Are you ready to switch off your screens and ponder or discuss another writing/conversation prompt from my friend Tyrean Martinson’s book? Here’s my take on it.
I’m NOT a runner, let me tell you that. I used to be a decent sprinter when we still had sports at school. I long gave up running, even jogging. I felt that my back didn’t like the bumps that came with the impact of any running step against the asphalt. I’m a walker. A fast walker when exercising. A wandering walker when exploring.
I LOVE to walk in the dark. Or rather, I used to. Back in the day when my hometown suburbs were comparatively safe, I enjoyed night walks. Not that I did them on a regular basis, and certainly not, being the young woman I was, with my parents’ approval.
But what would you do if you had barely made the last tram home from Downtown, and the last bus home had left a long time ago? If the cab stand was empty, and it would not just cost money to take a taxi; it would also steal your time. Besides, waiting in the dark of the middle of the night has always been less safe than walking purposefully. Not that I was afraid.
I loved passing by homes that were already asleep or about to switch their lights out. I loved how the eyes got used to the light of the stars and, maybe, the moon. How the black silhouettes of orchard trees in the fields stood out against the dark-blue of the night sky. The quiet. The coolness of the air. I could have walked for miles on end in such nights. Alas, home was waiting and so were the next day’s duties and routines. But if I could have walked on …
If there was a rhythm of the dark, it was that of my steps, hard heels against smooth asphalt pavement. If there was a rhythm of the dark, it was my even breathing. If there was a rhythm of the dark, it was the beating of my glad heart that enjoyed the soothing loneliness and anonymity, the indifference of Nature towards my miniscule presence, my being part of the universe.
No running in the dark ever. Only walking, wandering. Step by step. Breathing deeply. Enjoying.
