Natural Beauty

“You're not going outside, are you, Gracie?” my mom asked me as she was walking in the house. She was just getting home from her night job as the sun was slowly beginning to rise behind her. “You'll get a cold!” My brain heard her, but my mind wasn't in her words.

“I don't care,” I mumbled back in a sing-songy voice. I tied my shoes into double knots before standing up and walking to the front door. Sliding my headphones up to my ears, I opened the door and slammed it behind me as I jogged through the muddy yard and onto the sidewalk. It was a beautiful day.

Puddles surrounded my feet as they hit the pavement. The mild splashing sound I could hear behind my headphones was the real music to my ears. Thump thump. My shoes rhythmically touched the ground. Splash splash. The raindrops hit my cheeks in a quiet song of their own.

I breathed in and out through my mouth as I moved quickly along the streets, absorbing the nature around me. The branches on the passing trees stirred as the leaves upon them danced to the songs of the birds. The bushes sways to a beat of their own. Cats meowed, seeking protection from the falling rain. All was beautiful, all was perfect, but none would last long before the town would wake up and make needless noise. People would clutter up the streets, and scare the natural beauty away until the next morning when we shall meet again.

I listened to all the sounds around me and saw the sights before me as my breathing began to get slightly heavier. There was one house that already had their lights on. It won't be long now, I thought, browsing up at some birds happily tweeting in a nearby tree.

Did they know they didn't have long before their peace was disrupted? Or did they know the routine by now? Did they care about the busy days going on, or wish that the mornings could last forever? Questions barely came to my mind as I smiled a little grin at the nest filled with small birds.

It was a shame that such a beauty that I got to see every morning would ever be seen by few. Appreciated by no one but me. I loved those mornings when I could just get up and run, spending time with my love, the world.