Breathe Again

Chapter 22

Back on the Northside...

Madi:

Madi woke up and decided to go for a jog, since she and Chelsey went to the gym the day before and they would be skipping that days dance class, and Madi wanted to make sure she kept some kind of schedule consistency.

Stanley park was a couple of miles away, so she thought that the walk over would be a good warm up before running the trail along the lake.

She put her ear buds in and started on her journey. By the time she entered the park, her playlist had hit the upbeat section, and her blood was pumping from the warm up.

She started with a light jog. About 20 minutes in, her playlist change and a song she thought she took off of her phone started with the intro music.

It was the song her and Sterling had their first dance to as Husband and Wife, but she couldn't bring herself to change it. As the song continued, she slowed down from a jog to a brisk walk.

Madi could feel her heart beating fast and her breaths coming in shallow and quick.
She was hit with nostalgia as well as comfort and peace in her surroundings, and that's when it hit her like a ton of bricks.

It was officially time to really let go, move on, live life and not just say it anymore.

Vancouver had given her so much more than just experiences and fun, it gave her a sense of clarity, comfort and home. This was the feeling she had been searching for.

It all came to head at one time and she rushed down to the beach and sat on a bench to catch her breath.

She couldn't get it under control. She tried closing her eyes with her head between her legs and tried to focus on her breathing.

It had been something she had been looking for, for almost a year and a half, and after everywhere she's been, everything she's seen and done, she finally found it.

It was like making it to the top of the mountain, so satisfying but so painful at the end of the journey, but Madi finally felt like she could breathe again.

Before she knew it, someone had sat in front of her and was mumbling something to her while placing their hands gently on her shoulders.

Once she took out her earphones, Madi noticed that they were telling her to take deep breaths. They must have noticed her having a bit of a panic attack and came over to help.

When Madi looked up to thank the stranger, she was confused by who she found there.

"Johnny?"

On a Bench in Stanley Park...

Johnny:

Johnny decided to head over to Stanley Park for the day to get some fresh air, and get some writing done. He loved being outside as much as he could, since most of his job required him to sit inside and stare at a screen most of the time.

He had just sat down on a bench under a tree overlooking the water when he saw someone rush to a bench on the beach and put their head down quickly. They seemed to be having a hard time breathing judging by the quick movement of their back and shoulders.

He watched for a minute, and when they didn't slow down, he approached carefully to assess if this person was okay, or if they were having an asthma attack or something.

Johnny crouched down slowly and put his hands gently on her shoulders, and he told her to take deep breaths and to follow his breathing. He didn't notice that she had earphones in, until she reached up and pulled them out to hear what he was saying to her.