My Knight In Red

Chapter 3

My morning meeting with Maddie could have not left me more confused and conflicted.  I had this deep yearning to find the owner of the eyes, but it is idiotic idea.  I mean, how many people in this world have emerald eyes?  Too many to find my source addiction.  I wanted to figure a way to see them again, but it seemed nearly impossible.  Who knows, they may have belonged to a very emotional deer.

Just becoming frustrated with the swirl of emotions inside me, I decided to go for a run.  Running helped me clear my mind, find my center.  I was dressed to run, but I would have to leave my car.  To be honest I did not care, I just wanted to run away my feelings.

I set out down the alley between the coffee shop and the strip mall next door.  I ran with force, slamming me feet against the pavement.  The rhythm helped push the conflict from my mind.  My destination was the river, not too far from the break of the forest.  I crossed the threshold of the forest, switching from dense pavement to soft dirt.  I farther I ran, the more at ease I became.  Each pounding step was freeing my mind from the shackles of confusion.  I could hear the flow of the river, telling me I was approaching to my destination.  I pushed harder, the new pace burning my lungs with each breath. 

The river was not very wide; just barely beating the qualification of a stream.  The closer I got to the banks of the river, the more I realized I did not want to stop.  I made my decision as I broke through the tree line, I was going to jump; not stop.  I pushed with all my force as my foot met the edge of the bank. As my foot left the ground, my mind broke from the world; I felt free. 

Soaring through the air across the bank made me realized all of the emotions that kept me shackled down; all of the memories and problems that chained me to life.  The few seconds I was airborne I felt like I was invincible, like all my problems were left behind on the bank of the river.   In my distracted state, I crashed back down on the other side of the bank.  Instead of landing gracefully on my feet, I caught my foot on the edge of the bank and face-planted.  So much for being free.  I just laid there on the ground, just wishing I could be swallowed up by the ground.  Once I realized that was never going to happen, I sat up trying to assess the damage to my face. 

Before I even got a chance to pull out my phone and look at my face, I heard a voice.  ‘Great,’ I thought to myself, ‘I probably look like an idiot.’  Looking in the direction I heard the voice, I saw a man; and a very good looking hunk of one.  The man had on black running pants and an emerald green jacket.  He almost looked like a god; with a jawline chiseled of stone.  “Are you okay?” the stranger asked.  God, even his voice was god-like.  Realizing that I was staring so hard that I could burn a whole through him, I looked up at his face. 

“I think so…” I said as I rubbed my hand over my face.  I pulled my hand back and saw blood smeared across by fingers.   Confused, I when to pull my phone out. “Crap, you have a gash above your eyebrow.” The stranger said.

Trying to find the cut, I felt above my left brow and winced in pain. ‘Guess I found it...’ thought to myself.  So not only was I some idiot lying on the ground in the middle of the forest, I was an idiot with a gash in her face.

I glanced back up, only to be met with the guy two feet from my face.  Shocked, I jumped back.  Still looking at me, he bent down and looked at my cut.  “I think you might need stitches.” He said, poking the cut.

“Ouch!  You do realize that this cut is attached to a person right?!”  I shouted.  Great, I just yell at this earth-bound god. 

“Sorry,” he said rubbing the back of his neck.  “What were you doing out here anyways?” he waved his hands to the forest surrounding him.  “Um I was…running,” I said weakly.