Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream

I walked out the front door of Mike’s house at O’dark thirty wearing a pair of shoes that were two sizes too big along with three pairs of socks to try and ensure they would fit. Sure, I could have worn my Birkenstocks but if I was expected to do any actual running then I’d have an issue.
I walked half a block before I stopped in the middle of the road, looked back to the house, and then once again looked ahead.

“What are you doing?” I asked myself, aloud, of course.
It was a simple question. The short answer was “not a freaking clue!” because this idea was insane. Maybe she didn't run at six in the morning; but perhaps four or five. Maybe she was testing out various roads and chose the other side of town for that morning. Casting out the ‘woe as me’ attitude I decided I would jog to her street and pass by the house as if it was part of my normal routine….even though my ‘normal’ routine would be to be asleep at that time, quite possibly drooling on my pillow as I snored.

I kept a leisurely pace as I turned onto her street. The moment of truth had arrived and every step seemed slower and every breath felt deeper. If I had owned a cell phone at the time, it might have been a good time to call 9-1-1.

My questions were answered as I saw her out on the front lawn, sitting with her head bowed down. I stood there, about twenty feet away from her, just watching, she did not move for several minutes. I walked towards her, slowly, quietly, as to not disturb her. She kept the same, uncomfortable position: legs crossed in front, her head knelt down towards her chest, and her hands resting on her knees.

Yoga? Some sort of chanting? I had no idea. I. Just. Looked. At. Her…until she lifted her head up and saw me.

“Good morning!”
A part of me was sure she was talking to someone behind me.
“Andrew!”
“You remember my name?” I was stunned that she actually was talking to me.
“Of course,” she replied with a smile. “Out on a morning run?”
“Yeah…just thought I’d come by and see…”
“You want to run together?”
“Sure.”
“I hope I can keep up with you,” she answered as she planted her hands on the ground, lifted herself off the ground and un-pretzelized her legs—it made my knees feel like screaming in pain just watching her do it.
“Is that part of your stretching?”
“My what?”
“Stretching.”
She stood up and wiped the grass from the back of her legs.
“Oh, no, I was praying.”
“Praying?”
"Yes, every day for as long as I can remember I have always had a little quiet time every morning, always at six-thirty until the circulation in my legs is severed and I have to wait until I can get back up.”
"What about rainy days?”
“That's what umbrellas are for."
"Ah," I replied as she actually started stretching with deep knee bends.
‘I-I 'm sorry, I don't think you want to talk about my theological beliefs..."
“Feel free to,” I replied.
“Where's Mike?"
“Still asleep.”
“Not a runner, eh?”
“He is. You should see him race to fifth period.”
“So, a few rounds around town then?”
“Well, sometimes I run up the butte over there.” I pointed to the distance at the small hill over-looking the town. Yes, I was trying to gain points. It was easier to say that I took a morning run to the butte every once in a while instead of saying something like: “I can run Bloomsday in under an hour.”
“I’ll have to try that some time…how about now?"
“Yeah, okay,” I replied…because I was a guy who was not thinking with his brain. I tightened the laces on my shoes and looked up to her.
“Ready?”
“Yes, I’m set for-“
“-Let’s go!”

She took off ahead of me. I accelerated my pace and the warning alarms in my brain finally switched on: I was NOT in shape to keep up with her. Her speed was incredible and as much as I liked looking at her from the rear, I would have preferred to be ahead, or, better, at her side.
The thought came to me to yell for her to slow down…but…but that would have shown weakness…and I didn’t have enough strength left in my lungs to breathe, let alone speak.

You know that feeling you get after you’ve completed a short sprint and you sound like you’re auditioning for the part of Darth Vader's sickly cousin: the wheezing and breathy voice? Oh, and that feeling that your chest is going to spontaneously combust? Yeah, I was experiencing that at that time and I could still look back and see her house!

“Ceci”—It was a weak cry for help but she didn't hear me. I gathered up enough power to try and catch up to her but my chest and legs were ready to salute and jump from the plane. Ceci was halfway up the hill before she stopped and turned to look at me.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I lied.
“Feeling the burn yet?”
“Oh yeah,” came the death-choke reply, “a five-alarm fire.”

She ran back down the hill and then walked the rest of the way to me. The jig was up...the truth was going to come out: I had lied that I could keep up with her pace; I had lied that I actually owned running shoes…and all of that was about to come back at me.
"You really don't do a lot of running, do you?” She asked.
I could see that each time that she spoke, her eyes would be focused on me. Her face would look at me as much as I was looking at hers.
“No, I’m sorry…I can only sort of jog.”
“No problem,” she replied as I collapsed to the ground.
“I’m okay…just need to take a few....million...breaths. How can you run so fast?”
“I held the track record in my old school.”
Should have seen that coming...

She looked down at me and then out ahead. I closed my eyes and took normal breaths. As much as I would have wanted to stare at her from that unique perspective.
“It’s peaceful out here,” she said as she took a step up the hill. “You look around and you have the view of the country.”
"Uh-huh,” I replied-my eyes still closed.
"You can see just about everything."
"Can you see the school? I asked.
She didn't answer my question, but asked her own:
"Andrew, is that the school?" she asked, turning to me and pointing to several buildings in the distance.
I sat up, and looked in her direction Yeah, that's the whole campus."
“Is it just the high school?'
"No, The elementary school is right there,” I said moving over to her and pointing to each one as I named it: "The junior high is in the same building as the elementary. The high school is right there, behind the gym, that's that large building right there.”
She sat on the next to me and we just looked in the distance.
“What grade are you in?”
She turned to me as I answered. “Eleventh…junior.”
“How old are you?"
“Sixteen. Seventeen in two weeks," I stated, not exactly sure why I was giving her that information…oh…that’s right: trying to be someone I wasn’t worked so well that maybe the truth would be best.
"Would you mind helping me with my classes this week? Kind of hate to wander around the school as ‘the new girl.’"
“Be happy to.”
“Thank-you,” she smiled. “We'd better get back.”

I nodded, though I was really disappointed that we had to go. I was up for another run…if that run ended up with us here again.
I had a lot of thoughts yelling back and forth in my head…it was like an out of control game of red rover—with everyone shouting and going everywhere…and an occasional clothesline occurring.
“Get closer to her!”
“No, back off…this could be the Teri situation…”
“It’s nothing like the Teri fiasco, she prays in the morning.”
“Maybe she prays to Satan?”
“Seriously?”
“Or maybe to the pages of Cosmo…and you know those articles and tests…we don’t even register on those tests…we’re like below the margin and off the bottom of the page.”
“Maybe she’s different.”
“I forbid this body to play the heart card. Disaster will occur, gentlemen.”
“But she’s dropping so many hints.”
“Oh yes, I forgot that we were an expert on signals.”
“But, but…”
“We are adjourned!”

We walked down the butte together but as soon as we turned onto the blacktop road she was off again but I was right behind her; come heart attack or heatstroke!