The story of “The Horseshoe” was based around a Dreamtime story that had quite a lot of truth in it.

At Hyden in Western Australia there is a cave. The people know the story of the man who lived in this cave, and what happened to him. One would have to travel to Hyden to hear this story properly, but I can give you the basics.

Mulka had been born with crossed eyes and because of this he could not hunt. He was a very tall man. His mother would take food to him in the cave where he lived, but he would get hungry. He ended up stealing the little kids to eat. When the men of the tribe found this out they chased him for a very long time before finally catching him in another place, which was a long way from where the cave was. They speared him until he was dead, and left him on an ant hill to be eaten by the ants, as he was not a good man and did not deserve to be treated properly.

In The Horseshoe, a story I had written and lost, a family moved to a small town from the city and bought a farm. The mother eventually passed away from cancer, but before she did, she had begun exploring the similarities of her British culture with that of the local people, one of whom was an indigenous nurse. The two women believed the area near which the man had been speared many, many years before was quite close to the farm, and the curse the men had placed on the man all those years before had been broken by someone who had not understood the dangers.

Between them, the two women tried to find things to stop the curse from recurring, but it was not something they could do. Eventually, the mother passed away, but she had left copious notes on what they were looking for.

This passing left the father and the two adult children to look after themselves. The father had not understood what their offspring’s mother had been looking for, and had dismissed it as a myth, but he had still let her do it because it “kept her entertained”. (The fact he had “allowed” it was something that might make many people very angry, as it seems to some that he had a choice in the matter. He did not.)

It was left to the son to collect his mother’s belongings from the local hospital, where he met the woman who had been researching with his mother. She had cared for his mother during her latest hospital stay, and understood the emotional pain he was experiencing from his mother’s loss. What he, the son, did not understand was the special bond between his mother and the lady who had cared for her.

The young man had spent many hours, days and months on the farm looking for iron, because that was what his mother had wanted hanging (literally) around the house, but he did not know that the bad spirit (who remained unnamed in the story) was not worried by things like iron, and wanted to take his sister away from him too.

Innately, he knew something was very wrong, but would not listen to the nurse, and she had to endure many misunderstandings from him before finally convincing him they had to see the elders, who were men and knew what to do. I will add here that this is a very important part of the story, because it was the warriors of the people who had chased the bad man and killed him, so it was up to them to make sure the area he had died in was undisturbed or his bones were thrown away in a place they would never be found again. (perhaps they decided between the two peoples there was a solution because more modern technology was available). This is where the shared knowledge of “smoking” to clear the air of bad spirits is shared amongst many cultures.

Throughout the story we learn of the differences between cultures, even those cultures that may seem the same but are on different sides of the country and have different beliefs in the signs of the birds and animals. As an example I used the curlew and the willy-wagtail.

Also throughout the story, we learn of how listening and learning helps us understand what it is to be local to an area, and how to integrate as someone new to the area. It helps to understand what has happened there, and what can be done to make it more tolerable between different people – to find things they have in common, rather than things they have that are different.

This was the story of The Horseshoe. 

C.S. Capewell nee Tew.

Postscript:. Within the story I told of “The Horseshoe”, two women from different backgrounds worked together openly to understand each other. It is one of the “morals of the story” in some respects, especially if people do not understand the difference between friendship and romantic interaction. There is a vast difference between these two things and it is sad that many do not understand this until they are older, wiser, or perhaps even both. 

The young man’s journey through this story reflects how he comes to terms with dealing with things he has no real understanding of, by choosing to listen or read instead of talking. This is how, at the end of the story, he becomes better at dealing with people in general and opens himself up more to being loved for who he is, rather than who he (or others) thinks he should be.

Everyone is different, but we do have things in common. It is up to us to decide whether we will listen and learn, follow or be followed, agree or disagree. One does not need to be in a spotlight to influence, and often when one is in a spotlight, they are ridiculed for their opinion (because, apparently, they can’t have one). But, if one chooses to research as much as they are able and still come out the other side with decency, respect and the ability to be courteous of others in an open, unhidden, situation rather than using insidious threats and hidden agendas, then that is the time one can say “I understand”.

I take this onboard for myself as much as for anyone who reads this in the future. Self-honesty is very important to have. Therefore, if I feel the need to edit, or change, that is my prerogative, not someone else’s. If I feel the need to work with someone else to see problems I can’t see, that is also my prerogative.. If I choose to expand on a point to make someone else understand my point of view, that is my prerogative, and if I choose to make something more marketable to work within a certain industry or “niche” that is also my prerogative – not anyone else’s. 

To understand something or someone is not going to be available in a one line quote.