Sick but motivated!

Travis and I had a mix up this morning, but thanks to fate I ended up not feeling well and hopefully saved him for catching it too.  My roommate... not so lucky.  Whoops.  But either way, I sat in bed and felt like writing while Vin read the newest Thomas Covenant book next to me.  I also looked at work count, 2k before I started 5k after.  Yay for progress!  

Here's the new stuff! (check out the whole story so far here too)

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Running was like meditation for Onnie, she could empty her mind and think of nothing but the cool wind in her hair and the feel of the ground beneath her feet.  On her first day in Seattle she had explored the area surrounding her apartment on foot and in the process had found a quiet trail behind the complex that wound around the hills and horse ranch houses for a few miles and eventually emptied out into a state park.  It had been an amazing walk and she had been excited to try running it on her next day off.  

Stopping to bend down and double check her shoes were tied Onnie breathed in a deep breath of fresh air.  It smelled great here, she stood popped in her earbuds and took off down the path.

Usually as she ran Onnie’s head was empty except for the repetitive slap slap of her tennis shoes on the ground or the sounds of the many car horns if she followed her Hollywood route, but today she couldn’t zone it all out.  Two miles in and wishing she’d remembered to unpack the water bottles so she would have had something to drink with her, she slowed to a jog.  Removing one of her ear buds and lowering the volume on her music she began watching the forest that she was passing through.  It truly was beautiful here, mom didn’t do it justice when she spoke about her childhood, but i guess when you’re thirteen nothing really seems that beautiful to you.  

Her mother moved to southern California when she was only fourteen with grandma after grandpa told her he didn’t love her anymore.  Grandma never spoke badly about him though, said they weren’t the right fit and he deserved to be happy with someone he did love.  She and mom moved later that summer, mom never really forgave grandfather though.  That’s why they had never visited him in Washington, she didn’t want to go back.  

Now as Onnie jogged through the lush greens and clean smelling leaves she found herself wishing things had turned out differently.  LA had been so hot, so stifling, but here she could enjoy the company of herself without feeling the need to explain and excuse herself.

As she turned a corner there was a smaller dirt path winding off in another direction, blackberry vines covered it partially but it looked as though someone had moved them recently.  

“Why not take the road less traveled?” Onnie picked her way carefully through the thorns and followed the path around the bend.  Just a few hundred feet later it opened up into a large clearing made by a ring of pine trees.  Stopped short by the sudden light through the canopy and the bright green of the moss covered ground Onnie sucked in her breath.

“Oh, wow, it’s beautiful!”

Slowly turning in circles, she looked up taking it all in.  There were mushrooms the size of tea saucers near the bases of the trees and the trees!  They were so tall she couldn’t see the tops of them, but they seemed to be leaning in on one another as if for support, even their branches were intertwined.  They were weaved together, holding hands almost.  Completely overtaken by the scene around her Onnie sat upon a rock near her feet and continued to stare.  

“I wish I had my book, this would be a wonderful place to read. I should show grandfather, he’s love this!”  As she began to take out her cell phone in order to take some pictures to show at dinner tomorrow there was a rustling across the clearing from her in the distance.  Standing up and ready to run if need be she looked over her shoulder to the path where she entered the clearing, only it wasn’t there.