Running

The sapphire ocean throbs; grainy mounds swallowing my feet as I scramble toward the crushed shoreline.  Grooved shells play peek-a-boo as the waves wash to and fro a fresh covering of sand. The never-ending roar highlights the severity of Mother Nature and I imagine a tidal wave smashing against the jagged rocks and tossing me out to sea.  A terror I would hate to know. 

The burn of the sun flames my skin and I can feel the first trickle roll along my spine as my exertion begins to ramp.  Just as I’ve been tutored, I raise my knees high, pumping my arms like rods on a steam engine, surging to a pace that finds its natural rhythm.  The untouched landscape, raw and vital, hems me in, the jaded cliffs looming like a Giant shadowing its prey.  I edge closer to the foamy waters, the firmness underfoot addressing the screaming of my thighs. 

A stream born out of the past evening’s storm cuts off my passage, so I retreat through ragged palms and seaweed bulbs, my ankles buckling in the unstable terrain.  Flies swarm, military in their flight, as their temporary home is disturbed under the thunder of my worn out shoes. 

Not far now until the final test separates girl from woman, winner from also ran.

I cannot hear my breath but I feel its struggle as it fights to fill up my lungs never quite being enough.  The steep cliff path beckons and I begin my ascent steeling my nerve, quieting the voice that shouts ‘give up!’ 

All is hell now.  Limbs, heart and air go wild as I weaken, a sob at the back of my throat, tears threatening as I pound: left, right, left right.  I can see the horizon, hear the distant motors purr, the finish line edging close but at a snails pace.

Finally, I’m there!  I want to scream ‘Victory!’ but cannot; instead I plunge forward dizzy but elated.  As the adrenaline ebbs I take one final mental snapshot and it dawns: the coastline’s beauty is never lost whether free to roam within its womb or spied from lofty ledge.  I marvel life’s fortune and go home.