Prologue
The white pony pawed at the dirt inside the dam—up until two days ago there had been some water—but the hot Australian sun had transformed it into a hard, reddish clay. She stumbled up the embankment, emaciated and thirsty. Why didn't her little girl come and feed her? Not even the truck came any longer. It had been several weeks since the last time they'd left a bale of hay.
She moved deeper into the Outback; bare-open flatness, with nothing to eat but Mitchell grass, so desiccated from the heat that it was impossible to digest. In the darkness, she spied an ethereal blue light. Tall and thin, it flickered back and forth in a joyful dance. It reminded her of the little girl when she'd come out each morning to fill her water bucket.
Here. There is water…
The white pony pawed a
