I went for a run tonight.

I went for a run tonight.
I've always loved to run after dark. I feel more solitude and peace.
There's a spot not far away that I always gravitate to; it's secluded, quiet, with an unobstructed, expansive view of the southern sky. There are no streetlights, save for the distant highway amber globes. Fireflies flicker and dance in the trees, and I can really be alone.
I even ran without music tonight.
I don't jog. I run. Through nine years of track my coaches always wondered how I could keep such a pace. I've never been able to run great distances, but the miles I do feel like milestones more than accumulated inches.
I don't run every day anymore. I haven't for a while now. I save it for days when I need it most.
Tonight I ran like I was chasing the heels of the devil himself.
I ended it flat out exhausted. Collapsed on my driveway and stared at the stars. It felt incredible.
I reflected on some things.
I spent some time today with a man I barely know. I call him my "ghost." I see my pain in a cracked reflection in his beautiful blue eyes.
Sometimes I make decisions with my heart before my head can stop me. I'm just that girl. I want to give myself to everyone and everything, and I end up stretched too thin. Some people are suspicious, and question my motives. Some people take my gestures to mean that I'm looking for something. Sometimes, I help people that I later realize I shouldn't have. Most of the time, making a difference in someone's day, even for a moment, makes a difference in my life. That's the reason why I do what I do, why I am who I am.
Once in a while, though, I come across a broken soul. Someone like me.
Those days are the days that I run.
I went for a run tonight.