I get lost in the beauty of the place and forget to run.
Instead, I listen as the trees engage in whispered conversations around me, the wind gently teasing their uppermost branches. I watch as the weak sunlight showers down through the damp woodland air, and I breathe in the smell of wild garlic.
I love it most after the rain, when the ground is soft and the woods are soaked in colour and the fat raindrops cling to the leaves. Through a gap in the trees, the long grass gently welcomes the sky, while forest trails beckon me on.
This way, come this way…
Now my legs remember why I have brought them here. We set off again, my legs and I, in familiar companionship. We trample over doubts and duck beneath a low-hanging bough, enjoying the rhythm of the run: it’s like a dance, with nature as our soundtrack. We leap over a fallen tree trunk and break through the tangle of thoughts, into a space where we are fast and free.
I chase the path uphill. It’s a race that I know I will lose, even before my legs tell me so. Yet the woods are indifferent. Up, up, up – it burns, but I will keep running now, I will make it to the top, I’m nearly there – nearly – there –
I reach the highest point, and the trees shiver aside to show me their secret: their city, Vienna, nestled between hills and river and floodplains. From up here, the troubles of the day are small, their petty complaints lost on the wind, and courage and confidence stand tall and resolute.
My breath returns to me, my heartbeat slows and the cool air reminds me that I cannot stay here forever.
It is late evening now and darkness descends at the same speed as I do, gravity pulling me on. My legs find their own pace: it no longer burns, but I have to concentrate on not tripping over in the gathering dusk. I have to focus on the uneven terrain beneath my feet and the treacherous branches that reach out to snag me. The trail twists and turns and I can only hope that I remember the way home…
As I step, exhausted, onto the tram, the path runs silently on, even now tempting me to follow it into territory I have yet to explore.
