Running Wild

Once upon a time, a girl named Christina Llarnd lived in a pattern. She rode the bus from her mother’s house to high school every week where she did what was asked of her and nothing more. When she arrived back at home, she carried on with life the way that most shy girls tend to do—nose buried in a book, hiding from the world. She helped her little brother with his homework and tried to explain why their father wouldn’t make it to soccer games like his friend, Bobby’s, did. One thing was for certain, Christina knew that life had to change, or she would explode.

One day, the scene outside of the boxlike window in Christina’s science class depicted a Utopia of sapphire blues, cotton-ball whites, and crimson leaves drifting through the crimson air. She saw this with an intense longing to run and be free of her studious handcuffs as she tunes out the drones of the monotonous teacher. She felt the blood pounding in her ears, and an impulse seized her body causing her to sprint from the room.

Christina ran down the halls and crashed through the nearest door. The breeze embraced her like an old friend. Away she frolicked so full of joy and redemption that not even the angels could have caught up with her.

During this inspirational flight, the muses brought an epiphany. “Life,” Christina surmised, “brings challenges as well as blessings. Dad might be gone. My brother might be sad, and I can feel helpless. However, Life is worth living to the fullest. So that’s what I’ll do.”

From that day on Christina stopped to feel the breeze on her cheeks and count her blessings daily. Never again did she allow herself to fall into the routine of depression.