorgeous horse. He has pretty mane like flowers blossoming in spring. Where are you from?”

“Over the bridge…. I haven’t seen you before. Are you new here?”

The girl nodded at the boy’s question.

“Yes, I moved here a few days ago….”

 

Heavenly Horse sat on the field in the sun.

The boy and the girl sat next to Heavenly Horse.

The boy noticed a sketchbook and color pencils in the girl’s hand.

“Do you like to draw?”

The girl nodded to answer his question.

“Then, can you draw us?”

So Heavenly Horse and the boy became models for the girl.

The girl started drawing Heavenly Horse and the boy.

Heavenly Horse’s pink mane was as beautiful as flower petals, when it flapped along with the wind.

The girl did her utmost to draw, sensing warm spring from Heavenly Horse.

Finally, the drawing was completed.

“Here, it’s a present.”

The girl gave the boy the finished drawing.

“This is really nice. Thank you!”

He happily showed the finished drawing to Heavenly Horse.

 

 Heavenly Horse and the boy frequently crossed the small bridge to see the girl.

Sometimes the girl crossed the small bridge to meet Heavenly Horse and the boy.

She was very happy to have new friends, because it was lonely and boring ever since she moved and had no friends.

“I get very happy when I look at you. My mind becomes peaceful….”

The girl scratched Heavenly Horse’s mane and softly tapped his neck.

 

 Early in the morning, Heavenly Horse crossed the small bridge to the girl.

“Whinny, Whinny~”

“This sounds like….”

The girl woke up and threw opened the window.

Heavenly Horse with green mane came into her sight.

She came out side.

Thereupon, Heavenly Horse hung his head down, giving her signs to ride him.

“Can I ride you?”

Heavenly Horse whinnied, holding his head up high, saying it is okay.

Heavenly Horse galloped across the fresh field dyed in green with the girl on his back.

The sky was brightening.

Red sun was rising high up on the sky, notifying the beginning of summer.

 

 By the time when Heavenly Horse came back to the village with the girl, the boy called other friends over.

The girl got down lightly from Heavenly Horse.

“It truly is a great horse! His color is just like the shade of summer trees!”

Children held hands and danced around Heavenly Horse in a circle.

Heavenly Horse was happy to see innocent children loving him.

The girl was also pleased to have new friends.

 

Children took Heavenly Horse to a clean stream and washed his back and neck.

“Isn’t it refreshing?”

Heavenly Horse happily whinnied to answer children’s question.

Heavenly Horse didn’t want to leave this place.

He wanted to stay a little longer.

Summer went by in the twinkling of a bedpost, and so did autumn and winter.

Heavenly Horse was so merry and happy; he was unaware of the passage of time.

Heavenly Horse hoped this happiness would last.

 

Spring and summer passed by.

Before anyone knew it, Heavenly Horse’s mane was dyed yellow.

But Heavenly Horse didn’t seem to be as energetic as the year before.

“Heavenly Horse, you don’t look well today! Are you ill?”

Little mountain bird flew over and asked with worried voice.

“I was fine during summer, but I don’t feel so good since autumn came. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

 

 

That night

The girl woke up to her father’s laugh.

“Hahaha, wasn’t it a good idea to move here? I told you it’ll be redeveloped.”

“It will be better to live here once apartments are built.”

The girl tossed and turned while listening to her parents

But she couldn’t fall asleep.

She just gazed blankly at the dawn out the window.

 

 The girl was staring at several streaks of morning light passing through the curtain.

She stood up and threw open the window.

Yellow ginkgo leaves were scattered by wind.

Heavenly Horse seemed so sad from afar, flapping his yellow mane.

Sensing gloomy foreboding, the girl ran outside.

 

 The girl crossed the small bridge and ran to the boy’s house.

Heavenly Horse seemed to stride along, but didn’t come near.

The girl’s eyes were full of tears, seeing Heavenly Horse stepping backwards.

“Grandpa, is it true? Is it true that apartments will be built here?”

The old man nodded in silence to the boy’s tearful question.

Tears gathered in the boy’s eyes.

“All my childhood memories are stored in this place. I’m sure you feel the same; I don’t want to give this place up. But there is nothing I can do with this rusty old body. I’m sorry…….”

The old man ceaselessly dried his tears with wrinkled hand.

 

 “Does that mean all we can do is watching this place disappear?”

The girl opened her sketchbook, listening to the boy’s cry.

Tear drops fell on the white drawing paper.

She knew drawing was the only thing she can do for Heavenly Horse.

Even if it doesn’t have strong power, she wanted to draw Heavenly Horse she loved the most.

“I’m sorry, I am truly sorry….”

 

 Several days passed since the rumor went around, that the mountain will be planed and apartments will be built on top.

A huge excavator came to a small hill of the mountain.

That was the starting point of the mountain. It was also the children’s favorite place to go for picnic in spring and autumn.

The villagers from the foot of the mountain blocked the excavator.

“Not this place! Didn’t you say differently last time? Didn’t you say apartments will be built underneath the mountain?”

The excavator stopped moving forward.

“We don’t know about that. We only do what’s told. Don’t do this, you are interfering in the execution of duty!”

 

 The excavator started digging the low hill of the mountain, making boisterous noise.

Heavenly Horse galloped, gasping.

His yellow mane was anxiously flapping as horror swooped down on him.

Mountain bird flew up high and Heavenly Horse ran away from the huge threatening excavator with all his might.

The excavator was digging the ground, unable to hear the heartbeat of Heavenly Horse.

Heavenly Horse plumped down on the ground. He was suffocating.

 “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! Sorry I couldn’t protect you, Heavenly Horse mountain (Chunma Mountain)!”

The boy cried out, as he watched the mountain being planed.

The old man patted the boy.

Watching the mountain where he played hide-and-seek in childhood being planed, he felt the pain of his skin ripping apart.

It was painful  he could almost hear the cry of Heavenly Horse.

“Whinny!”

Autumn rain was drizzling down.

 

 

Heavenly Horse greeting people, changing colors of his mane, is no where to be found now.

Animals playing hide-and-seek and laughter of children are no where to be found.

Only the tall apartments stand instead.

The stream behind the apartments, where children and Heavenly Horse used to take bathes was shining in orange with the setting sun, and only loneliness was drifting down the stream in silence. 

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