Run

The hands of the clock turned to fists and they pounded the nightstand till I erupted from dream. It was three in the morning and I turned to a statue as I watched the breaking dawn and dead of night play tug of war. I was adorned by a necklace of sweat and beads were running down my chest. I could hear the gears of time begin to grind until they broke. Nothing remained but silence but from afar I could hear the thunder. The storm was growling and what began as a shallow breath quickly turned into a roar. I knew the lightning would strike the clock soon and there wasn’t much time. Before my toes could caress the carpet in my bedroom, I was running out the door.

As my hand left the door knob I could hear the door lock behind me. Immediately, I felt lost. The lightning flashed like the lens of a camera and quickly developed colorful pictures of a life I thought had turned black and white. With every flash they began to fade until they reminded me of dust in a ray of sun. I waved my hand and they were gone and that’s when I knew it was time to run.

I could not see the road before me; all that was visible were the tall dying trees that lined my path. I watched as the wind brought them together only to rip them apart with the next strong gust. Fragile I thought, all embraces, all lovers, everyone is at the mercy of the next gust of wind. I took a deep breath and ran into the dark.

My feet were bare and each time they met the pavement I could feel a piece of the road crumble. My skin was raw and I was running blind searching for a door. The roaring above grew with the intensity of a thousand rogue waves and sheets of rain wrapped around my body till I grew heavy and felt as if I were wading through cement. I kept swimming through the darkness until all of the fight left my limbs. As I fell to my knees I asked for forgiveness and promised to never look back and that is when my door appeared.

My shaking hands reached for the door and as it creaked open so did my heart. The waves of dawn were breaking on today and after years of running I finally realized that the present is the only reality that exists. Tomorrow is a movie that is unwritten and the credits are rolling on yesterday. Live for this moment and recognize the moment has faded before you even finish reading this sentence. Make each second count and lose count of the ones that didn’t. When the sea is high do your best to enjoy riding the waves.