His small feet and short steps did not hinder his determination and speed. Occasionally, he slipped on the shaking ground, which was difficult to control. His eyes briefly glanced sideways at the soil, which was beginning to crack due to the aftershocks.
Upon arriving at his sad-looking house, he took a detour, searching for a path to save his horse.
Solor looked up at his horse, which was growing increasingly restless. "Calm down, buddy! I'm going to save you!"
However, his horse neighed even louder while continuously pulling on its tether, which was tangled around the branches and twigs.
Solor immediately ran down the slope of the sinkhole. The soft peat mud covered in moss caused his feet to slip several times and sink into the mire. His face instantly went blank, making his thick-lipped mouth look round as he saw yellow stones deposited in the soil before him, along with the stump base of his house, which was now half-submerged.
Lake water rushed rapidly into the depression, forcing its way through the round windows he had carved himself decades ago. Inside the house, utensils fell, while the wooden floorboards of his porch creaked under the pressure.
Crash!
The support post holding the mossy fabric above the porch snapped. The fabric roof collapsed and was slowly dragged away by the current.
The raft (gethek) he had just repaired earlier drifted away in circles toward the pool around the tree stump, though it remained snagged on large root branches.
His mind was briefly distracted by the strange stones in the ground earlier, before his gaze returned to his beloved horse.
GRRROOOOUUUGHH...!!
The ground shook violently once again.
The cracks around the tree stump widened further. Chunk after chunk of earth collapsed into the sinkhole, followed by the lake water rushing in furiously to fill the depression.
"Good heavens..."
Solor turned right as his fallen tree-trunk home shifted.
Krrrkkk... Kraakkk...
The giant gayam tree trunk lost its footing. Its stump slowly slid down, and the entire trunk rotated following the incline of the collapsing earth.
Wus Wus neighed loudly.
The tether around its neck tightened as the branch where it was tied tilted higher up. Its feet slipped on the bark, which had now turned into a slope, struggling hard to maintain balance to avoid sliding down.
"Wus Wus!"
Solor's eyes widened.
The house now slowly shifted direction, rolling a few inches along the sinking ground, while his horse was still tethered atop the moving branch.
Solor ran, charging toward a sky that was beginning to turn a reddish-blue hue. He moved past the trunk of his fallen house amidst the shaking ground, amidst the roaring echoes resonating through the wild forest, which moved as if shifting its sleeping position.
The tip of the branch where his horse was tethered was now lifted high. The fairly chubby horse neighed in panic while struggling violently. The tether wrapped around the branch tightened every time its small body attempted to jump down.
"Calm down, Wus Wus... Don't move... I'm coming..." His short body immediately climbed the tree trunk, which was now leaning almost upright. He feared his horse would choke on its tether and fall. Both his hands and feet moved nimbly to find footholds, even though the bark was rough and covered in moss. His short stature actually made it easier for him to slip between the large branches.
Just as he almost reached his horse, the continuously shaking ground caused the tree trunk to creak loudly.
Suddenly, one of the branches swayed violently, nearly throwing him off. Reflexively, he leaped toward his horse, then hurriedly hugged the branch blocking his horse while steadying himself.
"Come on... not now..."
The shaking refused to stop. The slick, moss-covered branch was no obstacle; the inner turmoil was enough not to crumble his resolve. He resumed climbing, leaping until he managed to land right next to his highly agitated horse.
"I've got you..." He kept trying to soothe his horse, even in such a critical moment.
His hand finally touched the horse's neck.
The horse was still trembling, its breathing heavy. Solor looked down while stroking the horse's neck several times to keep it from thrashing.
"Hold on... buddy... This isn't what I wanted either..."
He struggled a bit trying to untie the knot due to the relentless shaking of the ground.
However, every time his fingers almost succeeded in loosening the tie, the horse pulled its body back again, tightening the tether once more.
He sighed. "You could choke yourself, you silly Wus Wus!... I'm right here now!" He knew his horse was very sensitive. Whenever it felt threatened, the little horse always acted increasingly restless until it became hard to handle.
Solor pulled the reins gently. The short, golden-brown horse was still trembling, slipping several times on the sloped trunk. But Solor immediately supported its neck while pushing the horse's rear from behind toward the branch he pointed out.
"Come on... just a little more."
The horse with thick golden hair finally managed to jump down to the higher ground slope. Its legs were still shaky from the ongoing earthquake, but now its footing was much safer.
Solor hopped down after it. Once at the bottom, he immediately stroked the horse's neck several times to calm it down.
"Look at our home... now!"
His home, now looking pitiful alongside the darkening end of the day, added to the turmoil in his heart. Amidst the worry and sadness that his dream home—built with painstaking effort—was destroyed, his inner heart actually smiled in awe. The giant tree trunk seemed as though it were standing tall again, just like the tree's form long ago before it fell.
His thoughts were scattered by the earthquake. Choosing between saving his belongings, ground cracks, strange yellow rocks, eruptions, bubbles, pungent smells, and hot air—everything mixed and swirled in his head like a whirlpool filling the depression before him.
He embraced his horse.
"I wonder what we need to save, Wus Wus?... Besides, there's nothing valuable inside..."
He briefly stared at his porch, now ruined. Some surrounding trees had fallen onto his root-crafted chairs and broken his crested bird's cage. Samiranah's books were dragged and washed away in the whirlpool of the depression where the earth cracked and continued to sink.
His gaze shifted to the small raft (gethek) he had just repaired. The raft was caught between tree roots, swaying gently with the current.
Suddenly...
GRROOUUGHH... MMBBLLLUSSHH!!
The ground across the lake collapsed again on an extraordinarily massive scale. Several eruptions shot high into the air, spewing water mixed with mud and gas. The splashes reflected the light of dusk before falling back onto the lake's surface. A giant fissure split the earth. Yellowish crystal rocks appeared exposed from deep within the earth, accompanied by the rushing lake water surging in, submerging everything.
The earthquake slowly began to subside. However, Nawijem Swamp was no longer the same. The sound of birds returning to their nests could no longer be heard. There were no ripples of fish that usually competed for food toward nightfall.
The fog that was once greenish-white turned into a yellowish-white hue mixed with the smell of sulfur, slowly enveloping and taking over the swamp.
In several places, bubbles continuously rose from the murky water surface, popping and leaving behind an increasingly pungent odor.
Foliage that was once green began to wither, as if losing life.
The swamp, which had long served as his place to protect the village while living in solitude, slowly turned into a completely alien place that was impossible to inhabit.
Slowly, he held both of his horse's cheeks. The soft, yellowish-brown fur felt tender against his palms.
"Heh... heh... over here." He brought his face closer until their noses touched.
Occasionally, his horse's long golden mane fell, blocking his view, prompting him to brush it aside. "Calm down..."
His horse shook its head instead. The horse's eyes on the sides of its head made Solor shift his face to the right.
"Eh... not that side." His face shifted back to the left.
"Hold on... look into my eyes first, you stubborn creature!!"
His horse glanced away again. "Good grief... it's so hard to get you to look at me."
Not wanting to bother any further, he rested his forehead against the horse's forehead once more.
"I know how you feel..."
His voice this time was much softer. Both of his eyes glanced upward, struggling to find the horse's eyes to lock gazes.
"This wasn't our choice." He gently petted the little horse's neck. "Nature has rejected us. We can't stay in a place that smells like this anymore."
He turned, causing his long yet thin ponytail to dangle and swish like a buffalo's tail as his gaze swept left and right. While his palms held his horse's cheeks, he stared toward the swamp, which was now filled with yellowish fog, strange fissures, and gas eruptions.
"We have to leave this place..." He tried once more to lock eyes with his horse, then let out a long sigh.
"Do you understand, buddy?" The horse only neighed softly.
Behind them, the twilight sky slowly transformed. The orange glow began to fade, while in the northwestern horizon, an unusual white streak stretched out, slowly emerging behind the changing sky.
He stared at the phenomenon of the light pillar piercing the sky—looking so wondrous up there that he forgot to blink.