The Hidden Path (WINNER OF THE BEAUTY AWARD for Spiritual)

Runners Are Smilers. . . Or Are They?

"I do not compete
With the rest of the world.
I compete only with myself,
For my progress is my true victory."

- Sri Chinmoy

Mmmm...

I felt warm and very comfortable in the dark, snuggling contentedly into my comforter.

This was pure bliss.

If only there hadn't been this strange sense of restlessness. . .

But that was easy enough to ignore.

"Mia, get up! We are going to the race today!" A highly unwelcome voice suddenly pierced the delightful silence.

No, I dozily decided, if I just ignore it, it will go away.

Just as I was once more succumbing to the inviting darkness, the annoying voice called me again, more forcefully this time: "What are you still doing in bed? Get up!"

Slowly, the realization dawned upon me that I did, in fact, have to respond to the annoying voice somehow, if I was to have any chance at peace. Still, I was keeping my eyes closed, as I was not ready to give up on sleeping just yet.

"No," I groaned, "leave me alone."

"Come on," the voice urged me, "we promised the others we would participate in the race today."

As soon the words registered in my sleep-fogged mind, my eyes opened and I rebelled: "We? You did! I never said I would go!"

Realising that I had basically woken myself up by reacting, I groaned loudly with frustration. Why, O dear Lord, could my sorry excuse for a boyfriend (I really could not think of him as my fiancé just yet, it just sounded too strange) not simply let me be?

I pointedly turned my back to the annoying boy, determined to not give in to his demands. Even though it would take me a while to go back to sleep at that point.

All of a sudden, the room was flooded with light and before I could even protest, my pyjama-clad, sleep-warm body was exposed to chilly air (we usually kept the window open during the night).

Beni had just ripped the comforter clear off the bed!

Shivering from the cold, I immediately sprang into action, to try and retrieve my missing cover. "Hey, give it back! You don't have the right...!"

Smirking, Beni kept it dangling just out of my reach, taunting me.

Which was unacceptable, of course. Therefore, I jumped out of the bed, lunging myself onto the comforter-kidnapper to get hold of the blanket.

The villain, however, just chuckled, finally releasing the comforter by throwing it over my head. "Now that you are truly awake, you may as well get up and join the race. You're so keyed up, you won't be able to fall asleep anymore, anyway."

"I hate you!" I exclaimed, throwing all the frustration and anger at my command into these three words. Beni just shrugged - rather unimpressed - and proceeded to exit the room.

"Now hurry, we are running late!"

For a few moments I just stood there, in the middle of the room, still covered by the comforter and at a loss to comprehend how one single person managed to be so unbelievably irritating. It had to be a special gift. But what was I to do? I really didn't want to admit it, as I was busy seething. But he did have a point: going back to sleep was definitely not an option any more.

In one smooth, frustrated movement, I grabbed the piece of material covering my head and threw it on the bed. Surrendering, I decided that I would, indeed, go and join the race now that I was on my feet and out of bed.