- Written in 31 minutes with crazy cats. -
"Slow down. I can't keep up with that pace."
He heard his wife panting behind him, distracting him from the peace and quiet he had come to rely on during his daily morning runs up the into the lush hills behind their house. The crunching of the dry soil underneath his feet rhythmically like a metronome normally allows him to concentrate his breathing in a similarly tempoed pattern. Prior to discovering nature's wonderland he was accustomed to the sound of music in order to help keep a high energy level necessary to maintain a competitive pace, It also helped in distracting him from the sounds of passing cars and obnoxious people that reminded him of the real world waiting for him afterwards.
"I'm sorry honey," he windedly blurted out, trying not to disrupt his breathing. "I'm just not used to running with anyone else."
His wife softly grunted and determinedly pulled up beside him, maintaining eyesight with the ground for fear of holes or any other hidden obstacles. A bead of sweat trickled down from underneath her headband and down her rosey cheek. "Go slower for a little bit and then you can go at your speed. I'll just catch up or just go back. I just want to run with you for a while."
He had only recently discovered the treasure chest of rarely used hiking trails, stumbling across one when searching for fire wood. For the most part he had assumed the rough terrain in the backyard was simply just that. He had never even imagined that others would be interested in escaping from the mundane realities of modern civilization by getting back in touch with the very essence of humanity. "Stupid me," he would mutter to himself in response to such ignorant thinking. Once he starting to become familiar with the lay of the land, his daily runs would lead him into the woods, jogging cautiously, unaware of what may lurk. He traded in his earphones for the sounds of silence mixed in with the shaking of trees and the occasional tweet from a bird.
"Honey."
The air felt cooler, crisper out in the open, without a hint of pollution.
"Honey?"
The slight downward shift of the hill quickened the pace, forcing him to shorten his strides.
"HONEY!"
He snapped out of his daze, remembering where he was and that he was not alone. His breathing was heavy, an obvious sign of abstractedly rapid ascension in speed. Abruptly slowing down, he turned around to find his better half a good 40 feet behind, standing in a rather disapproving way with her hands on her hips.
"Shit," he cursed under his breath and casually jogged back to his clearly irked wife. One of the things he truly loved about her was her patience and understanding, but when her limits have been tested it's not a pretty sight. This was very obviously one of those times.
"If you didn't want me to come out with you then you should have just said so," the fact that she was still out of breath just trying to keep up with him made it sound more pitiful than it was meant to. "I understand we rarely get a chance to do things together anymore and that you were excited to share this with me, and I appreciate that, but it's clear that this is something you would rather keep for yourself."
And the truth was she was right. This was something he wanted all to himself, not just from her but from everyone. Even if it was only 45 minutes it was 45 minutes of absolute solitude from everything; from life from stress from reality. He wasn't angry and he certainly wasn't trying to run away from anything. For him this was an opportunity to remember that life is much simpler than it's advertised as being. Nothing in the woods requires an update or an upgrade every few months. There are no payments to be made. This was something given to all as a gift and every day it's taken for granted and ignored. And even he needs that reminder that for all intents and purposed the best things in life are free.
He looked all around him, at the towering trees, branches softly bumping into one another allowing wild formations of light to peak through. He took a deep breath and smelled the earth beneath his feet. And then he turned to his wife.
"You just don't..." and then he stopped and looked at her, realizing that everything that he wanted from out here was the same as what he had with her. He spent so much time looking forward to his time alone out in the wild that he completely forgot about what he already had waiting for him at home and why he had wanted to share this with her in the first place.
He walked over to her and took her hands in his and smiled. "I want you here, with me, right now," he whispered, smoothly brushing away a tuft of hair peaking out from over her soaked headband.
She looked down sheepishly and girlishly smiled. A squirrel, as if on cue, scurried across the path and almost bumped into her foot, startling her. Her breathing remained short, but less from the exercise. I leaned in and kissed her. She melted.
"Let's go home."
She nodded.
And then I proceeded to run as fast I could back to the house.
At least I can get some alone time at home.
Saturday, May 16, 2015
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Priority lost
-26 minutes -
The rain finally subsided after what felt like an eternity. The heavy weight of the mist still lingered in the air, making it harder to take in the crispness of what remained. The sleek pavement shone under the blanket of street lamps uniformly lining the road. The faint sound of the wind swaying through the trees could easily be mistaken for a repeat performance from the rain gods, either way the sound emitted a sense of caution to all those within earshot. An odd warning to temptation of the serenity brought forth by nature's cleansing.
Erik crept over to the bedroom window, quietly opening it while taking a deep breath. A harsh gust of wind caused him to shutter ever so slightly, but not enough to influence his stance. He peeked his head out and looked in both directions - not a soul could be seen anywhere as was expected. The reflection of the light bouncing off the wet ground left a lava-like impression. Things were rarely as in focus as they were right after a storm.
"Honey? Did you open a window?"
Erik glanced back into the darkness at the silhouette at the body curled up on his bed. The light from outside positioned in such a way that divided the room into two.
"I Just wanted to see if the storm was over."
"Well now that you know, come back to bed." Her watched her turn over and pull the blanket up over her shoulder, signaling her disapproval. He turned his head back around, once again peaking out of the window. "I'll be there soon," he mumbled, unmoving. A lone drop fell from the top of window pane onto the back of his neck, startling him as it split up and raced on both ends down the side, startling him and snapping him out of his daze. He took one last deep breath, savoring its lushness and closed the window as quietly as he could. It wasn't until he walked back to the bed where he felt the coolness of the room and immediately sympathized with his wife's disapproval.
He was awake. Wide awake.
Moments like these rarely happen, at least to him. His schedule keeps him bogged down to the point where being able to stop and appreciate the simplicity of life is more of a chore than an opportunity to remind himself of what is really important.
He walked around the bed to the side his wife was on and gently kissed her forehead before pulling up the blanket tight around her shoulders. She smiled, subtlety and innocently, eyes remained closed as if she only dreamt the kiss happened.
Grabbing a coat, he crept down the stairs and out the front door. The creek of the heavy wooden door was the only other sound aside from the rustling of the leaves coaxing him to follow. So much of his days are spent hibernating behind the warmth of a computer screen, under the dull guise of overhead halogen lamps leaving nothing to the imagination. Every day the burden of the guilt from all of the self-realization regarding life and the misplaced priorities grew heavier and heavier. Distracted by other people's interpretations of what was important made it harder to remind himself what mattered the most to him. Nights like these were important for that. An emotional reset button.
A small puddle formed at the edge of his driveway. He crouched down and dipped his finger in, the water felt cold. He missed moments like these. He looked back around at his modest 3 story house. He wasn't ashamed of all that he accomplished, just disappointed in what he pushed into the back of his mind, nostalgia piled up like a trunk of forgotten memories in an attic. He was happy with his life but longed for a chance to do it all over again just to have that time back.
Up and down the street leaves glided down from their nesting place, high up in the trees. Once thought unreachable, they leisurely descended without worry of their final resting place. Erik put both his hands in his jacket pockets and stood in the middle of the deserted street for what felt like days. There was no other movement in his sightline, as if he were the last person inhabiting what was left of this world. The remnants of the rain soaked through his slipped like sponges, wetting the soles of his feet. A few faint droplets fell from the sky, or perhaps the tops of the trees, making contact with the tight leather of his jacket with an almost cracking sound. The wind picked up again causing more drops of rain and more leaves to fall at a more feverish pace. The breeze felt good on his skin.
"Sometimes," he thought to himself, "this is all the matters."
As if on cue, the rain began to pick up again, prompting Erik to scramble back to the house. Taking one last look outside he closed the door and took off his saturated slippers before proceeding back upstairs to be in the arms of the woman he loved.
The rain finally subsided after what felt like an eternity. The heavy weight of the mist still lingered in the air, making it harder to take in the crispness of what remained. The sleek pavement shone under the blanket of street lamps uniformly lining the road. The faint sound of the wind swaying through the trees could easily be mistaken for a repeat performance from the rain gods, either way the sound emitted a sense of caution to all those within earshot. An odd warning to temptation of the serenity brought forth by nature's cleansing.
Erik crept over to the bedroom window, quietly opening it while taking a deep breath. A harsh gust of wind caused him to shutter ever so slightly, but not enough to influence his stance. He peeked his head out and looked in both directions - not a soul could be seen anywhere as was expected. The reflection of the light bouncing off the wet ground left a lava-like impression. Things were rarely as in focus as they were right after a storm.
"Honey? Did you open a window?"
Erik glanced back into the darkness at the silhouette at the body curled up on his bed. The light from outside positioned in such a way that divided the room into two.
"I Just wanted to see if the storm was over."
"Well now that you know, come back to bed." Her watched her turn over and pull the blanket up over her shoulder, signaling her disapproval. He turned his head back around, once again peaking out of the window. "I'll be there soon," he mumbled, unmoving. A lone drop fell from the top of window pane onto the back of his neck, startling him as it split up and raced on both ends down the side, startling him and snapping him out of his daze. He took one last deep breath, savoring its lushness and closed the window as quietly as he could. It wasn't until he walked back to the bed where he felt the coolness of the room and immediately sympathized with his wife's disapproval.
He was awake. Wide awake.
Moments like these rarely happen, at least to him. His schedule keeps him bogged down to the point where being able to stop and appreciate the simplicity of life is more of a chore than an opportunity to remind himself of what is really important.
He walked around the bed to the side his wife was on and gently kissed her forehead before pulling up the blanket tight around her shoulders. She smiled, subtlety and innocently, eyes remained closed as if she only dreamt the kiss happened.
Grabbing a coat, he crept down the stairs and out the front door. The creek of the heavy wooden door was the only other sound aside from the rustling of the leaves coaxing him to follow. So much of his days are spent hibernating behind the warmth of a computer screen, under the dull guise of overhead halogen lamps leaving nothing to the imagination. Every day the burden of the guilt from all of the self-realization regarding life and the misplaced priorities grew heavier and heavier. Distracted by other people's interpretations of what was important made it harder to remind himself what mattered the most to him. Nights like these were important for that. An emotional reset button.
A small puddle formed at the edge of his driveway. He crouched down and dipped his finger in, the water felt cold. He missed moments like these. He looked back around at his modest 3 story house. He wasn't ashamed of all that he accomplished, just disappointed in what he pushed into the back of his mind, nostalgia piled up like a trunk of forgotten memories in an attic. He was happy with his life but longed for a chance to do it all over again just to have that time back.
Up and down the street leaves glided down from their nesting place, high up in the trees. Once thought unreachable, they leisurely descended without worry of their final resting place. Erik put both his hands in his jacket pockets and stood in the middle of the deserted street for what felt like days. There was no other movement in his sightline, as if he were the last person inhabiting what was left of this world. The remnants of the rain soaked through his slipped like sponges, wetting the soles of his feet. A few faint droplets fell from the sky, or perhaps the tops of the trees, making contact with the tight leather of his jacket with an almost cracking sound. The wind picked up again causing more drops of rain and more leaves to fall at a more feverish pace. The breeze felt good on his skin.
"Sometimes," he thought to himself, "this is all the matters."
As if on cue, the rain began to pick up again, prompting Erik to scramble back to the house. Taking one last look outside he closed the door and took off his saturated slippers before proceeding back upstairs to be in the arms of the woman he loved.
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