Chapter 9: Cinnamon Crest Falls
Dorothy followed Matthew up his snow-covered street. He wanted to go skating on the pond at Cinnamon Crest Falls like they had as kids. Dorothy couldn’t help but agree to go when she saw that glint in his eyes – he was so cute when he was excited.
So there they were, braving the biting winter air and trudging through the snow. Matthew might have been talking about something, but the wind made it hard to hear, and Dorothy was much more focused on not wiping out face-first into the deep snow.
‘Why in Watcher’s name did I agree to do this? ’ she thought to herself.
Reaching the end of Matthew’s street meant they weren’t even halfway – they still had to make their way between the hills that separated his street from the Falls. Dorothy dreaded the thought of how deep the snow ahead of them might be.
Matthew was much more positive. He turned and gave her a bright smile. “Nearly half-way,” he said cheerfully.
‘Why are you so damn cute?’ Dorothy wondered. If he wasn’t, maybe she would be in a warm house right now instead of battling the frigid weather.
As she watched his boots leave impressions in the snow and stepped into each one to follow him, Dorothy thought back to their first kiss. It seemed like things had progressed quickly since their 13th birthday party just over a month ago. The season changed swiftly from fall to winter – as it so often did in Appaloosa Plains – and with it, their relationship. It was clear that Matthew felt like a weight had been taken off his shoulders. He was even more cheerful and open with her than he had been before. She envied him, in a way. He seemed so much more comfortable with himself when all she’d done was not call him crazy. ‘He’s a fool for liking me… for trusting me,’ Dorothy thought.
She’d lied to him when she said she didn’t know what she wanted to do with her life. She knew exactly. But she couldn’t tell anyone; she never should have come so close to trusting Matthew with it. How would you tell someone that you aspire to be the leader of a criminal organization?
Dorothy had to admit that the Falls looked beautiful in the winter. The hills sheltered it from the brunt of the chilling wind, leaving the frozen pond serene amidst the snow. The rocks looked almost orange in their stark contrast with the thick layer of white powder that covered the ground and evergreen trees around them. Water still cascaded over the rocks, but not nearly as much as during the rest of the year. It provided just enough sound to keep the winter’s stillness from growing too eerily quiet.
Dorothy snapped out of her reverie by Matthew’s warm voice, “Feels like it’s been ages since we came out here to skate.”
His smile seemed stuck on his face as he looked over at her, took her hand, and guided her to the pond’s edge. Dorothy smiled back as she nodded in agreement. Seeing him happy made her happy.
“The pond started to freeze in the fall, so it should be solid enough to skate on,” Matthew explained as they tied their skates.
Before Dorothy could question his certainty, Matthew was up and skated over the ice. He looped back, his smile as bright as ever, and reached out a hand. Dorothy took it and he helped lift her onto the pond. They giggled and wobbled as they got used to being on skates again, then glided around the pond a few times.
“It doesn’t feel as cold here,” Dorothy said softly.
“Less wind,” Matthew replied simply, slowing to a stop.
Dorothy followed suit, and Matthew took her hands. He used to do that a lot when they were kids. The memory made her smile.
“Dorothy?” he asked quietly.
“Yes?” her answer was little more than a whisper.
“Those afternoons skating out here, you know why I liked them so much?”
She furrowed her brow. “Don’t say because I was there,” she chuckled. “I was over every Sunday.”
“Close,” Matthew chuckled, too. “But I was going to say, that’s when I realized I had a crush on you. Holding your hands like this on the ice. I’d completely forget about the cold… my stomach would be in knots whenever our hands touched, even though we were wearing mitts…”
They smiled at each other, looking deeply into each other’s eyes.
“That’s why I wanted to bring you here today,” Matthew continued. “I wanted to ask you… to be my girlfriend.”
Dorothy’s smile grew. Part of her protested – ‘If you care about him, walk away. He’s too good for you. Too nice. Too innocent.’ – but, perhaps because she was being selfish, she couldn’t help herself. She couldn’t stop smiling, even as she bit her lower lip. She nodded, making a sound almost like a giggle, and threw her arms around him. Her tongue passed his lips; she tasted his tongue. She pulled away slowly, opened her eyes gradually as if escaping a trance, and looked into his. He was surprised, and she could tell he wanted more. She could get used to him looking at her like that.
After a winter of cuddling his new girlfriend and working on his second book, Matthew was excited to start visiting the Falls more frequently. The pond had finally thawed, which meant it was warm enough that he could wait to see if Aasifa the unicorn would visit in the evenings. When his father began putting Ryker and Mason to bed, Matthew would grab a book or his fishing rod, hop on his bike, and ride out. When Aasifa didn’t come, he’d enjoy a relaxing evening of reading or fishing. But every once in a while, she would show up to eat and drink from the hitching post, munch on seeds scattered around, or take licks of water from the lake. On those evenings, Matthew didn’t even think about fishing. He was too busy watching in awe. For once he was grateful that he wasn’t as talented an angler as Emery – no one questioned when he came home without any fish.
Being a teenage boy also worked in his favor. It seemed perfectly reasonable for him to bring several fruits and vegetables with him as snacks. In truth, most of them were for Aasifa. He discovered she was either quite the piggy, or all unicorns had insatiable appetites. She absolutely loved to eat. Luckily for him, this made befriending her rather easy – as long as he never forgot to bring some fresh produce from his parents’ garden.
In addition to his encounters, Matthew spent a fair amount of time researching unicorns and horses more generally. Dorothy said it had become an almost unhealthy obsession, but he didn’t care. Something deep within him urged him to keep pursuing this dream.
His research confirmed Aasifa was a female, yet, curiously, she didn’t have any signs of aging that a normal horse would. This led him to support the existing theories about unicorns living much longer lives than regular horses. As for the theories around unicorns’ magical powers, however, he was increasingly skeptical. It had been several years now since he’d met Aasifa and had yet to witness anything that indicated she had powers. Perhaps the rumors were just that, then: rumors.
The night that changed, he was particularly tired. Ryker and Mason had been relentless in their demands for attention and he’d been running around playing with them all day to keep them out of his parents’ hair. He was already yawning, but decided to grab some of that day’s harvest of grapes and head to the Falls, if only for some quiet time to himself. He biked up to the Falls, leaned his ride against the hitching post, and sleepily walked to the water’s edge. Otherwise, it seemed like an evening at the Falls like any other.
Sitting cross-legged at the water’s edge, Matthew was reading a book when he heard Aasifa’s familiar hoof-falls approach. He stretched and got up.
“Hello, girl,” Matthew smiled.
Aasifa nickered and promptly started sniffing the teenager, hunting for food. Matthew chuckled as he dodged her horn to avoid losing an eye.
“Wait,” he laughed. “Let me get them out.”
He opened his small tote bag, removed the two bunches of grapes, and stuffed the canvas into his pocket. Aasifa was gobbling them up before he could raise his hand to offer them. She whinnied when she finished and he winced from the loud sound near his ear, then smiled. He was glad she always enjoyed what he brought.
Suddenly, Matthew felt a warm and soothing sensation wash over him. He looked down only to realize he’d begun to float! He had an urge to panic, but before he could think, a bright light overtook his vision and he had to close his eyes tightly.
“Wha—” he muttered. “What’s—?”
He heard Aasifa exhale, which inexplicably calmed his nerves. He opened his eyes to find his feet were on the ground again. Little sparkling lights were floating all around him like white fireflies. Something felt different. He looked down. Other than the floating lights, everything looked normal. He tried to define the strange feeling… Lighter? Enlightened? Elated?
“I don’t think Simlish has a word for it,” an ethereal voice said.
Matthew looked around, but only he, Aasifa and the little floating lights were there.
“It’s me, Aasifa,” the voice said. “You’ll only be able to hear me while the blessing is in effect. I wanted to thank you… for all of the delicious gifts you’ve brought me.”
Matthew was frozen in shock, standing stiff as a board.
“You’ve been very patient trying to get to know me. I’m impressed,” Aasifa continued. “I thought maybe it was finally time to answer your big question.”
Matthew was still too shocked to say anything.
“I resent that you think of me as a piggy, by the way,” she said, cocking her head. “They’re very smart creatures, but they get rather fat, you know. And I understand its rather a negative comparison even in Simlish?”
“S—Sorry,” Matthew stuttered.
“It’s alright,” her soft voice replied.
Matthew took a step closer and rubbed her neck. “Thank you,” he finally said softly. “This is incredible.”
“I hope this blessing is proof enough that I do, in fact, have powers,” Aasifa said.
Matthew realized she wasn’t speaking like Sims did with their mouths. Her voice wasn’t coming from anywhere, exactly. Her delicate tones seemed to envelope his mind when she spoke.
“I warn you though,” she continued. “They can also be quite damaging. Do not dare betray this trust I have given you.”
Matthew nodded. “I won’t.”
Suddenly, there was another flash of white light. Matthew blinked wildly, and when he could see again, Aasifa was gone.
Over the next few months, Matthew tried to make sense of the encounter. He still had so many questions, but he hadn’t seen Aasifa again since. He was starting to doubt whether their relationship was developing as well as he’d originally thought. Hadn’t she said she was impressed with me? And that she liked the fruits and veggies I bring her? Why hasn’t she come back?
He’d taken to working out more to take his mind off things. The exercise was refreshing and he figured it would help him if he ever got to learn to ride a horse, especially if that horse was a unicorn. One evening, covered in sweat, he went inside for a shower. Afterwards, he had a glimmer of hope. Literally. As he was opening his dresser drawer, he looked out his window and saw faint lights flickering across the sky.
He tossed his pajamas onto the bed and opened another drawer. He threw on fresh clothes, rushed outside and hopped on his bike. He was sweating again when he got to Cinnamon Crest Falls, but sure enough – Aasifa was at the water’s edge when he arrived.
“Hey, girl!” he said happily as he approached.
She trotted over happily and nickered.
“Of course I brought you something,” he laughed.
Aasifa trotted around him as he took out the apple he brought.
“Here you go,” he said softly. She gobbled it up right away. “I thought you might have been annoyed with me after I doubted your powers before.”
She lifted her nose to his face and blew hot air into it.
Matthew let out a small cough, but he smiled afterwards. “Yeah, I get that I was being dumb, now, thanks.”
Aasifa stepped back and whinnied loudly, cocking her head up. Matthew felt himself lift into the air. She was giving him another blessing!
Also, he realized upon landing, somehow replenishing his pocket. Another apple had appeared. He took it out with a laugh.
“You’re just after this, aren’t you?” he laughed as he took it out of his pocket.
He felt wonderful – as before – and filled with gratefulness for his equine friend. He outstretched his hand, gently offering the apple. Aasifa paced herself a little more this time, and Matthew pet her as she ate.
“Thanks,” he said softly.
