The Summer I Stopped Running | Teen Ink

The Summer I Stopped Running

September 28, 2010
By alisaysroar GOLD, N. Kingstown, Rhode Island
alisaysroar GOLD, N. Kingstown, Rhode Island
13 articles 4 photos 4 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Weighed down under the shallow sunrise, the radiance seeping through my aqua ceiling, and reminding me that I chased my own demise--we've all constructed our own ends with the illusions of beginnings."


I always enjoyed running. I always ran the same rout, and it was never boring to me. I'd run up my street, around the corner, down Mulberry, around the culdesac, up Chestnut Hill, and back home. And I'd do this a few times.

There was a pond at the bottom of Chestnut Hill teeming with wildlife. I sat in the early mornings and heard the crickets. I sat midday and heard the bullfrogs. I sat at night and heard the cicadas. I could look up at the sky, peppered with stars, and map out the constellations in my mind. Lightening bugs drifted through the thick, humid air. Bats flew by, reminding me of the first time I ever saw a bat and cried because I was scared. But now I was anything but scared.

I was fascinated . It was all so enchanting. most summer nights, I'd go to the pond, leaving my my home around a half hour before sunset, running shoes, gym shorts, and a hooded sweatshirt, containing reflective gear, adorning my figure. I always made sure my exposed skin had been sprayed with a bug repellent and that I had a good flashlight with working batteries.

I remember going down to the pond one night. Something seemed slightly off about it. I couldn't place it, so I kept admiring the beauty, holding my knees to my chest as my eyes closed and I breathed in the fresh air. But something in the back of my mind continued to distress, knowing something wasn't right about the situation. I couldn't put my finger on it, though. I left early that nigh, arriving home an hour and a half earlier than I normally would have.

They started construction near the pond the following week. I didn't go to the pond after that night.In the weeks and months that followed, the pond turned ugly and all traces of wildlife were gone. No more crickets. No more bullfrogs. No more cicadas. No more lightening bugs. No more star peppered sky. No bats.

That's the summer I stopped running. I couldn't run my the pond anymore. It wasn't even a pond! It was a shame. It was a waste. It ruined my life. I can barely remember the magic of that pond anymore. I don't remember the stars or lightening bugs. Cicadas or crickets. Bullfrogs or bats. I can't run by there anymore, so I don't run at all.

I wish I could have prevented the industrialization of that area. I wish I could have saved the pond. But I didn't.

That was the summer I stopped running.


The author's comments:
When I wrote this I was actually trying to practice focusing on one moment and expand on it. It didn't really work, and I ended up with this, so I hope you like it!

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This article has 2 comments.


on Jul. 13 2011 at 10:57 pm
alisaysroar GOLD, N. Kingstown, Rhode Island
13 articles 4 photos 4 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Weighed down under the shallow sunrise, the radiance seeping through my aqua ceiling, and reminding me that I chased my own demise--we've all constructed our own ends with the illusions of beginnings."

Man, this is so late but thank you very much! Comments always mean so much to me and I really appreciate it!

on Oct. 8 2010 at 4:53 pm
mskullgirl GOLD, Waban, Massachusetts
14 articles 0 photos 33 comments

Favorite Quote:
All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream -Edgar Allen Poe

I like this! I like how you painted a picture with your words. Keep it up