Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I never realised how fast of a runner I was until I was racing against my cousin Cooper. Given, he was at least a decade younger than me, with a stature much shorter too, but at the rate we were going, I could have been able to loop around the vast fields twice before he caught up, though that might have been a slight exaggeration.
The dirt ground beneath me was slippery, moist with the remnants of a severe thunderstorm that racked through the state last night. The soles of my leather boots were lush with a rim of dirty brown as I trekked up a particularly steep hill. I only had a few metres left before I reached the peak, where I would inevitably be crowned the winner.
That was always the case. I almost pitied Cooper for all the losses that matched the towering height of my piling victories. A game was a game, however.
Once I reached the peak, I paused to admire the view. The fields were no longer swathes of rutted mud or soft snow but rather softly verdant with new stems ruffled by the springtide wind. The hills rose and fell in gentle waves like wrinkled fabric, leading to an isolated, light yellow farmhouse encompassed by tall and uncut grass. Quite a distance beyond the house, I could see the faintest sliver of a small lake.
The air held more fragrance and harmony in the short few months I had been away, and it pulled a smile onto my tinted lips.
I could hear the faint reverberations of laughter coming from the farmhouse; it was warm and inviting. A breath escaped my lips as I slowly sat down, watching from atop the hill. I couldn't see anyone from here, but I knew they were tucked away inside, where the kitchen was aromatised with freshly-baked goods.
Pulling my knees to my chest, I basked under the bright sunlight that sprayed against my rosied face, undoubtedly making my freckles more prominent. It was quite warm here that only a few minutes here were enough to create beads of loose sweat across my body. I could feel most of them hanging onto the platinum hairs around the nape of my neck.
Soon enough, I heard the crunching footsteps behind me followed by a round of sneezes—Cooper. His allergies tended to flare up around this time of year. His heavy and shallow breaths caused me to look over my shoulder briefly, glimpsing his sweaty and similarly rosy face. I couldn't help but chuckle as he finally trudged through, pressing his palms against the rough material of his denim jeans.
"How are you not winded?" he asked, nearly toppling over.
I said nothing as Cooper settled beside me. He was awfully heedless to my stifled breaths and faraway gaze. Perhaps it was for the best that he didn't know how heavy my shoulders and chest felt as I was seated next to him—just so I could pretend I was as strong as he perceived me to be.
"You took your time," I said.
"No, you're just incredibly fast," he replied. "Is superspeed another one of your powers?"
