October 2023 Flash Lit 3 - Chill Out

     "Are you sure you are not chilly, Master Colin?" she inquired.

"No," was the answer. "I am breathing long breaths of fresh air. It makes you strong…"  The Secret Garden

 

 

Lynn battled her way out of the tangle of blankets.  Dreaming about rapists and monsters and drowning and, worst of all, sitcoms was not restful.  Colin mumbled in his sleep.  The blankets Lynn had left swirled around him like he was a bed maelstrom.  She tried not to feel resentful, which was easier after she had brushed and flossed her teeth to get the imaginary salt water taste out of her mouth.

 

Her eyes in the mirror looked only half-open.  She rubbed a little cold water on them to loosen the sleep crumbs from her lashes.  She sighed.  There was so much to do and she had so little energy to do it.

 

She thanked Past Lynn when she found her sweatpants and her other exercise clothes ready on the chair by the bed.  Even so, the chant of “I don’t want to go” repeated in her head the whole time she was adjusting her socks and tying her laces. 

 

When she stood up, her spine cracked in four places, so loud that she thought it might disturb Colin.  Wryly, she noticed that the release of tension made her aware of all the rest of the tension not yet released.  She eased her way out of the bedroom, trying to keep her rubber soles from squeaking on the floor.

 

Past Lynn had also left out a water bottle the night before.  Present Lynn added ice and water to it and screwed down the top.  She slid her keys into one pocket of her pants and her ID into the other.

 

At last, she opened the door.  It was a pink and gray morning outside, the sun tinging the edges of the clouds gold.  Lynn took a deep breath of the cold air and knew that summer was done at last.

 

She walked briskly for a few minutes and then picked up the pace, her muscles whining like toddlers until they realized they were having a good time moving.  The rhythm of her feet on the pavement, the ritual lifting of the water bottle to salute other early morning runners, the force field that made cars swing wide around her all helped her to calm down.  She saw a murmuration of birds take flight from an elm tree, a fat raccoon waddling behind some trash cans, and one happy yellow lab bounding around her person.

 

When she got home, Colin was in the kitchen.  He held out a mug of coffee to her.

 

“You’re chilly,” he said, touching her hand.

 

“Just chilled out,” she answered.