The beast glared at me. Those big, brown, terrifying eyes piercing my skin like a thousand freshly sharpened blades wounding me, cutting open my flesh. I stood there, unable to breath, too petrified to look away and allow the creature to startle me in my moment of weakness. Isn’t it funny how over powering a fear can be, taking over your body at any time, leaving you paralysed. I just stood there, the trees swaying around me, whispering as they peered down upon us, not a care in the world. I could feel the terror inside me rising, threatening to burst out of me at any given moment. Taking a step forward made me feel like a prisoner, my feet weighed down by iron leg shackles. I was unable to move as the creature edged closer. I was trapped. There was no turning back. To my horror I felt myself reaching out my hand; I was powerless, unable to control my actions. The tough coarse skin felt warm beneath my hand. ‘Gasp’, I inhaled, taking in as much air as my lungs could hold. Closing my eyes I ran my hand along the massive frame of the beast. Imagining its beauty, I opened my eyes, reminding myself of the terrifying creature before me. Trying to control my shakes I clasped my hands around its neck to pull myself up. Lying upon its bulk of a back I felt my body become limp. I blinked away the tears that threatened to blur my vision. I felt so afraid, the feeling overwhelming me. I didn’t want to be here, holding on for dear life, heart pounding inside my chest as the horse began to totter away with me still clinging to it.My hair tickled my neck, flapping in the light wind that caressed my face. I felt like I was flying. A sense of insecurity swept over me. Even with all the friendly familiar faces surrounding me I felt so alone, facing my fear, conquering it. ‘I must not back down’ I kept telling myself ‘I must get through this’. I closed my eyes, trying to imagine a different place and time. I wanted to be a bird, wings flapping, soaring through the skies. I felt as if there was no way down and the ground was a million miles away, not that my legs would have been able to hold me anyway. They were like jelly; wobbling beneath my weightless body that the horse held up.
My father stood by my side, holding the rein of the beast I sat upon. This scared me even more, was he holding it for support or in case something went wrong and the horse galloped off into the horizon with me still on it. I tried not to think about the ‘ifs’ and concentrated on the fact that we were no longer stationary. Shutting my eyes as tight as I could get them I could hear the soil, dried out from all the sun, crumble beneath the hoofs of the terrifyingly huge creature.
I slowly opened my eyes, even though I could still sense my fathers’ presence beside me, trees felt as if they were racing past, and we were going faster than walking pace. As we danced elegantly through the trees we gradually began picking up pace, I looked down at my white knuckles and loosened my grip. I suddenly felt safe. I wanted to prove to myself and the world that I could face my fear. The suns rays burnt away at the ground through the gaps in the tree tops, drying the soil that continued to crumble beneath our feet before we came to a halt. Sliding my body off, I finally reached the ground, my legs threatening to give way to all my sudden weight being put on them. Taking a step back I examined the magnificent creature. Its mighty frame towered over me, shading me from the harsh rays of the sun. I had made it. A sudden feeling of joy overwhelmed me as I broke down. Tears began to stream down my face as I turned to look at my father. People say smiles are contagious, they are right. My father grinned at me and I found myself grinning back my goofy grin that I did when I had accomplished something big. As he embraced me, he let me know how proud he was without words. We stood there for what seemed like hours before he finally spoke. Telling me how brave I was. I had faced my fear. Most people would jump at the idea to ride a horse, taking every given opportunity. Not me. I would run a mile before standing within a football field of a horse, but not today, as I conquered my fear of the mighty beast.
