2002-03-23 @ 11:02 p.m.
Heartbeat
I stayed home tonight. Went for a jog in the twilight through the woods, and I happened across a most amazing event. My favourite trails lit with brown paper lanterns. Hundereds of lanterns. Orange glowing through the night. Children's laughter ricocheting around the tree trunks and arcing up among the stars. A father's voice howling like a coyote. I jogged down the trail, and the hum of voices increased steadily. Then a drum. Heartbeat. Lanterns flickering shadows. Thump, thump. Scurry in the brush beside the path. Flashlight blinding me from up ahead. Thump, thump. Two girl guides hawking cookies. I ducked under a yellow barricade to a dark trail. Gentle crunches of old snow. Thump, thump. Laughter again. Thump, thump. And darkness.
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