Running

                I concentrated on steadying my breathing. I started running. My ponytail started swaying at each new step, sending a gush of cool air down my spine. Heat slowly emanated from my body soon leaving its reddish mark on my cheeks. I did my best at keeping a regular pace and focused on the music playing in my ears, ignoring the discomfort the thin layer of sweat that had started to form over my body. Soon I was already feeling a growing pain at the back of my legs. That’s what you get for exercising so little lately. Once again I tried to focus more on the music, loosing myself in the rhythm. The pain dulled until it was just a reminder of the effort I was making. I smiled, finally relishing the moment of welcomed solitude. The troubles I was facing had been pushed to the bridge of my mind, no longer important compared to the reality of the heat, the ache, the music, the trees and the majesty of the mountain before me. I continued running further up, no matter how much my lungs were starting to burn, pushing myself forward. Don’t give up now, another song, another one again, it’s hard but not as hard as going back home, go on, to the top.

I reached a clearing and collapsed on the ground, breathing hard. My blood was thumping in my temples in rhythm with my heart beats. I sat up to gaze at the view. Feeling small compared to the centuries old peaks covered in undying snow before me, I sighed, took a deep breath and screamed at the top of my lungs, like if I was trying to leave my worries with them. The sound echoed like a distant shriek as if it was no longer my own sorrow. Everything I had held in so far broke free in a second, salted tears flooded my face slowly washing away my pain.

I don’t know how long I stayed there, crying my eyes out until there was no tears left to cry then loosing myself in the contemplation of my surroundings. A new sense of strange peace settled within me. I took a deep breath feeling more appeased than I had in a while. I was ready now. Ready to face it all again, ready to find the solutions that could be found and to disregard the problems that could not be solved. Ready to face criticism for my choices, ready not to care. I could afford to be broken countless time, I knew I would eventually get back up, what I could no longer afford was to let my life being dictated by others and piling on regrets. I stood up. Took a last breath, and raced back home.