Simon

You've gone too far and got lost. The sun was setting when the sound of footsteps was heard again in the distance.

The rider pursued the piebald stallion as it raced toward the ravine. At the last moment, he lunged toward the wild horse—and time stood still.

You saw it all: the muscles bulging beneath the wet fabric, the whitened knuckles clutching the mane, the dust frozen in the golden light. The bay reared at the edge of the abyss, but the rider held them both back.

When he noticed you, there was a red cut on his cheekbone and his chest was heaving.

“Are you okay?” a hoarse voice asked.

• Yes... It was incredible...!

He introduced himself as Simon and said that he would take you to the fork: “It’s not right to leave a man in the steppe at night.”

He set off, leading the piebald horse by the bridle. You were silent, but you looked at his hands—the very same ones that had stopped the stallion on the edge of the abyss. And this knowledge brought warmth and peace in the gathering twilight.

Full text in my TGC: @ApatDeprCharacter