Spread your Wings

A Perfect Storm

I woke up with a start, the sun shining through the thin plaid curtains. My window was open, the sound of spring birds chirping echoed around my room. I focused my eyes on a picture frame sitting on my mahogany wooded dresser. It was of my friend and I-My best friend. I was balancing on a brown chair as she rested on my shoulders. The two of us looked young, the age of 13- A year before I left. My brown eyes darted to the dimly light digital clock resting right next to the memorial picture. It was twelve past nine- a perfect time for a jog.

I stripped into a pair of cut off running shorts and a worn away Mickey Mouse t shirt. When I opened the door a breeze of cherry oak scented wind whirled around me. I walked to the end of the brick paved street, and that's when I started to run. I wasn't sure where I was heading to; my feet had a mind of their own. When my body caught up with my feet I found myself in the middle of the woods, following a dirt path. Bushes, leaves, trees, and rivers surrounded me, my breath finally slowing down. I took in the scenery as I kept a steady pace, turning around wasn't an option.

A few broken pebbles were kicked, the faint sound of running water could be heard between the wails of the flying birds. A sharp sound a stick breaking stopped me dead in my tracks, like a deer searching for an intruder. I slowly looked around, the birds were not panicked at all, they continued their fight for survival. It was that moment when I looked between two Maple trees that I saw a person. He had no idea he was being watched, now that I was listening I could hear the sound of his heavy shoes scuffing the lightly packed dirt below his feet. I quietly maneuvered around some berry bushes, being impossibly quiet. I made the mistake of spreading my feet too far apart causing one of my feet to slide. The noise that followed was an obvious sign that the boy was not alone.

He was quick to turn around and study the acres before him, but I was faster to hide behind the steep trunk of an old tree. My breath hitched in my throat, I had no idea what was made of this boy. I waited a few more short moments before I poked my head out from behind the tree, the boy nowhere in sight. I cautiously walked back to the dirt path, but instead of turning around I walked forward, taking in new scenes. The falling water could be heard a lot clearer now.

A clearing could be seen between two distinctly different looking tree branches. The tree was crooked and slightly leaning in. The branches below were dead and falling apart, a single flower was connected to one of the lowest branches, all odds of living against it. I made my way through the trees and found myself where the river meets the falls. A breath taking view where the water crashes and falls twenty or so feet to the ground. Rocks carried through a treacherous journey only to be left at the bottom of the river for who knows how long. A man made stone crossing was made to get to the other side of the river, proving that I am not the first to be in this exact spot.

I grabbed hold of a rough branch above and hoisted myself up inside of the tree. I shimmied around until I made a clear sturdy position, a place that I now call mine. I am not sure how long I sat here for, thirty minutes, an hour. I would have stayed here forever, but the grey sky above me was thinking otherwise. I stood up, my joints raw from the previous position. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a figure moving, my body shut down. It was him, the boy I saw in the woods earlier. How long was he standing there, had he been watching me this whole time?

My ears picked up the sound of crackling a few seconds later, at first I thought it was the boy walking through a path of leaves. But the sound was a lot closer, right beneath me close. I swung my one leg around the branch to the right of me, my right arm grabbing a hold of a branch a few inches above my left arm. Just in time, the crackling branch below me gave out and was sent hurdling toward the ground. My eyes looked frantically around for the stranger; the leaves around me obstructed my view from anything. The awkward position was now becoming unbearable, my arms being weak and sore, my one dangling leg losing feeling. The pain was becoming too much, I braced myself for impact. With the release of one a branch, I fell.

I landed right on my bum, rubbing my sore tailbone as I stood up and stretched my arms and legs. The feeling of being watched hit me as I remembered I wasn't alone in the woods. I decided it was the right time to start heading home, from what I could see a storm was rolling in. I crossed the stone pathway and made my way back through the clearing. Relief hit me as I was reunited with the dirt path. I walked for twenty minutes, my mind back to peace. The familiar bird sounds quietly hushed as the distant sound of thunder caught my attention. I looked up and saw how dark the clouds really were. A sudden sound of a twig breaking made my heart race, and in the blink of an eye I was in a full on sprint.

"They won't get you if they can't catch you." I repeated to myself. My legs started cramping as I darted out of the woods. Light drops of rain fell onto my skin, my breath was starting to run out. My feet hit the familiar brick paved street as the rain started to pour down. I entered my flat and sealed the door closed, any intruder locked on the outside. My back was firmly pressed up against the wall, my chest rising and falling with an unsteady beat. Beads of sweat formed above my brow, the house silent. When my legs gained their feeling back I stood up and walked into the kitchen where I heated up some water and put a tea bag into it. I made myself comfortable on the silk couch, my mind replaying the wood's breath taking scenery in my head.

When the cup was empty I set it down on the oak wood coffee table and scurried to my room. The shower water washed away all the evidence of today's events. Just what I wanted. My damp hair put into a loose bun, a robe wrapped around my body. Chills were sent up and down my spine, the cold porcelain floor hard underneath my feet. A sudden burst of thunder caught me off guard, a silent shriek leaving my mouth. I replaced my contacts with my plum colored glasses, my robe replaced with a pair of sweats and a navy shirt two sizes too big. I went around each door of my house, making sure it was locked. I did this twice, before I was positive no one could get in.

I lied down in between the mattress and the covers, the only sound was the patter of rain on my window, and the not so often rumble of thunder. I searched around the room, the pair of running shoes caught the attention of my eyes. My mind started replaying pictures of the boy and the repeated sound of twigs breaking. The scenes were replayed over in my head like a broken record.