Way Of The Warrior – Sincerity

Chapter IV of Way Of The Warrior.

 (previous chapters can be found at the dedicated page of the blog, here)

{The following chapter, written in Six Sentence form, is from Kaze‘s pov, the black horse gifted from Lady Haruko to Naoki.}

 

WAY OF THE WARRIOR

IV

SINCERITY

Standing by a creek under the shadow of a weeping willow tree, Horse and Man rest from a hard day’s ride; Kaze looks at Naoki, whinnies and nudge’s him with her nose signaling she has rested sufficiently, now willing to ride on, but her “words” are lost on Naoki who appears wandering in thoughts far from the creek and willow tree.

Leaving him to his thoughts, Kaze remembers a time Naoki and Haruko were children, playing – one day, Naoki spent all day carefully watching the preparations for Haruko’s ride, the saddling and in particular, the bitted bridle and upon Haruko’s return, he made a strange request: Please, pull the reins as you would do with your horse; he placed the metal rod (the bit) in his mouth…Haruko was confused but Naoki insisted…the moment she pulled on the reins, tears from the pain streamed from his eyes leaving him no option but try to escape the tortuous pain… by any means possible.

Naoki and Haruko never talked about that day…but Kaze recalls spotting Naoki sneak into the stables, trying to invent a different method of communication between rider and horse; Kaze patiently entertained all his failed attempts, until one day he found a way without the bit.

In the ancient memory of her soul, Kaze keeps the residue of a time when the relationship between Horse and Human was not one based on punishment and reward, the trust between them had not been breached; here she is now, sharing a bond with Naoki, one sealed by his promise, years ago, that if he ever has a horse of his own, he will not coax obedience through pain…and so, his promise is kept…

Naoki can sense Kaze’s eagerness, for which he is always grateful; they always communicate without words or commands, as if they share one body, one mind, each knowing organically what the other thinks, requires, a fluidity provided only by a true, sincere partnership.

He is aware the note, recovered from the body of one of the samurai he encountered earlier, is possibly a diversion to lure him away from entering the grounds of the Snake Shrine, a place where Nobunaga would be vulnerable; yet, he knows he will not be able to live with himself if, hellbent on avenging Lord Shigenobu, he fails to honor his last decree of protecting Lady Haruko at all costs…as Naoki mounts, Kaze is already turning eastbound towards the Zen Ryū castle.

 

\\//

 

[Some personal thoughts, which inform not only the choice of POV but also details of this chapter.
Years ago I became aware of an anatomical/biomechanical study of the effect a bit has to the horse’s head.
Needless to say that I needed not to be already professionally familiar with the cause/effect chain between external forces and (human) anatomy, to understand the magnitude of the effect a bit has: intense pain and deep tissue damage.
Since that moment I have refused to even watch a show with horses and humans communicating with a bitted bridle.
There are alternatives; I encourage you, especially if you are engaged in equestrian activities, to research them.
As for me… I hope to be able one day to sit at a beach, as the one in the following video… and just be around free horses…] 

 

By The Company Of Warriors I Keep
Spira / Nick © March 2023

 

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