The Runner

Ricardo Bessa

Photo Credit http://ricardobessa.com  (Anabelle the human) used with Artist’s permission

Agnes told people she ran in the woods because she loved nature, but that wasn’t it. She was afraid to step on a crack. The sidewalks in her family’s neighborhood were riddled with them; not just the dividing lines between panels, but little fault lines too. Every time she walked out she had to hopscotch the safe spots between the cracks. Luckily, the trail was right out her backyard.

One day, she was sprinting through the forest when something caught her eye, and she tripped over a root.

Whump! She landed on her chest, hands barely breaking the fall, her cheek stinging where it had grazed the ground.

There it was, on the side of the path. A light, no, a flower — a dandelion. She focused her eyes and it was gone. That was odd. She…