Slowly [Shirokuma Literature Club] In the Sunshine

Shirokuma Literature Club this week's theme
This is a story that begins with "Slowly".

If asked, "Where would you like to spend time slowly?" I might say a hot spring or a hotel by the sea... as I was thinking that while walking, I came up with a place.
It is a "ranch."
I was a little drawn to Ms. H (I'll call her a girl), who happily talks about how much happiness horses bring her every time we meet.
When I said, "Take me to the ranch," she readily agreed.
Ms. H is an obstetrician and gynecologist, yet she is busy every day with her hobbies and supporting her favorite idols.
Amidst all that, her love for horses seems to be especially deep, so I decided to go and take a peek at the scene.

We met in the early afternoon and headed toward the Uba Plateau, the western hilly area where the ranch is located. Driving along the foot of the mountain for 15 minutes while looking at the Genkai Sea on our right,
we arrived at our destination, the FOUR "C" RANCH.

A wonderful encounter

As soon as we arrived at the ranch, we were greeted by a Golden Retriever named Ryu-kun. My heart was instantly captured right there.
"Too cute!"
And his tail is so fluffy, too.
Led by Ryu-kun to the log house

Here, you can have the owner's wife's specialty hamburgers and curry. Of course, daytime drinking is okay!
I'm looking forward to it!
First, I was allowed to observe Ms. H's horseback riding training.

Here, they are called by different Western names. The owner is called Cliff, and H-joshi is called Maria, and the world changes.
A liberation from reality; it feels like my heart is unraveling.
I decided to go to the stables.

During training, Cliff would pose questions to Maria like a Zen riddle about how one should face a horse.
He would throw them at Maria.
"Deep... too deep..."
Just as I was impressed, he then turned to me and asked,
"What do you know about horses?" When I was at a loss for an answer, he said,
"Horses are herbivores. They are animals that have survived by running and running away from carnivores."
"Deep, he's like a philosopher."
I suddenly thought

I heard from a historian
that horses once swam to this land from the Chinese continent,
and if the place names containing the character for 'horse' are correct, I became convinced that the horses here are also descendants of those that survived by fleeing since the time of Himiko.

I take my hat off to the mental and physical strength of Cliff, who cleared the forest and built the log house himself. I had thought from his appearance that he was no ordinary person, but it was beyond my imagination. He is also a qualified psychological therapist. He chose his words carefully, and I felt the weight in every one of them.
I was glad I came; it was a place where I could honestly feel that way.
After the COVID pandemic settled down, Maria
was able to be healed here both mentally and physically, and I could sense that a little bit.
For Maria, this place is
one and only
a one-of-a-kind place.
And as for me...

Thank you for reading this far.
Places where you can relax and be healed both mentally and physically are different for everyone, and those who have found them are happy.

The End