I see a girl running through the predawn mists. She is tall, leggy with adolescent growth. Her chestnut hair is braided tightly and woven against her head. She runs through the forest, leaping branches or rolling beneath, never slackening her pace. She runs for no reason save that she is young and it is morning and there is a silver mist dappling the dawn. Perhaps she dreams of becoming a banfheinni. She runs until she reaches the meadow where the shaggy haired horses graze.
They lift their heads, pricking their ears as they hear the rapid padding of her footsteps. The stallion, gray and dappled as the dawn, charges to meet her. Hoofbeat and footfall sound as one until she grasps his mane and swings astride his back. They circle the herd then race toward the salt scent of the ocean. Without slackening pace, they take the steep path down to the shore.
The rising sun appears over the hill as the two thunder down the beach. They splash through the waves sending jeweled showers flying. At the end of the beach, they climb the hill that overlooks the bay. The stallion rears and screams his challenge to Manannan’s horses. She(I) laughs as the sun kisses her(my) skin.
© 2019 Maggie Grimes
I’ve written a number of stories based on Celtic mythology and history. They are tales from ancient Ireland to present day and are loosely tied together in Manannan’s Daughter. I always like to hear how my words speak to another. MJG
celtic singer 
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