Sea Horses

by Louise Cooper

With a borrowed riding helmet firmly on, Tamzin really felt ‘the biz’, as Joel put it. He showed her how to mount, gathering the reins and placing her hands on Moonlight’s back, then putting her left foot in the stirrup.

  ‘One, two, three and up!’ He gave her a helping shove and suddenly Tamzin was sitting in the saddle, with the ground a lot further away than it had been a moment ago.

  ‘Wow!’ she said, feeling that if she smiled any more widely her face would fall in half. ‘This is great!’ She had forgotten all her earlier worries; forgotten everything but the fact that her dearest wish had come true. Joel clipped a leading rein to Moonlight’s bridle, then sprang with an ease that Tamzin envied on to the back of a piebald pony called Dandy.

  ‘All right?’ he asked.

  Tamzin nodded eagerly.

  ‘Good. Then hold the reins like I showed you, press your heels gently against his flanks, and we’re off.’

  With Dandy ahead and Moonlight on the leading rein, they rode slowly out of the yard. Tamzin’s heart thudded with excitement and pride, and she tried to remember the instructions Joel had given her. Back straight, knees in, heels down. Reins not too tight but not too loose, so that she could just ‘feel’ Moonlight’s mouth. As they turned on to the valley path she swayed to the swing of the pony’s stride, gazing around and feeling – almost literally – on top of the world.

  Joel looked over his shoulder and nodded encouragement. ‘That’s it! You’re doing fine.’

  Halfway to the beach they met some walkers coming the other way. Joel edged Dandy into the heather to let them pass; Moonlight followed and Tamzin smiled at the walkers, trying to look as if she had ridden horses all her life. When they moved on again she dared to take one hand off the reins and pat Moonlight’s neck where his thick white mane curved over. Moonlight’s ears pricked and he made a small whickering sound, as if he was pleased.

  Soon they were in sight of the beach. The tide was low again. Two people and a dog were walking in the distance, but there was no one else in sight.

  ‘Would you like to ride on the sand?’ Joel asked.

  ‘Well, if you think I can.’ Tamzin gazed at the beach stretching away into the distance. ‘But we’re not going to gallop or anything, are we?’

  He laughed. ‘Course not! It’s much too soon for you. Though we might try a little trot, if you want to.’

  The ponies picked their way down the rocks, and Joel taught Tamzin how to lean back in the saddle, to make the slope easier for Moonlight. The wind was stronger on the beach and the sea was very rough after the storm, surf pounding in with a huge, steady noise that beat against Tamzin’s ears and seemed to echo inside her head.

  ‘The lion’s roaring today,’ said Joel.

  She was puzzled. ‘What do you mean?’

  He pointed to where the huge crag rose from the sea in the distance. ‘See that? People round here call it Lion Rock, so when the sea’s really big like this, they say it’s the lion roaring.’

  For some reason that she couldn’t work out, a peculiar feeling fluttered in Tamzin’s stomach. ‘It’s a weird name,’ she said. ‘Why do they call it that?’

  Joel shrugged. ‘I don’t know. Maybe they think it looks like a lion’s head or something, though I can’t see how. Anyway, how about trying that trot? Shorten your reins a little bit, press with your heels, and try to rise up and down with the trotting rhythm. Ready? Right. Let’s go!’

  Rising to the trot was tricky, but Tamzin began to get the hang of it as Joel led her along the beach. They weren’t going very fast, but it was still exhilarating, with the wind blowing in her face and the quick thudding of the ponies’ hooves mingling with the sea’s thunder.

  And then the disaster happened.

  From the corner of her eye Tamzin had seen the big wave rising out to sea. But she didn’t realize just how big it was until it raced in close to the shore and started to curl over. Its crest seemed to form the shape of a horse’s head… then it broke with a tremendous crash. Moonlight uttered a shrill neigh and reared. Tamzin slid backwards as he raked the air, only to be thrown forward again as his front hooves came down with a bone-shaking thump. The leading rein was snatched from Joel’s hand and Moonlight bolted, careering away along the beach with Tamzin clinging to his back and screaming in terror.

  ‘Moonlight, stop! Oh, help! Stop!’

  But there was nothing Tamzin could do to stop the pony’s wild gallop. She clung on desperately. Joel on Dandy was chasing her, but Moonlight was faster. They raced along the tideline and to her horror Tamzin saw that the huge wave was racing with them, running at an angle to all the others. It still had the shape of a horse’s head. And its tumbling foam wasn’t white, but grey.

  Then out to sea another, much bluer wave rose. Through her flying hair Tamzin glimpsed it speeding towards the shore, on a collision course with the horse-shaped breaker. The two waves met in a shuddering clash, and spray fountained skywards. Moonlight swerved from the water, reared again, and Tamzin lost her grip and pitched out of the saddle.

  She hit the ground with a force that knocked all the air out of her lungs, and lay winded on the sand. Moonlight came to a snorting halt. He swung to face the sea, and stamped and pawed at the waves as if he was challenging them. Then as Tamzin giddily started to sit up, he turned towards her and put his muzzle down to her face as if to say he was sorry.

  Dandy came galloping up and Joel sprang off his back. ‘Tamzin! Are you all right?’

  ‘I… think so,’ said Tamzin shakily. She let Joel help her to her feet, then he rounded on Moonlight.

  ‘You stupid animal! What got into you?’

  ‘Don’t be angry with him!’ Tamzin pleaded. She was shocked and would have a few bruises, but there was no real damage. ‘It was that big wave. It frightened him…’ Her voice tailed off. Moonlight was staring out to sea again. He was making strange, angry whickering sounds, and his attention seemed to be fixed on the distant, hazy shape of Lion Rock.

  ‘What’s he looking at now?’ said Joel. ‘Moonlight! Calm down, there’ snothing out there!’

  A chill went through Tamzin and she thought, Isn’t there? Moonlight was between her and the sea, and she had a feeling that he was trying to shield her from it. She thought of the wave, with its grey crest like a horse’s head. And the second wave, dazzlingly blue, that had rushed in to meet and clash with it. Then she remembered the first time she had met Joel on the beach. Moonlight had been with him, and against the background of the gathering storm, the pony’s coat had taken on a peculiar blue tinge.

  She said in a small voice, ‘It wasn’t just the wave that scared him.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Joel was baffled.

  ‘I mean… there was something else.’

  ‘Like what?’

  ‘I don’t know. But it wasn’t an ordinary wave. Didn’t you see it? Its top was shaped like a horse’s head. And when it broke, its crest wasn’t white, it was grey!’

  ‘I don’t understand. A wave’s just a wave; it –’

  ‘But it wasn’t just a wave!’ Suddenly Tamzin felt frightened, and almost before she knew it she was telling Joel everything that had happened last night. Nan’s story, the rhyme in the old Bible, how the shape in the garden suddenly vanished – and the eerie moment when Nan’s painting had seemed to come to life.

  ‘It made me think of Moonlight,’ she said. ‘When I first met you on the beach, his coat looked blue against the storm clouds, just like the horse in the picture. Last night I… I thought it was protecting me. And now… I’ve got this weird feeling that Moonlight wants to protect me, too. That’s why he bolted when that wave broke. He was trying to get me away from it.’

  ‘So you think it had something to do with this Grey Horse?’

  Tamzin bit her lip, hesitated, then nodded. ‘Yes.’

  ‘Oh, come on, Tam! Magic horses, evil spirits – it’s all a bit far-fetched!’ Joel peered more closely at her. ‘Are you sure you didn’t bump your head when you fell?�
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  ‘I didn’t! You saw the wave!’

  ‘I wasn’t looking at any waves. I was trying to catch Moonlight.’

  Her face fell. ‘So you don’t believe me.’

  ‘Well…’ Joel sighed. ‘I’m not saying there isn’t a legend, like your nan told you. But you don’t honestly think it’s true, do you?’

  ‘I don’t know!’ Tamzin said in distress. ‘But weird things have been happening ever since I broke that statue. The storm, and the horse in the garden; and now the wave and Moonlight bolting.’

  ‘Moonlight’s just an ordinary pony,’ Joel insisted. ‘He was scared by a big breaker. That’s all there is to it. As for all the other things, it’s coincidence, Tam. It can’t possibly be anything else.’

  She wasn’t going to convince him, Tamzin could see. ‘OK,’ she said dismally. ‘I expect you’re right, and I’m being an idiot. But will you do something for me?’

  ‘It depends,’ said Joel cautiously. ‘What is it?’

  ‘Help me look for that missing piece of the statue that I threw into the sea yesterday.’

  He stared at her. ‘You’re joking! It could be anywhere.’

  ‘Maybe. But I’ve got a feeling we might find it.’

  ‘One little bit of stone, among thousands on this beach?’ Joel made a snorting noise, like a horse. ‘Some chance!’

  ‘I’m going to try,’ Tamzin persisted doggedly. ‘And if I do find it, it’ll make me feel a lot better.’ She frowned at him. ‘Will you help me or not?’

  There was a pause, then Joel sighed. ‘OK,’ he said. ‘I’ll help. But I still think it’s a crazy idea.’

  Tamzin didn’t answer that, but turned at once towards the tumbled rocks at the foot of the cliffs. Joel followed, leading the ponies. Moonlight was subdued now and walked quietly, though now and again he looked back at the sea.

  They started to search. They combed shallow pools, dug among piles of seaweed, sifted sand and stones. Tamzin worked with all her concentration, until at last she was forced to stop for a minute to ease her back, which ached from bending. Joel was a little way off, with the ponies. He had given up searching, and Tamzin was beginning to understand why. The piece of the statue could be anywhere among the rocks and pools and seaweed. The sea might have carried it away. Or it might be lying at the bottom of a deep pool, far out of reach. But Tamzin didn’t want to give up. She hadn’t looked in any of the caves yet. There was a large one nearby and she went towards it. It was dank and gloomy and as she ventured in she could hear water dripping. It was a dismal echoey sound, and when she called out, ‘Come on!’ to Joel, her voice echoed too.

  Joel appeared at the cave mouth. ‘Tam, there’s no point,’ he said. ‘It’s as dark as a mine. Even if the piece was in there, you’d never see it.’

  She sighed. He was right; this was hope-less. And the cave was giving her the creeps. It was like being in the mouth of a huge animal, which might at any moment clamp its jaws shut.

  ‘Never mind,’ Joel said as she trailed disconsolately outside again. ‘It wouldn’t have made any difference if you’d found it. It’s only a story, after all.’

  Tamzin said, ‘Yes,’ because she didn’t want to argue, then shivered.

  ‘You’re cold,’ said Joel, ‘and your back’s all damp where you fell on the sand. We’d better go back, before you catch a chill.’

  She nodded. She did feel cold, and dispirited. Moonlight was subdued, too, and as they mounted and set off, his head hung low as if in defeat.

  They rode slowly back along the beach and on to the valley path. Joel tried to cheer Tamzin up by talking. He asked about her family, her home, her school, then said, ‘I suppose you’ll be going to the local school next week, when half term finishes.’

  ‘Yes, I suppose I will,’ Tamzin said reluctantly. The prospect of having to face a new school, new people, new ways of doing things, had been worrying her anyway, but after what had happened in the last few days, she simply hadn’t wanted to think about it at all. ‘What’s it like?’ she asked uneasily.

  ‘Oh, it’s pretty good, as schools go,’ Joel reassured her. ‘I won’t be there, though. I go to school in Truro now. You’ll probably be in Mrs Beck’s class. You’ll like her. She’s interested in legends, too.’ He grinned. ‘She might even know about the Grey Horse story and if she doesn’t, you can tell her.’

  ‘No!’ said Tamzin, so sharply that Moonlight tossed his head in surprise.

  ‘Steady, Moonlight!’ Joel put out a hand to the white pony’s nose, then looked curiously at Tamzin. ‘OK. Sorry if I said the wrong thing!’

  ‘No, I’m sorry too,’ she said. ‘I didn’t mean to snap. It’s just that I promised Nan I wouldn’t talk about it. I shouldn’t even have told you.’

  ‘Oh, right. Well, don’t worry, I won’t say anything to anyone else.’

  ‘Promise?’ Tamzin had to be sure.

  Joel nodded. ‘Promise. If you don’t want me to.’

  They rode on, trotting again where the path was level and wide enough, and soon Chapel Cottage was in sight. Tamzin dismounted the way Joel had shown her. She still felt shaky as she patted Moonlight’s neck.

  ‘Do you want another lesson soon?’ Joel asked.

  Tamzin nodded, trying to push thoughts of the Grey Horse from her mind. ‘Yes, please,’ she said. ‘Except… I ought to pay for them. And I don’t suppose I can afford it.’

  He smiled. ‘What about helping at the stables, in exchange for lessons?’

  ‘Could I? Really?’

  ‘I should think so. I’ll ask Mum about it and phone you later.’

  ‘All right.’ Tamzin said her goodbyes, then gave Moonlight a final hug. ‘See you again soon, Moonlight,’ she whispered. ‘And… thank you.’

  She was thanking him for more than the ride, and the pony snuffed her hair softly, as though he understood. Then he, Joel and Dandy were gone, trotting on up the valley as Tamzin turned in at the gate of Chapel Cottage.

  Nan was in the studio. She was sitting at her easel, working on the half-finished sky-and-sea scene that Tamzin had seen before. She said ‘Hello,’ but vaguely; she was concentrating hard on the picture.

  Tamzin moved round until she could see the canvas. It was going to be another horse picture. Nan was sketching in the horse’s outline; it stood facing out to sea with its head high and one forehoof raised.

  Suddenly Nan gave a sigh and put her brush down.

  ‘It’s no good,’ she said in a strange, tense voice. ‘It just won’t come right.’ She blinked, and seemed to see Tamzin properly for the first time. ‘Oh! Sorry, Tamzin, love. I was miles away. Did you have fun at the stable?’

  ‘Yes thanks, Nan.’ Tamzin hesitated. ‘What’s wrong with the picture?’

  ‘It’s the horse. I can’t get the outline right. That isn’t like me; I usually… oh, never mind. Perhaps I’ll try again later. Only…’

  ‘Only what?’ Tamzin prompted.

  Nan paused, then shook her head. ‘It doesn’t matter.’ Abruptly she gave Tamzin a bright, artificial smile. ‘I expect you’re hungry, aren’t you? I’d better think about lunch.’

  She got up from the easel and hurried out of the studio. Tamzin stared after her. Nan was worried, there was no doubt of that. But she obviously didn’t want to explain, and Tamzin didn’t want to press her. Nor, suddenly, did she want to tell Nan what had happened on the beach. What good would it do? If Nan heard the story, it would only worry her more. It was better to say nothing.

  She looked again at the picture. The unfinished horse was like a dim ghost, with the sea visible through it. For no sensible reason Tamzin’s spine prickled. Then she left the studio, closing the door carefully behind her.

  Tamzin’s parents rang at tea time, to say goodbye before their flight left for Canada. Nan tactfully went out of the room. When the call was finished and she came back, she was in time to see Tamzin hastily wiping her eyes.

  ‘Are you all right?’ Nan asked sympathetically.
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br />   Tamzin nodded, though she wasn’t really. ‘It’s just that Canada seems such a long way away. And a whole year…’

  ‘Well, we’ll just have to make sure it’s a busy year, so the time passes quickly,’ said Nan, then added, ‘And a happy one, too, of course.’

  Tamzin looked at her. ‘Do you think it will be happy?’

  ‘Well, that’s up to us, isn’t it? I’m sure we can have a lovely time.’ Then Nan quickly changed the subject. ‘Anyway, how are your mum and dad? All ready, and everything on time?’

  Tamzin nodded again. ‘Dad’s put something in the post,’ she said. ‘A going-away present, but he wouldn’t tell me what it is.’

  ‘Has he? That’s something to look forward to, then. Now, what would you like to do after tea? We could play cards again. Or Scrabble, or even chess. Can you play chess?’

  ‘No. I’ve never tried.’

  ‘Oh, it’s a terrific game. I’ll teach you, if you like.’

  She was trying hard to make Tamzin feel better but Tamzin knew there was more to it than the matter of Mum and Dad. She wanted to ask about the unfinished horse picture, and why Nan had been so worried. But Nan’s bracing cheerfulness was like a barrier that she couldn’t cross. Whatever it was that troubled her, she was determined to forget about it and she wanted Tamzin to forget it, too.

  That, though, was going to be hard for Tamzin to do.

  Joel rang later that evening. Tamzin was feeling down, but she brightened when she heard what he had to say.

  ‘Mum says it’s fine about swapping riding lessons for help at the stable,’ he told her. ‘So long as your nan agrees.’

  ‘I’m sure she will!’ Tamzin felt her spirits lifting. ‘When can I come?’

  ‘How about tomorrow? It’s Sunday; we get busy on Sundays, so you can make yourself useful.’

  ‘Great!’

  ‘OK. Moonlight’ll be pleased, too. Do you know, he’s been really restless since we got back? He keeps staring around and whinnying. It’s almost as if he’s looking for you.’

  ‘Honestly?’ Tamzin felt a peculiar little inward lurch.

  ‘Yeah. He’s taken to you in a big way. Funny, isn’t it, how animals sometimes do that?’