Tori's run

Perched on its branch on the tallest tree, a pair of watchful eyes glow under the night sky. The moon is bright, providing a perfect amount of light to watch what is happening in the woods tonight. Every night these watchful eyes see something new. They always visit different trees and different branches to get a unique perspective. Some nights they see teenagers playing, teasing, and chasing each other, partying away from their parents. Most nights are quiet with little disturbances except for the occasional sound of a broken twig. Tonight it looks like the strange woman is out running again, working her way through the woods. The woman never sees the eyes watching her during her runs, usually too focused on pacing herself for them to make eye contact.

Tori finds herself pushing herself during her run this evening. Some people are creatures of habit, following the same pattern because it makes them comfortable. She is one of those people, preferring to run at night under the dark sky where no one can see her. Living in the middle of the woods, on the outskirts of town, usually, there aren’t many watchful eyes during the day, but still, the cover of the night sky protects her. Her nightly run usually extends for five miles, and after so many nights following the same path, she could run with her eyes closed.

Something in the air tonight feels different, and Tori can’t put her finger on it. Listening to the sound of her breath and pacing herself, she is pleasantly surprised when a cold, wet splash greets her up her leg—the cold, muddy water seeping through her leggings, causing her to let out a frustrating sigh.

“Dang it,” Tori mumbles, knowing she’ll need to throw those in the washing machine later.

She usually can just run and let everything go, but today she finds herself holding on, unable to relax. The day left her exhausted, she could feel the fatigue, but still, she laced up her shoes to hit the trail. The past few months have been difficult. Darkness shrouds Tori, continually bringing her down, an illness that keeps striking her. She carefully goes about her day, saving her energy so that she can complete her night run ritual, the one thing that gives her a pleasant return. Every day she wakes up and follows her routine. Starting with a shower, then a bagel with cream cheese and some black coffee. Some days can be harder to walk through than others, but following that routine keeps her sane. At work, she puts on a mask, pretending to be perky and perfect. So when she can finally go on her evening runs, it’s a relief. Work was rough for her-, her thought ends as she tumbles, meeting the wet, muddy ground with her body.

The watchful eyes turn toward the sound of the thud. For a moment, they had focused on watching a rabbit scurrying through the puddles, possible dinner. Preparing to take off on their hunt when the woman they saw running tumbles. Quietly gliding to a perch closer to where the woman lays, the eyes watch the woman with concern. Her breathe sounds shallow, and their eyes seem to be closed. Her body lays there nearly still, with only the small movements of her breath. From the perch, the mysterious creature watches, wanting to help, unable to figure out how. The animal waits for a few more beats and finally glides away from its perch.

“What the heck…” Tori opens her eyes and immediately feels anxiety and fear come over her.

The creature that disturbed Tori from her rest in the mud was flying over her, trying to get her attention. Because of the darkness, Tori almost thought that it was a bat. But using the moon to see, she gets a better view, not a bat, but an “Owl,” she says. Thinking back to the last time seeing an owl, Tori reflects when with a friend they were walking through the zoo and passed the predator bird section, where a woman stood with an owl on her protected wrist. It was a beautiful creature, and she had always wondered what it would be like to see one not connected to a string, being watched and shown off in front of strangers. She wanted to liberate the owl and give it a new life, and a small waver of hope almost caused her to think that this owl flying above her was the same bird. This one looks different, however, and has all the features of a barn owl.

Its heart-shaped face is peering down upon her as it loops around, with its white underbelly. When it flaps its wings, Tori hears nothing; the owl’s talon scratching her skin was the cause of her being startled. It was such a quick sharp sting that she thought she was being attacked in the woods when she suddenly opens her eyes. No one would have noticed that she was missing until tomorrow when they realized she didn’t show up to work. The way the owl watches her makes Tori think they are connected somehow like the owl has been watching her whole life. After what feels like forever, the owl suddenly flies off into the distance, leaving Tori alone.

Tori picks herself off the ground, feeling a little chilly from the mud soaking through her clothes. Glancing at her hands, the light from the moon flickers off the dark liquid from the gash in her hand. She imagines she’ll look even worse when she finally arrives at home and looks into the mirror. She wonders how long she was resting on the ground, and if had the owl not alerted her, would she still be there when the sun comes up. Tori glances at her fitness tracker and wipes the mud off so that she can read the time. It doesn’t matter because she cannot even remember what time she started her run. For someone who does this path every day, Tori laughs at the fact that she doesn’t always calculate the time her foot goes out the door to the time she usually arrives back at home. Tonight Tori’s pattern broke, and if it had gone as successfully as it usually does, she never would have interacted with the owl. Turning back home, Tori makes a promise to herself to open her eyes more so that maybe she might see the owl again in the future, instead of passing it by.

On a new tree, the owl watches as the woman continues on her journey with a new sense of determination. The owl knows that they will see her again and glides off of the perch to find its dinner. Their paths will cross again.