As my feet halted; legs frozen like tears in winter, I heard those words...
"Stop! Hands up! Surrender!"
I slowly twisted my head around in hopes to get a glimpse of the person who had screamed the words that made my heart jump, my hands cramp and my deep breathing lungs turn silent. I thought to myself,
'If I'm quiet, they won't hear me.'
As the sweat dripped through my already blurry vision, all I could make out was a dark authoritative figure behind a bright flashing light shining in my direction. My fingers slowly curled into a fist while I calmly turned myself back in my original direction; acting as if I was ready to give up. The soft sound of footsteps started behind me, my unknown pursuant starting his ascension.
'One...two...' I counted in my head...'THREE!!!'
I screamed as stored energy turned kinetic and I bolted. My feet had never moved so quickly! In seconds I was already yards away from certain doom. I could feel my heart beating faster and faster almost beating a soundtrack to my footsteps. As I was making my escape, I started to think,
‘Why is he not chasing me? Does he finally realize that there is no use continuing the chase?’
He seemed to be miles away now when I heard the voice, even louder than the first time
"Stop! PLEASE! Surrender!"
These words didn't sound like the words of the figure out to get me... they had a tone of desperation, a sense of sadness. He sounded to almost be sobbing. Catching my curiosity, I turned to look back as I ran for freedom. Before my chin could even touch my shoulder, my foot hooked the root of a tree and I was headed down in flames. My arms stretched out, fingers open and palms ready to eat the road; I prepared for impact. All my 5 senses turned off, the noise of the world stopped, everything was dead silent and seemed to flow in slow motion...then...I hit...But it didn't hurt, I laid there for a minute to regain my composure. As I unlocked my tightly clenched eyes, I looked to my palms and realized they were un-harmed. I checked my knees and shirt, brushing both off with speed and dis-belief. As I started to look up I realized I had been caught by the figure chasing me. But I wasn't caught like captured, or red handed. I had been caught and protected from the fall. He spoke again and said,
“Please surrender, I want so badly to stop chasing you. I want so badly to be with you.”
It's then that I realized the one who had been pursuing me was not after me to punish or hurt me. He was trying to help me. He was the man who died for me years before. The one who longed to be with me, and to share life with me...and this whole time I had been running out of guilt...out of shame and out of FEAR! As I sobbed in his arms, let my guard down and dropped my masculine mask. He again spoke and said,
“This is what it means to surrender..."
