The birds sing their welcoming song to the rising sun, the crown of the day sky. Without a morsel of cereal, I head down to the central park to run tracks and cover new miles. Ambition burns bright in my bones. Although my trembling tired body wishes with all its might to give up but I simply don’t see any other option. I have to get rid of the adamant pounds invading my body in folds over my belly, thighs, and arms. Without that, I would lose my only chance at living.
A few months back my better half departed from this world. Leaving me behind, among hungry gossip makers and vile thoughts of people who cannot spare a fat widow to her own. The pain of his untimely death was a gut-wrenching twist to my soul. We had been partners in misery and merriment, up and down, and we shared both smiles and frowns.
He was a fit individual. If it wouldn’t have been for those muggers who wanted a few stolen pennies, he might have survived that ugly Wednesday night and seen the next day. But for some thieves, stealing is just not enough. Hitting and bashing the head of the victim is mandatory, an essential part of their actions even if it means taking someone’s life.
I let out a few breaths, never losing sight of the blue sky and hearing the calm morning anthem of the chirping birds. Clenching my fits even tighter, I exert my body to push further, not stopping for even a moment. Because my body is traitorous like that, if I give it a small break, it would leap over the few seconds to make them minutes, which would triumph in pushing those minutes into hours. So I want consistency and focus.
Thoughts run one after the other, just as I run endlessly, several heads turn, but that is a daily sight. It is also the reason why I train my gaze in front of me, into the sky, the fabric of heaven. Heaven, where my husband would be. The kind soul that he was.
But the stares never bother me as much. Of course watching a shaking, shivering widow running the green grounds in her thick, over-weight skin is a sight to behold for many. Yet, I feel that someone’s weight or the reason they would try to lose it is not a matter of any one’s concern.
The venomous talk of the town is what matters to me. The rumors that arise to circulate every nook and corner of the city pinch me. As though the loss of a person in one’s life is not enough to torture a person in her sleep and during broad daylight that people think that it is up to them to add the spices to the torture.
The society indeed is a breathing creature, spewing hatred among people, churning lies and fabricating false hearsays about its members.
