Wild Horse Beach

Kaimana surveyed Wild Horse Beach, her wide, green-blue eyes taking in the strong swell of waves, the hot sun, the palm trees waving in the breeze. She held her five foot surfboard, smiling, the wax hot on her arm. Her body relaxed, and the tight knot in her stomach that always appeared at school or at home dissolved.
"What'ya waiting for, Kai?"
Kai looked back over her shoulder at her best friend, Libby, and her smile widened.
"Just takin' it all in," Kai said, facing the ocean again.
"Nothing's changed. We went surfing this morning before school. Well, before I went to school." Libby's voice hardened slightly at this, and she stood beside her friend and looked at her, her brown hair blowing in her dark-green eyes.
Kai winced at her friend's disapproving voice and avoided her gaze.
"I felt sick today." Kai's freckled nose crinkled and she shook her long, dark-blonde dreadlocks dismissively.
"So you've felt sick for the past week?" Libby raised her eyebrows.
Kai turned to match Libby's gaze this time.
"Stop worrying, Lib. I'll be just fine. I don't need school. Or even home, for that matter." Kai smiled, her teeth white and slightly crooked. "Ready to surf?"
But before Libby could answer, Kai was in the water paddling as fast as she could, the sun creating millions of diamonds below the surface of the clear blue water.

"Where were you?"
Kai's father's voice was low and bitter, and it stung her still, even though she'd been hearing it all her life.
"Surfing with Libby. As I've been doing for the past sixteen years of my life," Kai snapped. She tugged irritably at her worn white tank top and glared at the floor, refusing to meet her father's black-eyed gaze.
"What have you done to your hair? Aren't you ever going to shape up and take it out of that matted mess?" her father nagged. Kai winced as the kitchen chair scraped loudly over the grimy tile floor.
"I like my dreadlocks." Kai sucked in a rattling breath as her father let out a sound that was almost like a growl.
"Don't talk to me in that tone of voice!"
Kai stiffened her body, tensing for the blow that was sure to come. It did come- her father's rough hand smacked her soundly across the face. The young girl felt the angry tears well up in her eyes as her cheek stung and tingled. She looked up and glared her father in the face.
He stared back, though when she didn't look away in fear, he seemed to lose some of his poisonous vigor.
"I hate you," Kai whispered vehemently, and she stalked back to her room, heart pounding, tears carving their way down her face.

Kai carefully laid her surfboard in the tiny front yard and studied her house. She decided it looked even more desolate in the dull gray light of early morning. The blue paint was chipped and faded by sun and wind. The windows were cracked and some were broken, vines creeping in through the holes.
Kai rolled her shoulders and stretched her thin, strong arms above her head before she grabbed her surfboard and strolled out of the yard and down the sidewalk toward the beach.
Taking an especially long hit and flicking the cigarette into a black plastic trash can, Kai stripped down to her dark-blue bikini and grabbed her surfboard. The sun was just rising over the ocean, sending rays of golden sunlight spilling over the cool sand like melted butter. A breeze thick with the smell of saltwater wrapped around Kai like a comforting blanket, calming her rapid heartbeat and whisking away her headache.
A loud sound, like that of a cracking stick, sounded behind Kai. She whipped around and studied the dense, tangled forest that hid Wild Horse Beach from anyone that didn't know what they were looking for. There was nothing there, but Kai had the feeling someone or something was watching her. Her scalp prickled uncomfortably, and she narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Nothing moved for several minutes, however, so she adjusted her surfboard to a more comfortable position and headed for the water.
The water lapped against Kai's toes as she stood still and waited patiently for a break in the swell so she could jump onto her board and paddle out. The sun was completely up now, warming her body and the sand. She sighed contentedly, and was just about to throw herself into the sea, when a loud, shrill, desperate neigh sounded behind her.
Kai gripped her surfboard tight to her body. She whipped around and felt her heart cascade down to her knees like a waterfall.
There on the beach, perched like the white feather of an angel's wing, head flung high, nostrils flared, ears pricked, thin, muscular body taught, stood a white horse. Kai laid her surfboard gently onto the sand and straightened up slowly, never taking her eyes from the animal. She didn't even bother to brush her blonde dreadlocks out of her eyes as she took a step forward.
The horse snorted and fixed its bright, blue-eyed gaze to Kai, taking in the human's slim, tan body and wild blonde hair bleached by the sun and sea. And Kai, in turn, admired the horse's long, stream-lined body and the silky-looking coat that was white as a bone.
"Aloha," Kai said quietly, slowly, soothingly. "My name is Kaimana."
The horse snorted, pawed the sand, and cocked its head, still staring intently at Kai. The girl took a few steps closer and held out her hand. The horse pranced in place, lifting each delicate white leg and placing it back down in an anxious dance.
"Who do you belong to?"
At this the horse rose into a rear and let out an angry, high-pitched squeal, gray hooves viciously scraping the empty air. Kai half-expected tatters of ripped blue sky to come spiraling down.
"You belong to no one?" Kai added quickly, walking a few more steps forward, until only a few paces stood between her and the horse.
The horse let out a soft nicker and took a tentative step forward. Kai's heart leaped and, taking a deep, rattling breath, she strode those few last steps and placed a shaking, long-fingered hand on the horse's neck.
The animal stiffened and arched its beautiful neck. Kai refused to look away from its blue eyes, and she saw something familiar in them that caused an ache in her chest, as if she'd forgotten something or someone that ought not to have been forgotten. The horse's hide quivered beneath her hand, and Kai felt as if the animal could hear her heart beating it was pounding so loud.
"Who are you?" Kai whispered. The horse neighed shrilly again and shoved its velvety white nose against the girl's chest. An electric shock burst through Kai's body, and she shuddered and screamed as white lights exploded behind her eyes. A rush of emotions barreled towards her like a huge wave. nothing stood to protect her from the feelings and memories...
Kai squeezed her eyes shut, and yet the sun, the beach, the sand, did not disappear from her vision. It was seared onto her eyelids like someone branded it there. Other images burned themselves there, too. The sting of her father's smacks, her mother's funeral, the stench of her house, the wild smell of the ocean in her hair, her clothes, her skin...

Kai awoke coughing and struggling to breathe. Standing shakily, she blinked her eyes several times and panicked when, at first, she couldn't see a thing. Then she realized it was nighttime.
The moon shone down on the quiet, empty shoreline. Dark clouds drifted through the sky and created dappled pictures of moonlight onto the beach, like a silent movie. The air was warm and thick with the smell of the sea, and the slight breeze did nothing to break the heat.
Kai stood and stretched, looking about intently for the white horse. It was nowhere to be seen, however, and her heart sunk so low she felt she could feel it in her toes. She sighed and rubbed her temples as she felt a headache coming on. Picking up her board, and walking slowly away from the water, a welcome neigh sounded behind her.
Kai let out a happy yelp and turned around. There, dripping wet and dotted with sea foam, stood the white horse, head flung high. Kai dropped her surfboard once again and ran to the horse. She recklessly threw her arms around its arched, satiny neck. The horse snorted in surprise, but didn't draw away, the girl's golden dreadlocks mixing with the snow-white mane.
Without a second of hesitation, her heart full, smile spreading across her thin, freckled face, Kai leaped onto the horse's back and gripped its middle with her legs. The great, beautiful animal let out a wild, screaming neigh and rose half-way up, head nodding, hooves scraping the air. The hooves came down and the earth seemed to shudder. Kai entwined her fingers with the mane and braced herself to hold on.
"Kai!"
"What the hell?"
Running onto the beach was Libby, followed close by her father, looking angry as usual. Libby just looked anxious and afraid.
Kai felt an ache in her heart as Libby suddenly stopped running and stared, understanding creeping onto her face in the form of tears and a tiny, tiny smile. Kai's father stopped running when Libby did and looked at her incredulously, as if she had just sprouted four heads.
"What the hell'd you stop for? You dumb?" Kai's father screamed, then turned and glared at his daughter, his teeth bared like a dog. "Get off that damn thing. Are you stupid? What're you doing?"
"Goodbye, goodnight!" Kai whispered, still smiling.
Libby waved, sobs wracking her body. Kai's father gnashed his teeth and strode forward, hands outstretched to grab his daughter.
The horse laid back its ears and rushed forward to meet Kai's father. He stopped in his tracks, mouth open in horror. But the horse did not stop, even when Kai pulled back on its mane. Kai's father yelped and turned and ran. The horse skid to a stop, sand spraying everywhere like diamonds under the moonlight.
"Are you going forever, Kai?" Libby asked quietly, looking up at her best friend. She looked especially tiny and dark standing there, shoulders drooping, looking up, a tiny frown creasing her forehead.
"I'll be back. I just belong in the sea." Kai laughed a little. She looked almost spirit-like, silhouetted by the low full moon heavy with silver dreams and sitting atop a white horse.
Libby smiled back, and a few more tears slipped down. She sniffed and wiped her eyes. There was nothing left to say, only more to feel and understand.
Kai straightened her shoulders, and her and the horse turned to face the sea. With one last fling of the horse's head, it cantered into the sea and girl and horse melded into the waves and moonlight.