The forest ended in a veil of mist that started at the edge of the forest as tinsel and spread into a white smoke blanket. I could only stare in amazement. The mountain wasn’t visible behind the veil, but the song in my heart assured me it was there.
“This is your next obstacle,” Daydream said using her serene voice.
“Oh. Joy. Can I get a second opinion?” I asked.
“Nope. Let’s go.”
She took a step forward and I took a deep breath. I did not want to do this, but she already knew that, so I didn’t bother to say anything.
At first, the mist flowed gentle around us as if we were walking through wispy clouds. I reached out a hand and watched the mist swirl around it.
“It’s beautiful,” I whispered.
“Yeah, now.” She said not impressed.
“Why? What’s going to happen?”
“Just wait, you’ll see.”
Two hours later, if I hadn’t know for a fact that I was sitting on Daydream’s back, I wouldn’t have known she was there at all. White horse and think white smoke do not work well together for seeing the white horse. I reached down and buried my hands in her mane tightly.
“Ouch. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, sorry. I can’t see a thing. I feel like I’m blind, only instead of black it’s white. I don’t like being blind and you keep stumbling. I’m afraid you’re going to get hurt. You can’t see any better than I can, can you?”
“No, and now I’m annoyed. You’re right this is too dangerous. I’m stepping in holes I can’t see. I think it’s time for some light.”
“How are you going to do that?”
“With you. Slide down and come stand in front of me,” Daydream said.
“Yeah, no problem.” I slid down carefully and kept my hand on her body. Slowly, I took a small step forward, than another. I felt Daydream’s head bump my shoulder and she whinnied softly. I placed my hand on her nose and let her guide me forward so that I stood in front of her. It surprised me at how trustingly I let her guide me. I never trusted anyone.
“Now what do I do?” I asked, my hand still on her velvet nose.
“Do you remember I said I was created for you?”
“Yes.”
“That is the truth, but I was created not only as you see me now. I am not just a horse.” Daydream explained softly.
“Um…okay,” I replied ready to believe anything she told me at this point.
“So, what else am I? Come on now, you know this the same why you knew my name.” Daydream, her voice gentle, urged me to say what she believed I knew.
I couldn’t see her so I began to gently stoke her soft muzzle. I reached up and stroked higher on her head, slowly working my way up. When my hand reached just under the midpoint of her forehead, I realized what I was searching for. I stroked her face then reached upwards one more time knowing what I would find. I didn’t even gasp when I felt the hard horn. I dropped my hand to her muzzle.
“You’re a unicorn,” I said, somehow managing a tone of wonder and matter-of-fact at the same time.
“Yes,” she replied, her voice showing how pleased she was that I figured it out. “Command me to reveal it,” she urged.
I took a step back and smiled. “Daydream! Unicorn!”
As the words left my mouth, a pink spiraled horn appeared in the middle of her forehead and a soft pink glow began in the mist. It quickly grew until I could once again see Daydream’s face. The glow continued until it surrounded us in its pink haze. We grinned at each other.
“Hi,” I said.
“Hi yourself,” she paused, “Well, do you like my new look?”
“Wow,” was all I could manage.
She laughed. “I’ll take that as a yes. Come on, we still have a ways to go.”
I hurried to mount her. We set off as soon as I was properly seated, but this time the way was much smoother.
“How come we didn’t do this before? We could have saved so much time.”
“Maybe, but didn’t you learn anything by not doing it sooner?”
“Like what?”
“Anything.”
My mind tracked over the past two hours: traveling thought the white billowing mist, being almost blind, not knowing where we were going, trusting the horse…no, the unicorn under me to keep us in the right direction and safe. That’s it! Through the entire time of walking in the mist I had placed complete trust in Daydream. Even when I wasn’t sure what her next surprise was, I still trusted her entirely.
“You’re right. I trust you. That wouldn’t have happened if we had used your light immediately.”
“Exactly. As we grow together our bond will get strong enough that nothing will be able to break it.”
“That’s awesome.”
Daydream laughed. “Just wait until you see how awesome.”