Sixty year old Ran ke ping had a keen liking for horses. NUO-the graceful, a six months colt bought from local Alfafa animal market was his latest delight.
NUO, caught from the wild, was hardest to train. It kicked and jumped and ran and thumped, trainers refrained from training this adamant horse.
“Why don’t you sell it back?” They said to Ran watching it through the fence. Few others suggested hurling him into the dark deep forest.
Ran loved the look in NUO’s eyes. It was a look he had somehow missed all those years: a look of freedom, honesty and bravery. It was a look missing in the eyes of its trainers and the villagers. Like every other great things around, he knew that NUO was hard but not impossible to train.
So he decided to train NUO on his own.
Next morning he walked with rope to the colt. Tired of trying all moves till afternoon, the colt finally sat disheartened in the corner heeding Ran from the other end. Ran took the sign and pulled out the saddle. The colt was quiet. He untied its rope. Suddenly the colt lifted its rear legs with ultra force that whacked Ran’s face right beneath the chin.
This was too much.” May be the villagers were right” he thought lying with his broken jaw on the bed.
Ran didn’t see NUO next morning.
NUO was habituated of seeing Ran every day. We eventually fall in love with people even when we say we don’t. So NUO silently walked to the window that evening and saw sleeping Ran. It did what good horses do, it licked. Ran waked up stunned and tried to move off the bed.“What was it that Nuo was going to do again?”He thought.
NUO stood quietly beside him. Ran lifted his hand after sometime and touched NUO’s face. NUO stood.
Years later it was NUO’s 8th birthday, when Ran died. It stood by the window that evening looking at NUO’s bed.
It grew up to the most handsome horse in the neighborhood. People heard his heroism from Ran and others. Now that they could own it, every keeper claimed its ownership in presence of Fuhu-The landlord.
Fuhu had lived in wilds for many years. He knew the look on NUO’S face. It was something his people won’t understand. So he expressed a desire to get the horse for his niece Xian Ai shi.
Xian was thirteen. She always said that riding was a stout hearted adventure with nothing to be produd of.
Fuhu now owned the horse and now wanted it in his stable. But, when keeper tried to move NUO from his master’s farm, it was back in his embryonic shape. It kicked and knocked and scared the hell out of them.
By evening they tied him in seven ropes made of sturdy strings.
Fuhu smiled hearing NUO’s strike.
Next morning he walked with his niece to Ran’s farm and sat looking at NUO from a distance. Xian never wanted to be here. She despised the sight of a young horse tied ruthlessly for nothing.
She walked slowly to the horse. NUO thumped his legs and breathed heavily focusing on the lady walking to him. She ignored it and turned to the side untying the ropes.
“No, kid. What are you doing?” Fuhu shouted.
As soon as NUO was free it pounded its legs fiercely on the ground and gushed towards Xian. Xian was frozen.
NUO neared her in no time and stopped touching her hair. It breathed heavily and looked in Xian’s eyes. Xian looked back at him.
It hit the ground again and ran to the other side fading quickly in to the forest backdrop. Few moments later Xian exhaled the air she has been holding all this time. Fuhu rushed to her and hugged her in his arms.”Don’t you ever do that again” He said.
“Well. I don’t need a horse.” She frowned and walked away.
NUO ran several miles and reached the far river. It looked forward and then back again. Morning it started back for the village, It was all it knew.
It ran faster and reached village by afternoon. Fuhu and his girl stood in Ran’s farm even now.
NUO came closer and looked at Xian. Xian looked back at him. Later it followed her to Fuhu’s farm.
Fuhu smiled and said to the keeper “Only innocence can win over innocence and love over wild.”
