The Day I Knew I Cared for You

The day I knew I cared for you was also the day we got our serpent. Most other families in the area already had theirs, and with the summer almost upon us, we would need the extra help. The serpents were just one of the many gifts the Travelers from the New World would give us. They used them to get around, and proved much faster and could haul a lot more than a horse. So my father traded some of our crops for the beast. They are gentle enough, but need to be trained properly. That's when you came to help break the serpent. I would see you in the market, offering your help to other farmers who were having trouble adjusting to the new animal. You assured me it was okay to mount her, as she would be as gentle with me as I with her. I took hold of the beast, and pulled myself up just behind its head. In that moment I gripped the serpent's tentacles, to use as reins, and it did not take to me one bit! It defensively coiled and was preparing to spring itself into the air, and I with it! You began to speak in its tongue, which came as naturally to you as our language, and the beast relaxed out of its coil, and was back to its gentle ways. You and the beast had an understanding that was deeply serious, as you both understood one another. Seeing you bring the beast from fearful to peaceful struck a chord within me, and from then on, I hoped I would one day be cared for and understood in the same way.