He Was Family

Etu Hakan escaped. He heard the desperate natives call out after him, trying to run and catch up. It would be of no use. Etu is much to fast. He raced toward the blazing sun.

 Etu galloped fiercely to the looming cliffs ahead. A single eagle flew above him, cawing loudly. Etu stopped in surprise, raising his hooves in the air. 

"Sorry to scare you," said the eagle.

"Excuse me," replied Etu, sights set on the cliffs ahead, ignoring the eagle.

The eagle followed Etu, much faster than he would've suspected. "Did you just runaway from those humans? May I ask why? They seem to treat you much better than I've seen other natives. Why leave that?"

Etu looked up at the eagle in frustration. "I did not run away, I escaped," he called out. He heard the eagle chuckle above him. "It's not funny. I've been dreaming of joining my family up 'til this day. I have someone I care about, unlike you."

The eagle scoffed, and then proceeded to laugh harder than before. "I have family, believe me. High in a tree, far from here. I'm not talking about me now, though. I want to talk about you, Maroon Mane."

"My name is Etu Hakan."

"Ah, yes, as in Sun Fire? Did the natives give you that name? Since you gallop so fast?"

"Yes, now leave me alone."

"The natives praise you, you know," the eagle paused in thought. "Have you thought that maybe your family won't except you? That, perhaps, they won't even remember or recognize you?"

Etu stopped dead in his tracks. Infuriated, he rose on his hind legs and thrust his hooves in the air, threatening the eagle. "Who are you anyways?!" he shouted. 

"Me?" asked the eagle innocently. "Why, my name is Taipa Paco, as in 'spread winged eagle'--"

"I know what it means!" Etu yelled, irritated. What did this stupid bird want from him?

"Hear me out, Etu," Taipa flew lower, closer to Etu's head. "You have choices. Either, you run to your family, not knowing whether or not they'll accept you. Or-"

Etu interrupted, "There is no 'or', it is my family. They will accept me." He was sure of it.

"Or," Taipa continued, ignoring Etu, "You can return to your real family, who will love and accept you no matter what."

Etu was raging with anger. "DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" he cried up to the lingering bird. Suddenly, Etu picked up his pace and began to gallop faster than ever before. He was furious. Much to his despair, Taipa kept to his pace, not breaking a sweat. Etu tried to gallop faster, his chesnut-colored mane shining and swaying along his neck as he ran.

"I am not telling you what to do," Taipa denied, "I am mearly telling you your choices, Etu. You must listen."

Etu took a quick glance at the bird, now ahead of him. He struggled to keep up. "Do you know something I don't?"

"Possibly," Taipa muttered, but loud enough for Etu to hear. 

He neighed furiously, "Tell me! Tell me what I don't know!" Taipa turned around, and started flying the opposite direction.

"I have already told you, Etu! Follow your heart...You know what is right, Etu Hakan!"

No he didn't. Etu did not know what was right, and at that moment, he wasn't sure where he was going. He didn't know where is family was, so if he chose that route, he would be in search for awhile. On the other hand, he knew where home was-- wait no, that isn't home. Family is home, right? But which family... the one he has in his heart or the one he never knew? Goodness, that darn eagle was really getting to hid head.

Etu made his desicion, leaving the eagle far behind him. He continued galloping, and soon was confronted with the gap laying between the two cliffs. Excited, and gaining a sense of courage, Etu slowed his gallop, glancing at the wonderous cliffs that rose above him. There was no wind here to gently brush his mane like he was so used to. Soon, the gorgeous sight turned dark and eerie.

That is, until Etu saw someone of his own kind.

His eyes lit up with the most brilliant light as he saw the most gorgeous mare standing at the top of the cliff, with the similar maroon-tinged mane as his. When their eyes met, he knew there was a connection between them.

"Hello!" Etu called out to the mare with upmost elation. "It is I, Etu! We are family!"

But the mare turned her head. Etu continued to repeat himself, calling out to her. Was it his mother, his sister? It was family, he knew this for sure. Yet, the mare did not realize this and she called out to the herd behind her.

"Trespasser," she yelled to them. "We have a trespasser!" The horses stood by the mare in panic. Immediatly, they started kicking stones and rocks from tip of the cliff, down, to Etu.

Sharp pain echoed through Etu's entire body. We winced and cried out. "Help, family! I am injured! Help!" No help came. He soon realized that it was his family sending these sharp, falling rocks upon him. He cried, "No! Please," but a stone hit his eye, and Etu collapsed to the ground in defeat. The stones continued penetrating his sleek coat, and breaking his bones. The once sunny and brilliant sky turned dark, and sinister, painted with blacks and grays, dotted with blotches of red. It was all coming to an end. 

'You can return to your real family, who will love and accept you no matter what.' Taipa the eagle had told him. The pain suddenly vanished. "Yes," Etu thought, "Let me return to my true family, Taipa..." 

And before him unfolded a scene. Leotie, the young girl who'd accidentally let him loose, was welcoming Etu back with open arms. Nadie, her mother, was on her knees, offering him oats in her dry, callused hands. The father, Macawi, smiled greatly at Etu. His heart felt wonderful and warm at once. 

Family is home, and home means family.

*********************************

"Do you have any idea who it was, Eyota?" Kitchi asked. 

"He called out to me. He said his name was... Etu?" Eyota said, nonchalantly. She wandered near the edge of the cliff, kicking another stone off, hitting the stationary body below. When she turned, she realized every last horse in the herd was frozen. "What?!" she asked incrediously.

"It was he," Kitchi whispered, staring at Eyota wide-eyed.

"Who? Was he of the enemy herd?" 

"No," Kitchi said, trotting slowly over to Eyota. "That is what the Natives call him, Eyota. It was him. It was who we were searching for."

Eyota stared at him, bug-eyed in disbelief. She shook her head. "No. It couldn't be... that was not my... my... brother..." She gulped.

"It was, Eyota. It was." Kitchi looked at the other horses, patting the ground in sorrow. "This means we must go back to the rest of the herd now. The search is off. He is gone now."

"I... killed my brother," Eyota choked out. "We were going to save him! We were going to free him! I killed him-- how could I have even-" she collapsed on the ground.

She felt hallow, empty. 

Kitchi bent down to Eyota's level. "It was us all, Eyota. We must go back now."

"He was my brother," Eyota stated, melancholy dripping in her voice. "He was family."