Lily Strong

Running from a Distance Lily Strong

Two strangers, as different as night as day find solace in an isolated forest. They watch the sunset on the hill, blissfully unaware of the presence of the other. A storm brews, and while running down the hill, they crash into each other. Provoked, they start yelling at each other. Yet fate willed that they crossed paths in the forest again. She comes to run while he wants to be left alone. Both held deep secrets that they would not share. They would not even reveal their own names. Drawn to the mystery of the other, they embark on an unconventional friendship where they meet at the forest every day until one day something changes... ***********************************************************************************************************************************************"What the heck..." He yelled. Her long, wavy hair was all over her face and he could make out a lovely figure with terrified eyes. She could barely open her eyes through the rain. She blinked all her way down. She had always been sensitive to natural changes around her, and in times of rain, sometimes she ran feeling the terrain with her other senses rather than opening her eyes. She had been coming here for ten years now, and she could find her way blindfolded. Never would she trip over those mole hills or sudden steep slopes. She knew something hit her, and she felt an attack coming up. She knew they both hit the ground, rolled over and someone was hovering above her now. Upon looking up, she saw huge fists about to strike. An attack was imminent. The man was yelling at her. She acted spontaneously. She used her elbows to shield herself."Wait, wait! I have money..." She shouted. Without waiting for a reply, she tried to free herself from his predatory position. She tried to roll herself down the slope through any space she could get. She succeeded. She went down a few metres; her body sliding down when she kicked the loose soil. This action made the slippery ground give way. Her assailant started rolling after her. He was on slightly higher ground and need not have tumbled down yet he mimicked her actions. All he wanted to do was reach out and pull her upwards, against the gravitational flow. He wanted to grab her and save her; to stop her from rolling down to the bottom of the hill. Without thinking, his spontaneous reaction was to tumble down with her. His motives were very different from a second ago. He wanted to help her up, to tell her it was a mistake. She was human; not a wild cat on the loose which he thought she was. She punched and kicked him. She did not have much force in her attack; yet it was so haphazard and random that he felt defenceless. He was beginning to think of her a threat. He winced at her punch at his chin and her kicks at his torso. Yet he did not strike back. "Stop, damn it! I am helping you!" He yelled. When she heard those remarks, she paused on a punch that was midway to his chin again (for she had only reached his chin due to their unconventional position on the ground). He took her hesitance as the opportunity to lift her up so that she faced him. For what seemed an eternity, they both scrutinized the other intensely; shocked by the sudden turn of events."Are you not going to do something to me?" She asked. She spoke slowly while trying to catch her breath. He shook his head. What a strange woman! She might as well be a wild cat!"Should I do something to you?" He asked, incredulously. He was mesmerized by the slight lilt of her voice. It held an air of defiance...