short story "run"

He doesn’t sleep for more than a few hours. He doesn’t know why it is, just that he has never been able to let the night take him. The house isn’t big enough to hold his thoughts. Everyday it’s on his mind. The pain only comes when he tries to rest. He tries filling his time with activities to make himself better. Three a.m. is when he starts running. It’s the best time to go for a run, no one to bug him when he leaves.

The house sleeps. He opens the door so the house stays asleep. He likes to run; it’s the only thing that keeps him going. He tightens his shoes and takes the time to stretch. The chill of the night starts his journey. He runs blind; no set path, he just picks a direction and goes. He goes down the road and through the park; up the hill and past the school. The road becomes dirt and the houses become corn. The lights of the city are nothing more than a long shadow. Nothing more than the thought of what he is trying to forget. He searches for nothing and doesn’t look back; he forgets the path he took and moves on. Here the world is a place for him to discover, for him to be himself and he doesn’t worry about a thing. The pain doesn’t make a sound out here, away from everything.

He stops. The wind cools his sweat. He sits and watches the stars disappear. He forgets where he is and lets the peace of nothing come upon him. Other runners come by and decide to join him in the grass nearby. He welcomes them with a peaceful smile. They watch him and wonder what he is doing. With a mouthful of grass, they continue to make sure that he will not hurt them. With white tails high they continue their run, and he decides that he has rested long enough.

The night air changes, and it becomes damp. Clouds cover the moon and he knows what is coming. The first drop hits his nose and the second lands on his chest. The drops start small, but in a matter of minutes they become the size of gumdrops. He doesn’t care because he knows there is nothing he can do about it. Without the moon’s light, the night become very black.